Advocacy Week - The Institute

Small Business | Housing | Healthcare | Education | Action & Impact

Welcome to RPIC's Virtual Advocacy Week 2021

Welcome to the Research, Policy, and Impact Center's Advocacy Week. This year, RPIC will highlight activities, events, and presentations from our partners in an effort to keep you informed.

Here are a few ways you can TAKE ACTION in North Carolina

Find Your Legislators by Address, District, County or Voter Registration

https://ncleg.gov/FindYourLegislators

All residents of North Carolina are represented in the United States by both Senators Richard Burr and Thom Tillis. Representation in the House, the NC Senate, and the US House is determined by district. Each resident of the state has one representative in each of those legislative bodies determined by the district in which their residence falls.

Advocacy Week: Daily Highlights and Activities

Monday, September 13: Small Business

Impact of COVID 19 on North Carolina Small Businesses

North Carolina's House has passed a budget. Since the House budget differs greatly from the Senate bill and the Governor's proposed budget, it will be sent to a conference committee to work out the differences and agree on a budget.

Meanwhile, here are some items of interest to the business community:

A reduction of the corporate income tax.
Reducing the personal income tax from 5.25% to 4.99%.
A reduction in the franchise tax but not elimination.
Increase in the personal deduction helping the lowest-paid workers.
A policy change to allow small businesses to provide an avenue to begin a retirement IRA through payroll deduction.

Allowing businesses to take a business deduction on the PPP money received in the 2020 business closure during the pandemic as the federal government did.

Tuesday, September 14: Housing

Governor Cooper Vetoes HB 352 (Hotel Safety Issues, 2021-2022 Session)

Governor Cooper made the following statement on HB 352:

"This legislation is not the right way to ensure safety in hotels. It removes legal protections and allows unnecessary harm to vulnerable people, including families with children, who have turned to hotels and motels for housing in a time of need."

HB352 is an act to clarify that occupants of accommodations provided by hotels, motels, or similar lodgings do not create a tenancy and are not subject to Chapter 42 of the General Statutes and to clarify that these occupancies are governed by the statutes relating to inns, hotels, and other transient occupancies.

HB352 leaves already vulnerable renters in crisis adding to our homeless population. Read more on this issue as documented by NC Housing Coalition's Pamela Atwood. https://nchousing.org/policy-update-9-9-21/

Contact your NC House & Senate members to sustain the veto on HB 352.

https://ncleg.gov/Members/MemberList/H

https://ncleg.gov/Members/MemberList/S

RENTAL HELP: NORTH CAROLINA

Subsidized Apartments

HUD helps apartment owners offer reduced rents to low-income tenants. To apply, contact or visit the management office of each apartment building that interests you.

Search for a subsidized apartment

Public Housing and Housing Choice Vouchers (Section 8)

To apply for either type of help, visit your local Public Housing Agency (PHA).

Some PHAs have long waiting lists, so you may want to apply at more than one PHA. Your PHA can also give you a list of locations at which your voucher can be used.

Need advice?

Contact a housing counseling agency

Other North Carolina Resources

In the News

Federal Eviction Moratorium, What Renters Should Know
https://www.cnet.com/personal-finance/the-federal-eviction-moratorium-is-gone-what-renters-should-know-now/
White House Plans for Affordable Housing
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/white-house-taking-steps-create-sell-100000-affordable-homes-2021-08-31/

Wednesday, September 15: Healthcare

COVID-19 North Carolina Dashboard

The COVID-19 dashboard provides an overview on the metrics and capacities that the state is following. Check here to see the number of cases, completed tests and current hospitalizations by daily by county throughout the state. Updates (as reported 9/14/2021)
https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/dashboard

Sept. 13, 2021

As COVID-19 cases remain high, public health officials with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services are urging North Carolinians to get vaccinated against the flu to protect themselves, their families and those around them as the state enters flu season.
https://www.ncdhhs.gov/news/press-releases/2021/09/13/health-officials-urge-north-carolinians-get-vaccinated-flu-covid-19-cases-remain-high

A Healthier North Carolina

https://governor.nc.gov/issues/healthcare

In Governor Cooper's Budget:

Increasing Access to Quality Healthcare

Gov. Cooper’s budget provides access to health care for more than 600,000 working North Carolinians, keeps rural hospitals open and strong, reduces the number of uninsured veterans, helps fight the opioid epidemic, and injects over $5 billion in direct investment into the state by expanding Medicaid. No taxes would be increased to achieve this major expansion of health care access, and the American Rescue Plan provides an additional $1.7 billion in federal funds to support Medicaid expansion without the state covering any cost share for up to six years.

“We must get health care to more working people and the best way to do that is to expand Medicaid,” said Governor Cooper. “I am ready to work with legislative leadership and members of both political parties here in North Carolina to find a way forward.”

Investments for a Clean, Healthy North Carolina

The Governor’s budget builds on the state’s progress toward ensuring cleaner energy, air and water and attracting clean energy jobs. It also provides funding to help North Carolina become stronger and more resilient in the face of increasingly frequent natural disasters.

The budget invests over $100 million in expanding access to clean energy technologies, investing in clean energy economic development and building the clean energy workforce pipeline to catalyze North Carolina’s economy. The budget invests $10 million for clean energy economic development and $4.5 million in clean energy grants for homegrown start-ups and small businesses.

Clean, safe water and air are essential for the health and well-being of North Carolinians. Governor Cooper recommends over $300 million in spending on environmental stewardship, increasing access to parks, and enhancing the state’s resiliency to future floods. The budget also recommends nearly $8 million for emerging compounds mitigation.

Read more about the Governor’s plan to fight climate change and increase economic development in clean energy HERE. [https://files.nc.gov/ncosbm/documents/files/REC2021-23_Environment-and-Energy.pdf]

A Safer, More Equitable North Carolina

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to shine a light on long-standing inequities. The Governor’s budget proposal advances equity in our healthcare, economic, criminal justice and education systems through strategic investments, including funds to: