What do the BIL & BBB have in store for NC?
Billions of dollars will be coming into NC in waves over the next seven years, thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). Billions more are sitting on the table of the Senate, waiting for the passage of the Build Back Better (BBB) agenda. We at Transform NC found ourselves asking... How does that money get here? What will it get used on? Which communities across NC’s 100 counties will see that spending?
We did some digging, and as most of our government's processes are, we found it to be quite convoluted and hard to unravel for those of us who aren't on the inner workings of our power structures.
So we decided to break it down:
There are two primary methods of funding outlined in each bill:
(1) formula-based funding, and
(2) competitive grant programs.
(1) When it comes to formula-based funding, for the most part, agencies like the NC Department of Transportation (NCDOT) will receive funds without having to go through the General Assembly. (This is great news considering our General Assembly doesn't have a great track record for spending; they just passed a historically bad budget, after all.) These agencies then have authority to spend that money as they see fit. Most of the time, we can anticipate that money being used to fund plans that have been laid out years in advance, such as the State Transportation Improvement Program and the NC Moves 2050 Plan. In some cases, those plans are re-evaluated and adjusted on a regular basis and community members and organizations have the opportunity to participate in public hearings regarding projects that they want to see funded.
(2) Competitive grant programs, on the other hand, are accessible to municipalities, state governments, and other institutions or organizations that put together project proposals and applications which will ultimately be accepted or rejected by the federal agency responsible for the grant’s distribution. If there is a particular infrastructure project that your community wants to see funded or prioritized, we want to see you take action! The best way to get started is to put together a coalition of stakeholders that are invested in a shared project and shape a proposal that you can bring to your local or tribal government. Connect with us to chat more about your vision for improving your community.
While the funding in the BIL is related to infrastructure, the BBB has the potential to provide funding that could improve the lives of millions of folks in NC in other dramatic ways. To provide just a few examples of what the BBB would do:
Critically expand access to high quality care for our communities by establishing Universal Preschool
Improve maternal health through the adoption of key parts of the Black Maternal Health Omnibus Act
Expand Medicaid to the more than 500,000 North Carolinians that currently fall in the coverage gap
Expand access to free school meals so that no child from the mountains to the sea goes hungry
Invest in good quality jobs, including those that provide critical care by requiring a living wage for childcare and healthcare workers in states where the federal funding is used
Funding for Historically Black Colleges & Universities would mean big investments in NC’s 10 HBCUs
Provide federal matching funds to states who extend community-based mobile crisis services which would make new, critical services available in rural communities across the state
All of us should be urging Congress to stop dragging their feet and to pass the BBB now.
If we want to ensure the equitable distribution of these funds, to be spent in communities that have historically been under-invested in, then we must be prepared to step up and do the work of deeply democratic co-governance, where we work side by side with those who represent us from the grassroots to the treetops in order to achieve positive, regenerative change for our communities. Transform NC is doing just that by bringing together a dozen organizations including labor unions, climate justice coalitions, and environmental justice organizations to help shape an NC that lifts up our communities and builds a sustainable future for our people and planet.
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