Tillis Calls For Local Management Of Delayed Disaster Relief Funds

U.S. Senator Thom Tillis says he'll introduce a bill to streamline the pace of disaster relief fund spending in North Carolina. 

Tillis spoke at a news conference Wednesday, where he was joined by Republican state legislators. Tillis said the state has been hurt by delays in distributing federal community block fund grants earmarked for Hurricane Matthew in 2016.

The News and Observer reports the senator will propose legislation that would allow local governments to assume control of relief funds if state agencies fail to hit spending benchmarks after 18 months. Tillis pointed to a recent report from the General Assembly, in which county administrators said they were better equipped to distribute disaster relief funds than state Emergency Management officials.

Tillis and his fellow Republican lawmakers blamed Democratic Governor Roy Cooper's administration for the delays in administering hurricane recovery funding.  

Cooper officials say distribution is picking up, and attribute the spending delays to highly regulated federal guidelines.