Expand Access to Cold Weather Shelters/Funds.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 798

Short Title: Expand Access to Cold Weather Shelters/Funds. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Greenfield, Turner, Longest, and Baker (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
April 8, 2025
*H798-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT APPROPRIATING FUNDS TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN 2
SERVICES, DIVISION O F AGING, TO EXPAND A CCESS TO TEMPORARY 3
EMERGENCY SHELTERS F OR PEOPLE EXPERIENCI NG HOMELESSNESS WHEN 4
SEVERE WEATHER IS EXPECTED. 5
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 6
SECTION 1.(a) There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of 7
Health and Human Services, Division of Aging, the sum of one million seven hundred twenty 8
thousand dollars ($1,720,000) in recurring funds for each year of the 2025-2027 fiscal biennium 9
to be used to establish a Cold Weather Shelters Grant Program (Program). The purpose of this 10
Program is to provide grants to municipalities and nonprofit organizations to implement or 11
expand programs designed to provide temporary emergency shelters for people experiencing 12
homelessness when severe weather is expected. 13
SECTION 1.(b) The Division of Aging shall, in consultation with the Department 14
of Public Safety, Division of Emergency Management, develop application materials and 15
selection criteria for the Pro gram. The selection criteria shall take into consideration the 16
availability of other funds available to the applicant and the incidence of poverty in the area 17
served by the applicant. The Division of Aging shall make the final decision about awarding 18
grants under this Program, but no single grant award shall exceed two hundred fifteen thousand 19
dollars ($215,000) for any fiscal year. 20
SECTION 1.(c) The Division of Aging may use up to five percent (5%) of the funds 21
appropriated for the Program for each fiscal year to cover administrative costs associated with 22
administering the Program. 23
SECTION 2. Annually by April 1, beginning April 1, 2027, the Department of 24
Health and Human Services, Division of Aging, shall submit a report to the Joint Legislative 25
Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services and the Fiscal Research Division on the 26
use of the funds appropriated by Section 1 of this act during the preceding fiscal year. Except as 27
otherwise provided, each report shall include at least all of the following: 28
(1) For the first report due on April 1, 2027, an explanation of the plan developed 29
in consultation with the Department of Public Safety, Division of Emergency 30
Management. 31
(2) The total number of grants awarded. 32
(3) The identity and a brief description of each grant recipient and the amount of 33
each grant award. 34
General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 798-First Edition
(4) The municipality in which the grant recipient is located and the incidence of 1
poverty in the area served by the grant recipient. 2
(5) An explanation and supporting documentation of how each grant recipient 3
used the grant funds to implement or expand a Cold Weather Shelter program. 4
(6) The number of people served by each Cold Weather Shelter program that 5
benefited from the funds authorized by Section 1 of this act. 6
SECTION 3. This act becomes effective July 1, 2025. 7