RALEIGH — The General Assembly has passed a third round of Hurricane Helene relief funding totaling $252 million.
The first two rounds of relief funding by the legislature totaled approximately $922 million. The latest round of funds brings the total commitment to $1.1 billion.
The House passed the bill 63-46 after several hours of floor debate on Nov. 19. The vote was mainly down party lines, with three Republicans from the affected areas voting against passage: Reps. Mike Clampitt (Swain), Karl Gillespie (Macon) and Mark Pless (Haywood).
The following day, the Senate passed the bill 30-19 down party lines after a brief recess due to protesters needing to be cleared from the gallery.
“As families in Western North Carolina head into the winter season, there remains a long list of housing, infrastructure, and relief needs.” Sen. Ralph Hise (R-Mitchell) said in a Senate press release outlining the bill’s various spending items. The bill we passed today frees up an additional $252 million for the western region. Every dollar counts and this marks another positive step in our long road to recovery.”
Senate Bill 382’s $252 million in spending includes $220 million to be transferred from the state’s Savings Reserve to the Helene relief fund. There is also around $100 million for local government loans in areas and $100 million in loans for water and wastewater repair projects.
“There’s a lot of work still that needs to be done, and still, quite frankly, a lot of money that’s going to have to be spent,” Rep. Donny Lambeth (R-Forsyth) said during floor discussions on the bill.
The Helene-related spending includes a number of items, including compensation for education employees for instructional days missed during the hurricane and extension of various waivers on licensing, housing, care facilities, and it also pauses the adoption of the 2024 Building Code for six months to stop regulatory changes from hampering recovery efforts.
The bill takes $50 million from the Office of State Budget and Management’s (OSBM) Disaster Relief Reserve to the Office of Recovery and Resiliency to cover that agency’s recently announced budget gap. The funds will support homeowner recovery projects under the Rebuild NC program for the 2024-25 fiscal year. Per the bill, OSBM will be required to monitor NCORR’s spending and operations. Additionally, the state auditor will conduct financial and performance audits of NCORR by July 1, 2025, and report back to the legislature.
Some of the key spending items include:
- $25 million for debris removal uses
- $33.75 million for child care stabilization grant extensions for the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Child Development and Early Education
- $125 million from the Transportation Emergency Reserve for repair and reconstruction of transportation infrastructure in the affected areas
- $574,578 in recurring funds to adjust funds provided state university institutions, as determined by the UNC enrollment funding model for changes in resident student credit hours.
- $7,837,646 for UNC enrollment loss mitigation. Broken down that includes $1,364,971 East Carolina University, $1.5 million for the University of North Carolina at Asheville, over $19,000 for University of North Carolina at Greensboro, more than $3.7 million for the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, and over $1.251 million for Winston-Salem State University.
The 131-page bill also has a number of items unrelated to hurricane relief, which has drawn criticism from Democrats, who are calling it a “power grab.”
“SB 382 is nothing more than a blatant power grab by Republicans who are punishing North Carolinians for voting them out of power in key offices,” said Senate Minority Leader Dan Blue (D-Wake) in a statement.
Blue criticized provisions in the bill that shift the North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) control to the state auditor and away from the governor’s office, and other provisions altering certain state court and judge positions. One provision would remove two superior court judgeships at the end of the current term and creates two new special superior court judgeships.
Blue also said, “This isn’t governance; it’s retaliation.”
The legislation alters the governor’s appointments for vacancies on the state Court of Appeals and Supreme Court by requiring the choice come from three candidates picked by the political party of the judge vacating the seat.
“North Carolinians deserve better than politicians trying to lock in their power at the expense of democracy and disaster recovery,” said House Minority Leader Roberts Reives (D-Chatham). Reives accused Republicans of “manipulating disaster relief efforts and slowing down much-needed recovery.”
Republicans have tried in the past to shift appointments to the NCSBE, but the most recent attempt is still tied up in the courts. The move to the auditor’s office would be effective in summer 2025 and would give newly elected auditor, Republican Dave Boliek, the ability to make board appointments, which could shift the board’s 5-2 Democrat control to Republicans.
Another provision in the bill alters deadlines for provisional ballot counting to three days after Election Day. This year’s elections have seen slow or delayed counts of those ballots, with some counties failing to complete counts until well after Election Day.
The bill would also move the deadline for providing photo ID verification for those casting provisional ballots who may not have brought their ID to the polls.
According to The Associated Press, State Board of Elections Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell said board staff was not consulted about the changes and it “may make it impossible for the county boards of elections to adequately ensure every eligible ballot cast is counted, especially in high turnout elections.”
Both Gov. Roy Cooper and Governor-elect Josh Stein attacked the bill.
“Shortchanging disaster recovery right now will have serious consequences for years to come,” Cooper said on X. “Legislators have put forward a bill that fails to provide real support to communities hit hard by Hurricane Helene and instead prioritizes more power grabs in Raleigh.”
“Instead of stepping up, the Republicans in the General Assembly are grabbing power and exacting political retribution,” Stein wrote in a post on X.
Per the bill, incoming Attorney General Jeff Jackson, a Democrat, will see his ability to participate in lawsuits involving the legislature have some restrictions placed on it.
This provision is likely the result of past actions by Stein, who was accused by the legislature of refusing to fulfill his obligations to both the General Assembly and state when it comes to litigation. Stein was also accused of entering into a collusive settlement agreement in 2020 that altered voting laws during that election. Republicans ran a bill in 2021 to bar such actions, but Cooper vetoed it.
The State Highway Patrol will become an independent agency under the bill, detaching it from the governor’s purview under the Department of Public Safety. The head of the new Highway Patrol would be appointed by the governor for a five-year term if confirmed by the legislature.
The bill’s language changes the appointment makeup of the N.C. Utilities Commission by shifting one of the governor’s appointments to the state treasurer. It also eliminates the N.C. Courts Commission.
If the bill becomes law, the governor will also be barred from using executive orders to bypass state unemployment benefits laws.
Other items in the bill include removing the state superintendent’s role in charter school appeals to the Charter School Review Board, elimination of the Energy Policy Council, and removal of the lieutenant governor from chairing energy committees.
Two of those measures will impact the incoming State Superintendent Maurice Green and Lt. Gov. Rachel Hunt. Both are Democrats.
Additionally, the bill establishes the Office of Learning Research (OLR) at the North Carolina Collaboratory. Recurring funding of $1.5 million is attached to the OLR. Per the bill, the OLR will “identify and evaluate the efficacy and efficiency of programs, activities, initiatives, procedures, and any other factors related to elementary and secondary education in the State.”
Near the end of the bill, the OLR is designated to report back to the legislature on testing recommendations related to the Opportunity Scholarship program, which provides state-funded scholarship grants to students to attend the private school of their choice.
The OLR will make standardized testing recommendations for third- and eighth-grade students in nonpublic schools participating in the OLR. A feasibility study is included as part of the process. The State Education Assistance Authority will then officially designate the use of those tests recommended by the OLR and will be responsible for annual reporting based on data submitted by nonpublic schools.
