Carolinas Associated General Contractors (CAGC)‘s lobbying team in North Carolina has successfully secured a $3.7 million grant for the CAGC Foundation. The grant was one of many allocations to state and local government agencies and nonprofits named in HB 1105, the $1.1 billion legislation that appropriated the remaining CARES funding for pandemic relief, the association reported in a statement.
The legislation stipulates that $3.0 million shall be used to make subgrants to non-profits and businesses in the state for coronavirus mitigation efforts in the construction workplace.
These subgrants may be used for providing medical staffing and equipment needed to screen and protect individuals in the workplace, the purchase of personal protective equipment for individual worker use while on a jobsite, rapid response testing kits, implementing computer or smartphone applications that enable workers to answer daily screening questions before reporting to the jobsite, purchase of jobsite sanitization equipment for use in disinfecting jobsites, mental health support, and other pandemic-related safety gear for construction workers.
The remaining amount of the grant – $750,000 – is to be used to make subgrants “for multi-lingual education, training, and community outreach programs with accompanying educational materials using various media to reach construction workers, including those who lack proficiency in the English language and online and in-person construction industry job safety events related to coronavirus pandemic mitigation measures.” These grants are available to media organizations and other entities deemed eligible to carry out the purpose of the grant in compliance with the federal CARES Act legislation.
Betsy Bailey, CAGC’s NC Government Relations and Building Division director, says the CAGC Foundation is extremely grateful to the NC legislature for the grant that will help keep construction workers and the general public safe. “Nothing is more important to the construction industry than safety,” said Bailey. “This grant will allow us to make our job sites and workplaces as safe as they can be.”
The Governor signed the legislation into law over the Labor Day weekend. The CAGC Foundation is awaiting guidance from the NC State Office of Budget and Management to determine a formula and protocols for making grants that comply with state and federal law, the association’s statement says. “We will provide more information in coming weeks as we work with the NC OSBM to get program details in place.”