N.C. state senator applies for $925K grant under law he sponsored

RALEIGH, N.C. – A North Carolina state senator applied for a nearly $1 million grant from a program he helped create, but he says he was just checking on complaints that the awards are too hard to apply for.

Sen. Brent Jackson told WRAL-TV he had no plans to take the $925,000 grant if it was awarded to him.

Jackson was the primary sponsor of a bill in 2013 that gave money to help expand natural gas lines to rural areas where utilities might typically balk at the cost.

The Republican then applied for a grant for his Sampson County farm. Jackson says if he was approved, he was going to turn down the money.

Government watchdogs say Jackson wasted the government’s time applying for a grant he wasn’t going to use.