H 197

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
  SESSION 2025
 H  1
  HOUSE BILL 197
 Short Title:   Local Communicable Disease Programs/Funds.  (Public)
 Sponsors:      Representatives White and Potts (Primary Sponsors).
  For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
 Referred to:   Appropriations, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
  February 26, 2025
1A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
2 AN ACT APPROPRIATING FUNDS TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN
3     SERVICES, DIVISION OF PUBLIC HEALTH, TO CONTINUE THE STATE'S
4     PROGRESS IN COMMUNICABLE DISEASE RESPONSE.
5Whereas, there are over 80 reportable communicable diseases in North Carolina that
6 local health departments (LHDs) are responsible for investigating and managing; and
7Whereas, LHDs must respond to the rise and spread of newly emerging and
8 re-emerging communicable diseases, such as tuberculosis, avian flu, Marburg virus, and Mpox;
9 and
10Whereas, North Carolina has currently seen cases of avian flu in commercial poultry
11 flocks, requiring a high level of monitoring and support from LHDs to address the risk of human
12 spread; and
13Whereas, LHDs in North Carolina remain understaffed, with an estimated 70%
14 shortage of public health staff at the local level, including communicable disease nurses and other
15 professionals, who are vital to the State's communicable disease response; Now, therefore,
16 The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
17SECTION 1.(a) There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of
18 Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health, the sum of twenty-five million dollars
19 ($25,000,000) in recurring funds for the 2025-2026 fiscal year and the sum of twenty-five million
20 dollars ($25,000,000) in recurring funds for the 2026-2027 fiscal year to be allocated to local
21 health departments, as provided in subsection (b) of this section, to do all of the following:
22(1)     To better prepare the State for emerging and re-emerging public health threats.
23(2)     To retain staff, hire additional disease staff, including public health nurses and
24other public health professionals, and to expand public health programs and
25services, which are vital not only to maintaining North Carolina's
26communicable disease response but also to ensuring that the essential public
27health services described in G.S. 130A-1.1 are available and accessible to the
28population served by each local health department.
29SECTION 1.(b) In the distribution of these funds to local health departments, for
30 each year of the 2025-2027 fiscal biennium, the Department of Health and Human Services,
31 Division of Public Health, shall do all of the following:
32(1)     Divide twelve million five hundred thousand dollars ($12,500,000) equally
33among the local health departments based on the number of counties served
34by each local health department.
  *H197-v-1*
 General Assembly Of North Carolina  Session 2025
1(2)  Distribute the remaining twelve million five hundred thousand dollars
2($12,500,000) to local health departments based upon the percentage of the
3State population served by each of the local health departments.
4(3)  Begin distributing the funds allocated under this section no later than (i) 60
5days after the date the Office of State Budget and Management and the Office
6of the State Controller establish the certified budget for the Department of
7Health and Human Services for the 2025-2026 fiscal year and (ii) 60 days after
8the date the Office of State Budget and Management and the Office of the
9State Controller establish the certified budget for the Department of Health
10and Human Services for the 2026-2027 fiscal year.
11SECTION 2. This act becomes effective July 1, 2025.
 Page 2  House Bill 197-First Edition