Cooper Unveils Budget Recommendations
NC Gov. Roy Cooper laid out his budget recommendations for coronavirus relief spending Thursday. The proposal includes one-time bonuses for teachers and school personnel. Cooper’s budget priorities for allocating federal funding come as the Republican-led General Assembly has already passed one COVID-19 relief bill (SB36), with a second one expected to roll out within the next week. In a press release from Cooper’s office, the Governor’s budget recommendations include:

• Approximately $2 billion for emergency assistance for public and private K-12 schools and higher education institutions.
• $336 million for childcare and development block grants.
• Approximately $700 million for access to vaccines and testing, tracing and prevention measures to slow the spread of the virus.
• $546 million for emergency rental assistance
• $64.5 million for the State Employees Health Plan, which has incurred costs from the pandemic and is funded by a blend of taxpayer and employee contributions
• $30 million to extend high-speed internet around the state. This is in addition to $30 million already moving toward broadband expansions, and the governor has called previously for a $250 million bond package to expand high-speed internet access further
• $258 million for Highway Infrastructure and $65 million for airports.
• $47 million for Community Mental Health Services.
• Funding for food assistance programs, such as SNAP and school nutrition.
• $468 million for bonuses for educators and school personnel in public K-12 schools, community colleges and the university system

All of the Governor’s spending recommendations would require legislative approval. And, with Republican majorities in both the House and Senate, many fear there could be a budget stalemate again this year. Much depends on the pending revenue forecast, which should be available by the end of next week according to the Governor’s budget director, Charlie Perusse.
https://www.wral.com/coronavirus/cooper-pitches-2-500-bonus-for-teachers-1-500-for-other-school-workers/19509721/

Gov. Cooper’s Final Supplemental Budget Recommendations 2020-2021 (full text)
https://files.nc.gov/governor/documents/files/Final-Supplemental-Budget-Recommendations-2020-21.pdf

Punxsutawney Who?
While a rodent in Pennsylvania predicted the country had six more weeks of winter to endure, it was Sir Walter Wally from Raleigh who made the more popular call on Groundhog Day. And, this year, North Carolina's favorite groundhog says the Tar Heel state will enjoy an early spring!
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/sir-walter-wally-makes-groundhog-day-prediction-for-nc/ar-BB1dkc24?ocid=uxbndlbing

NC Native Impresses at Senate Confirmation Hearing
President Biden’s nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, Michael S. Regan, is a native North Carolinian. Raised in Goldsboro, Regan attended NC A&T University where he studied Earth and Environmental Science. Earning a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from George Washington University, he has more than 20 years of professional experience in the field of environmental advocacy and regulation. Most recently, Regan served as Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality as part of Governor Roy Cooper’s Administration. During his Senate confirmation hearing this week, he told committee members he learned the importance of preserving the outdoors while hunting and fishing with his father and grandfather in rural NC. If confirmed, Regan would be the first African American man to run the EPA.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/02/03/epa-regan-hearing/