North Carolina State Budget Released, Includes NCAH Priorities

After months of negotiations, the NC General Assembly released the conference report for the budget on Wednesday afternoon. The budget appropriates $29,707,123,024 in the first year of the biennium and $30,823,313,998 in the second year of the biennium and includes a number of NCAH’s top priorities!

Promote increased and recurring appropriations for robust and evidence-based tobacco prevention and cessation programs and services – $11,250,000 in nonrecurring funds in each year of the biennium from the State’s settlement with JUUL Labs, Inc. for evidence-based electronic cigarette and nicotine dependence prevention and cessation activities targeting students in grades 4 through 12
Promote policies that increase access to healthy food in schools and childcare centers, such as school meals for all and farm-to-school policies – $3 million in recurring funds plus an additional $3 million in nonrecurring funds in the first year of the biennium to permanently eliminate the reduced-price lunch copay
Support policies and appropriations for increasing access to care, including closing the health insurance coverage gap and increasing access to mental health services – Provides the NC Department of Health and Human Services authority to request approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for the state to expand Medicaid

The House and Senate will vote on the budget on Thursday and Friday.

Additional provisions and appropriations related to NCAH’s priorities include:

Commercial Tobacco Use Prevention and Cessation

Changes the method of taxing snuff from cost-based to weight-based
Adds a base tax for “alternative nicotine products” of 10 cents per container containing up to 20 units and ½ cent per unit for every unit over 20

Access to Healthy Food

$500,000 in recurring funds beginning in 23-24 and $6.3 million in recurring funds beginning in 24-25 for a CEP pilot to support schools and districts in participating in CEP. The funding is limited to schools that are not participating in CEP this fiscal year, and the language directs DPI to prioritize schools with ISPs above 55 and that will maximize federal funding
Language that prohibits schools from withholding student records or keeping students from participating in graduation due to school meal debt
$6,100,000 in nonrecurring funds in each year of the biennium for the food banks
$2,000,000 in nonrecurring funds in each year of the biennium for the Conservation Fund for its NC Food Hub Collaborative to support the aggregation, distribution, and marketing of locally sourced food to customers

Active Living

$3,500,000 in nonrecurring funds for the Youth Outdoor Engagement Commission for Go Outside grants
$12,500,000 in nonrecurring funds in each year of the biennium for the Great Trails Fund
$5,000,000 in nonrecurring funds in the first year of the biennium for the Complete the Trails Fund

Cross-Cutting

$2,500,000 in nonrecurring funds for Rural Healthcare Initiative, Inc. to create effective models of sustainable healthcare for North Carolina rural communities
$4,849,573 in nonrecurring funds in the first year of the biennium and $6,341,179 in nonrecurring funds in the second year of the biennium for the North Carolina Association of Free and Charitable Clinics, Inc. to support member clinics that provide health care for the uninsured and underinsured
$600,000 in nonrecurring funds in each year of the biennium for Mt. Calvary Leadership Development Corporation, Inc. to support the development and implementation of the Community Health Workers Outreach Program
$14,667,000 in nonrecurring funds in each year of the biennium for federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics
$2,957,566,000 in recurring funds in the first year of the biennium and $4,364,504,000 in recurring funds in the second year of the biennium to increase Medicaid managed care hospital reimbursements
$120,000,000 in nonrecurring funds in each year of the biennium for Medicaid transformation projects, contracts, and information technology needs.
$15,600,000 to fund $50,000 grants to each local health department for the delivery of essential public health services
An additional $250,000 in recurring funds to support the grant program that provides feminine hygiene products for students
$100,000 in nonrecurring funds in each year of the biennium for North Carolina Housing Coalition, Inc. to fund programs and services for individuals and families experiencing homelessness
$158,275 in nonrecurring funds in each year of the biennium for North Carolina Coalition to End Homelessness, Inc. to fund programs and services for individuals and families experiencing homelessness
$35,000,000 in nonrecurring funds in each year of the biennium to assist with the development of multi-family affordable housing units across the state

You can read the committee report here and the bill text here.