Senate Bill 496 appropriates state General Fund money to the Office of State Budget and Management for directed grants to the North Carolina Coastal Federation, Inc. The bill provides $6.25 million in nonrecurring funds for fiscal year 2025-2026, including $1 million for construction of an education and event center on Bogue Sound in Carteret County, $5 million for the Living Shoreline Protection Program, and $250,000 for a statewide oyster shell recycling program.
The bill also appropriates $1 million in recurring funds each year of the 2025-2027 fiscal biennium to support a permanent Abandoned and Derelict Vessel Removal Program. The act is set to become effective July 1, 2025. Overall, the measure is a targeted funding bill intended to support coastal restoration, environmental education, shoreline resilience, and marine debris/vessel removal efforts through a specific nonprofit organization.
Impact
If enacted, the bill would create new appropriations from the General Fund and direct those funds to the Office of State Budget and Management for grants to the North Carolina Coastal Federation. It would not amend regulatory statutes directly, but it would affect state budgeting and spending priorities by establishing both one-time and recurring funding streams for coastal conservation and cleanup programs. The bill would benefit the Coastal Federation and, indirectly, coastal communities, environmental restoration efforts, oyster recycling operations, and programs addressing abandoned vessels.
Sentiment
No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no documented debate or formal vote history to gauge legislative sentiment. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears supportive of environmental and coastal resilience initiatives and is framed as a public-purpose appropriation. The absence of recorded opposition or amendments in the provided materials leaves the overall sentiment neutral to favorable, with the bill presented as a straightforward funding proposal.
Contention
Because no discussion transcripts or vote records are included, no specific points of contention can be identified from the available materials. Potential areas of debate, if any, would likely center on the size of the appropriation, the use of directed grants to a single nonprofit, the balance between one-time and recurring spending, and whether the state should fund an education/event center and vessel-removal program at this level. However, these are inferred policy issues rather than documented objections in the provided record.