Expand Access to Cold Weather Shelters/Funds.

2025-2026 Session Introduced by Eric Ager and 28 co-sponsors

Creates Cold Weather Shelters Grant Program with $1.72M annual funding (2025–27) to help municipalities/nonprofits expand emergency shelters for homelessness during severe weather.

Passed 1st Reading

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Summary — HB 798: Expand Access to Cold Weather Shelters / Funds (North Carolina, 2025)

Status: Passed first reading; enacted text effective July 1, 2025 (creates Cold Weather Shelters Grant Program)

Purpose
- To create and fund a statewide grant program that helps municipalities and nonprofits implement or expand temporary emergency sheltering for people experiencing homelessness when severe cold or other severe weather is expected.

Key provisions
- Appropriation: $1,720,000 in recurring General Fund dollars for each year of the 2025–2027 biennium, allocated to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Division of Aging to establish and run the Cold Weather Shelters Grant Program.
- Eligible grantees: Municipal governments and nonprofit organizations that provide shelter or will implement/expand such programs for people experiencing homelessness.
- Grant limits: No single grant may exceed $215,000 in any fiscal year.
- Program design: The Division of Aging must develop application materials and selection criteria in consultation with the Department of Public Safety, Division of Emergency Management. Selection must account for (at minimum) (a) other funding available to the applicant and (b) the incidence of poverty in the area served.
- Administrative costs: The Division of Aging may use up to 5% of the annual appropriation for program administration.
- Reporting: Annual report due each April 1 beginning April 1, 2027, to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services and the Fiscal Research Division. Required report elements include:
- The program plan (first report),
- Number of grants awarded,
- Identity, description, and award amounts for each grantee,
- Municipality and poverty incidence for areas served,
- Documentation of how funds were used by each grantee,
- Number of people served by each cold weather shelter program funded.

Who is affected
- Directly: Municipalities and nonprofit providers that serve people experiencing homelessness and apply for grants; people experiencing homelessness who need emergency shelter during severe weather.
- Administratively: DHHS Division of Aging (program administration and reporting) and the Department of Public Safety, Division of Emergency Management (consultation role).
- Fiscal: General Fund allocation of $1.72 million annually (2025–27); up to 5% of that may be retained for administration.

Timeline / procedural notes
- Program funded for the 2025–2027 biennium (recurring annual appropriation within that window).
- Division of Aging develops program materials and awards grants following consultation with emergency management.
- Reporting to the legislature begins April 1, 2027.
- Effective date: July 1, 2025.

Potential impacts
- Increases resources for short-term shelter capacity during severe weather events, prioritizing areas with higher poverty and limited alternative funding.
- Provides predictable state funding to help municipalities and nonprofits plan and scale cold-weather responses.
- Administrative set‑aside (up to 5%) reduces funds available for grants but supports program operation and oversight.
- Exact number of shelters expanded or people served will depend on grant award decisions and the sizes of projects funded (individual grants capped at $215,000/year).