Senate Bill 500 appropriates $14 million in nonrecurring General Fund dollars for fiscal year 2025-2026 to the Office of State Budget and Management for a directed grant to Pamlico County. The grant is intended to help the county engineer and construct a new building to house the Department of Health and Social Services on county-owned property.
The bill explains that the county’s former Health and DSS facility has been abandoned because of moisture and mold problems. The new facility would replace that building and provide a new location for county health and social services operations. The act becomes effective July 1, 2025.
Impact
The bill would create a one-time state-funded grant program for Pamlico County through the Office of State Budget and Management and would not broadly amend existing statutes beyond the appropriation itself. Its practical effect is to direct state capital funding to a local government project for public health and social services infrastructure, supporting the county’s ability to deliver those services in a new facility.
Sentiment
There is no recorded committee transcript or vote history in the provided materials, so no formal debate or vote-based sentiment is available. Based on the bill text, the measure appears straightforward and supportive of local government facility needs, with an emphasis on replacing an unusable building due to mold and moisture damage.
Contention
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided context. Potential areas of concern, if raised, would likely involve the size of the appropriation, the use of state funds for a county-specific capital project, and whether the project should be funded through state or local resources, but none of these issues are reflected in the available transcripts or votes.