Hurricane aid, zip line insurance bills signed by Cooper

RALEIGH, NC (WWAY) — Governor Roy Cooper has signed legislation directing how $100 million in additional Hurricane Matthew relief funds must be spent and requiring zip line and aerial ropes course owners to get minimum levels of liability insurance.

Senator Michael Lee sponsored Senate Bill 100 after 12-year-old Bonnie Sanders Burney died in 2015 while at Camp Cheerio. The bill requires aerial adventure parks to maintain at least one million dollars worth of insurance coverage.

These parks must also provide proof of insurance. This does not apply to zip lines at private homes not open to the public. The law goes into effect in June.

The state budget already set aside the hurricane relief money, but the separate measure signed Tuesday details how it will be used for low-income housing and public housing repairs, stream debris removal and farm cleanup. Those funds are on top of $200 million approved last December for Matthew and mountain wildfires.

Cooper enacted Tuesday ten more measures left on his desk by the General Assembly. He still has nearly 80 bills to consider before a July 30 deadline.