Bill
HB 197
HB 197 provides $50M in recurring NC funds (FY25–27) to local health departments to hire staff and boost capacity for communicable-disease response.
Status & Timeline
- Introduced/First reading: February 26, 2025 (House). Referred to Appropriations.
- Effective date specified in the bill: July 1, 2025.
- Sponsors (primary, per bill text): Representatives White and Potts.
Purpose / Intent
- Provide recurring state funding to strengthen North Carolina’s local communicable disease response capacity. The bill targets staffing and program capacity gaps at local health departments (LHDs) so they can respond to existing and emerging threats (e.g., tuberculosis, avian influenza, Mpox, Marburg).
Key Provisions
- Appropriation: $25,000,000 in recurring General Fund appropriations for FY 2025–26 and $25,000,000 in recurring General Fund appropriations for FY 2026–27 — total $50 million across the two fiscal years (allocated annually).
- Use of funds: Permitted purposes include preparing for emerging/re‑emerging public health threats, retaining existing staff, hiring additional communicable‑disease personnel (including public health nurses), and expanding public health programs and services necessary to deliver the essential public health services under G.S. 130A‑1.1.
- Distribution formula (each year):
- $12,500,000 (half) is divided equally among LHDs based on the number of counties each LHD serves.
- $12,500,000 (half) is allocated proportionally based on the percentage of State population served by each LHD.
- Distribution timing: The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Division of Public Health, must begin distributing the funds no later than 60 days after the Office of State Budget and Management and the State Controller establish the Department’s certified budget for the fiscal year (applies to both FY26 and FY27 allocations).
Who Is Affected
- Primary recipients: Local health departments across North Carolina.
- State agencies involved: DHHS Division of Public Health (administrator of distribution), Office of State Budget and Management, State Controller (timing triggers).
- Indirectly affected: Residents served by LHDs (through sustained/enhanced communicable disease prevention, surveillance, and response).
Potential Impact & Considerations
- Intended to address reported local public‑health workforce shortages (bill cites severe understaffing, including communicable disease nurses).
- The recurring nature of the appropriation supports retention and sustained capacity-building for at least two fiscal years.
- The bill prescribes an explicit split between equal per‑LHD support and population‑based allocation, balancing baseline capacity support with population need.
- The bill text sets timing and allocation rules but does not specify additional oversight, reporting, or performance metrics tied to the funds in the provided excerpt.
For more detail, consult the bill text (House Bill 197, first edition, General Assembly of North Carolina, 2025) and the DHHS Division of Public Health for distribution procedures once the FY budgets are certified.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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