Latest news with #NCInnovation
Axios
26-06-2025
- Business
- Axios
North Carolina lawmakers send $1.4 billion Helene recovery package to governor's desk
North Carolina lawmakers sent a nearly $1.4 billion package for Hurricane Helene recovery to the governor's desk Thursday. It's one of the last bills to make it across the finish line before lawmakers recessed for the summer. Why it matters: The fate of additional Helene recovery funds has been in question for months, with the Republican-led House and Senate sparring over what to include in the legislation. Meanwhile, the western part of the state is still reeling from the devastation left in Helene's wake. Driving the news: The chambers came to an agreement in the final hours of the last day of session, with both the House and Senate unanimously passing a bill that puts $700 million in new state funding toward Helene recovery efforts. It also allocates an additional nearly $700 million in federal funding to repair drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. The bill will now go to Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, who is expected to sign it. If he does, that will bring the state's Helene-related allocations to $2.1 billion. Zoom in: The final proposal does not include $60 million for Helene business recovery grants, which the House proposed in a previous version of the legislation. Though Democrats said the legislation should have included funding for small business grants, they ultimately supported it. The proposal also does not include a House-proposed provision that would have clawed back $500 million in funding for NCInnovation and put it toward Helene recovery.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NC House's new Helene relief package includes grants for WNC small businesses
Depot Street in Asheville flooded during Hurricane Helene. Among those storefronts damaged was Ashewell Medical Group, Dr. Carly Brown's primary care clinic. (Photo: Courtesy of Carly Brown) Western North Carolina's small businesses and local governments would see grant money under a new relief package proposed by the state House, fulfilling longtime asks from the region. The House aid package, announced Wednesday, comes one day after Gov. Josh Stein asked for $891 million in new relief. He warned of slow and dwindling federal aid, saying the state would likely have to shoulder more of the burden going forward. Inside the $450 million House plan is $60 million to send disaster grants to small businesses in western North Carolina. Businesses could see up to 25% of their economic loss or $75,000, whichever is less, according to the bill. A grant program has been the number one request of the business community since Helene hit last fall. Lawmakers have previously opted to create loans, but many regional business owners have said they could not take on any more debt. Local governments would also see $50 million in grant money to help repair and replace infrastructure. That could help offset mounting costs for those governments as they face looming budget shortfalls, driven by both damages and lost tourism revenue. The money for the new aid package would come in part from the private nonprofit NC Innovation. Republican lawmakers have for months said they plan to claw back public dollars from the group to fund other priorities. Also included in the House's aid package: $70 million to qualify for continued reimbursement from the feds. $30 million to continue repairing private roads and bridges. $30 million for debris removal, including on farms. $25 million for construction on destroyed schools. $25 million to 'improve airport infrastructure' for the region to better respond to disaster. $25 million to rebuild farm infrastructure. $20 million for volunteer organizations aiding in recovery. $18 million for grants to fire stations and EMS. $15 million for firefighting equipment and Forest Service contract workers. $8 million to repair damaged schools. Lawmakers have thus far spent $1.4 billion total on relief for Hurricane Helene. Their last aid package, passed in March, laid out $524 million. That package prioritized aid for farmers and spinning up a state homebuilding program. The House plan is set to be considered by the appropriations committee Wednesday afternoon. Lawmakers in the chamber are also advancing their proposal for the state budget this week.
Axios
21-05-2025
- Business
- Axios
N.C. legislature one step closer to passing pay raises, tax cuts
North Carolina's Republican-controlled House released its full state budget proposal Monday, teeing up what's expected to be weeks — or even months — of negotiations between legislative leaders over what to include in their final spending package. Why it matters: Teachers and state employees will receive pay raises and bonuses, income taxes will decrease, and thousands of vacant positions in state government will be eliminated if the state House and Senate can reach an agreement on how to spend state dollars. Yes, but: Whether they'll reach a deal is unclear. Though both chambers are led by Republicans, their visions differ on how to spend taxpayer dollars and on issues like when and how to cut income taxes and whether to fund a new children's hospital. Driving the news: The House's more than 500-page proposal, detailed in a press conference Tuesday morning, would bring North Carolina's starting teacher salary to $50,000 by 2026 — above the national average — reinstate a tax-free holiday, cut 3,000 vacant government jobs, exempt the first $5,000 in tips from state income tax, and increase standard deductions. Zoom in: In one of the most significant differences from the Senate's budget, the House proposes offsetting its spending by delaying scheduled income tax cuts, which could be a major sticking point in negotiations. The House and Senate both proposed cutting vacant positions, though the House proposed more cuts, and both chambers also proposed increasing college tuition and cutting higher education spending and diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The intrigue: The House's proposal does not allocate any additional funds to the planned Duke and UNC children's hospital, as the Senate's does. The House's plan would also yank funding from NCInnovation, a nonprofit the state helped form for university research, and instead allocate it to Hurricane Helene relief. The Senate, meanwhile, proposed restructuring its funding model for NCInnovation. State of play: First-term House Speaker Destin Hall and Senate leader Phil Berger will have to work out all of these differences in budget negotiations in the coming weeks if they want to hit their goal of passing a spending plan before July, when the new fiscal year begins.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
NCInnovation grant funding awarded to two ECU research teams
GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) — Two researchers from ECU have been approved for grant funding from NCInnovation for inventions with real-world applications. The funding is part of NCInnovation's mission to unlock the innovative potential of North Carolina's world class universities. 'At ECU, our mission is rooted in serving the public good through innovation that solves real-world problems,' said Chancellor Philip Rogers. 'We're proud of our researchers for advancing work that has the potential to improve public health and quality of life. This support from NCInnovation reinforces the vital role universities play in transforming ideas into solutions that benefit communities across our state and beyond.' Professor of Health Education and Promotion Dr. Stephanie Richards and her team have developed a compact, cost-effective wind tunnel designed to test the effectiveness of pesticides. Another project led by Clinical Researcher in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders Dr. Patrick Briley and his team developed technology to help speech language pathologists treat stuttering. 'It is exciting to see research in the ag tech and medical device sectors advance at ECU, led by Dr. Richards and Dr. Briley,' NCInnovation's Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer Michelle Bolas said. 'NCInnovation helps universities advance discoveries with real-world applications, strengthening the university-to-industry pipeline that's central to American competitiveness.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Axios
20-02-2025
- Business
- Axios
Republican lawmakers file bill to strip NCInnovation's funding
More than a dozen Republicans are backing a bill that would strip funding from NCInnovation, an organization that has received $500 million from the state to invest in research at the state's universities. Why it matters: The GOP-majority General Assembly approved NCInnovation 's funding in 2023, but since then some Republican lawmakers and groups have become disillusioned with how the organization operates and uses state funds. Art Pope, a prominent Republican donor who sits on NCInnovation's board, has been one of the loudest critics. He's called for an audit of its financials and disagrees with how much say the board has on NCInnovation's grant funds. Driving the new: House Bill 154, introduced by Rowan County Republican Harry Warren, seeks to dissolve the relationship between the state and NCInnovation. It would require the organization to return its money to the state's general fund. The John Locke Foundation, a think tank co-founded by Pope, applauded the bill, saying venture capital is not one of the "core government services" and the state is facing other needs, like recovery funding for Hurricane Helene. Between the lines: Meanwhile, the federal government also is rethinking how much it spends on scientific research. That means state-supported organizations such as NCInnovation and the N.C. Biotechnology Center could help fill in some gaps. Catch up quick: When NC Innovation was born, lawmakers argued that research at the state's public universities needed more funding to make it through the so-called " valley of death" — the early stage when successful research struggles to attract enough funding to reach commercial applications. This was especially true, the organization said, for universities with fewer resources than the state's most prominent research institutions, UNC and N.C. State. In its first year with state funding, the nonprofit set up hubs at seven universities across the state: Appalachian State, Fayetteville State, UNC-Wilmington, UNC Charlotte, East Carolina, N.C. A&T and Western Carolina. It also invested around $5 million into eight research projects, including lithium refining at UNC-Greensboro, drinking water purification at UNC Charlotte and neuro drug delivery research at A&T. What they're saying: "If and how policymakers wish for NCInnovation to support North Carolina's world class applied research is and always has been entirely up to policymakers," NCInnovation said in a statement in response to the bill. The organization noted that its first full grant cycle has attracted more than 150 funding requests from researchers within the UNC System, asking for $90 million. "NCInnovation will of course continue its work on its core mission as mandated by state lawmakers in the 2023-25 budget, and the organization remains committed to working with the General Assembly," the organization added in its statement.
