Lawmakers begin work on latest Helene recovery bill
Rep. Karl Gillespie (R-Macon) speaks in support of the Disaster Recovery Act of 2025 – Part I on Feb. 11 in Raleigh. NCGA photo
For the fourth time in four months, the North Carolina General Assembly has introduced a bill to address lingering unmet needs in communities affected by Hurricane Helene last year — and there’s a strong chance it won’t be the last.
“Of course we know that no matter what appropriation we’re able to do it’s never going to be enough,” said Rep. John Bell (R-Wayne) during a Feb. 5 meeting of the House Select Committee on Helene Recovery, which he co-chairs. “This is a starting point with multiple bills after this to follow, but this is part of the committee process.”
Lawmakers from both chambers, along with representatives from the governor’s office and other state agencies have pledged to work together to ensure that relief efforts reach areas still smarting from the Sept. 27, 2024, storm, but the $500 million the General Assembly plans to appropriate is less than half of what Democratic Gov. Stein requested.
“The people of Western North Carolina have suffered tremendously since Helene swept through,” Stein said while visiting MANNA FoodBank in Mills River Feb. 3. “I appreciate what the General Assembly has done so far, but it’s time for us to step up and get them the money they need right now to rebuild. We can’t forget Western North Carolina — and I will do everything in my power to ensure that the state shows up for them.”
Initial damage estimates came in around $53 billion but later ballooned to roughly $60 billion.
The General Assembly, with three relief bills in 2024, has already allocated $1 billion to various agencies and programs. In late December, Congress came through with a $100 billion relief bill but North Carolina will only receive an estimated $9 billion to $15 billion of that.
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Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-Henderson), who sits on the House Appropriations Committee, hasn’t responded to an inquiry by The Smoky Mountain News as to why the funding didn’t even approach the $25 billion requested by then-Gov. Roy Cooper and a delegation of local leaders last December, much less the $60 billion needed.
Stein proposes funding for several critical issues, including rejuvenating small mountain communities and supporting local businesses left high and dry thus far.
To address housing needs, $150 million would go toward rebuilding homes with additional funding for rental assistance ($25 million), homelessness support ($10 million), affordable housing incentives ($50 million) and home repair aid ($25 million).
Infrastructure repairs include $75 million for private roads and bridges, $25 million for parks and greenways and $12 million for debris removal.
Farmers would receive $15 million in grants for uninsured losses and $100 million to restore farmland and mitigate future flooding. Wildfire preparedness gets $19.4 million.
For families, $34.2 million supports students in storm-impacted school districts, $20 million funds food banks and $2 million assists college students facing financial hardship.
Importantly, Stein’s proposal includes direct financial assistance — grants, not loans — for small businesses and local governments that can’t afford to become tangled up with long-term loans.
His plan allocates $150 million for business recovery grants, $30 million for small-town revitalization and $15 million to boost tourism. Local governments would receive $100 million to replace lost revenue.
As of Feb. 5, the Republican plan wasn’t fully fleshed out, as Bell mentioned the bill was only a shell announcing the amount of aid proposed and that the committee would reconvene on Feb. 11.
“Today is not a day to put forth your concerns or questions,” Bell told the committee. “We’ll have time for that on [Feb. 11]. Today is the day to start the process on putting together a full appropriations bill.”
Mark White, of the state’s fiscal research division, elaborated somewhat on where the $500 million in nonrecurring funds will go.
When an updated bill was released on Feb. 11, it added a little more detail to White’s summary.
An appropriation of $150 million will go to the Department of Commerce’s division of community revitalization for the home reconstruction and repair program.
Another $150 million will go to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ soil and water conservation division for debris removal, stream bank stabilization, stream restoration, cropland restoration and farm road repair, enabling farmers to resume production and protect their communities against future flood damage.
North Carolina Emergency Management will receive $100 million for private road and bridge repair.
The Office of State Budget Management will receive $60 million for repair and renovation of state facilities including state parks, state forests, health care facilities and two correctional facilities, although federal funds might be added to the allocation.
The OSBM will also receive $20 million for unmet needs in debris removal, to be administered jointly by the Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina (GROW-NC) and NCEM.
NCEM will get another $10 million for grants to volunteer organizations that partner with emergency management.
The Office of the State Fire Marshall will receive $10 million to distribute grants to small and volunteer fire departments for the purchase of equipment or to make capital improvements to assist with readiness for future emergency response.
The latest version, like previous bills, doesn’t mention direct financial assistance to affected businesses.
House representatives, mainly from the west, put forth a flurry of amendments in the committee meeting. The amendments wouldn’t change the total appropriations but rather how the money would be spent within the preexisting appropriation categories. However, the text of those amendments wasn’t immediately available as SMN went to print on Feb. 11.
