(The Center Square) – Gov. Josh Stein visited Swannanoa and signed five executive orders giving aid to western North Carolina in the recovery from Hurricane Helene.
Stein, sworn in on Wednesday morning, said in a release more than 12,000 people are without safe housing. He estimated 8,000 private roads and bridges need repair or replacement that will reconnect access for emergency services, school buses and other primary means of transportation.
This is the 15th week of recovery.
Relief in the executive orders is expected to accelerate temporary housing; help with roads and bridges; create the Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina, to be known in short as GROW NC; create an advisory committee for GROW NC; and authorizes 16 additional hours of community service leave for state employees willing to volunteer on organized storm-related efforts.
Stein’s plans do not include the embattled Office of Recovery and Resiliency, the project of immediate past Gov. Roy Cooper. That office was to assist in recovery from Hurricanes Matthew (2016) and Florence (2018), two major storms that were part of four in 47 months striking the southeastern part of the state.
Instead, Laura Hogshead wound up resigning after a joint legislative hearing included the call for her ouster. The department, also known as RebuildNC, had a budget deficit of at least $175 million, was projected as high as $265 million; and accomplished projects for only 2,800 of 4,200 families. A collective bill of $37 million for completed projects was also waiting to be paid.
“Winter is here in western North Carolina,” Stein said in a release, “and we must act quickly to get people in temporary housing, repair private roads and bridges, and keep people safe. I will do everything in my power to make sure we are both thinking creatively and acting swiftly to help our neighbors recover.”
About $9 billion in federal aid to the state was included in the $110 billion American Relief Act 2025 passed overnight Dec. 20-21 by Congress and signed the second day by President Joe Biden. Cooper and U.S. Sen. Ted Budd and U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards made a $25.57 billion assistance pitch to Biden in November.
The Disaster Recovery Act of 2024 passed the General Assembly on Oct. 9. The $273 million package was mostly to different state agencies and local governments able to use the money to help those most affected. It included $250 million for the state and local match of federal disaster assistance programs; $16 million for the Department of Public Instruction for school nutrition employee compensation; $5 million for the State Board of Elections Administration changes; and $2 million to the Office of State Budget and Management for grants.
The bill also included assistance in education; agriculture and environmental quality; transportation; retirements; taxes; the Department of Health and Human Services; and some election-related changes.
The Disaster Recovery Act of 2024 – Part II was passed Oct. 24. This legislation provided more than $877 million toward relief from Helene, and another $40 million for four storms. The largest portions were $100 million to the Local Government Commission, $100 million to the Department of Environmental Quality, and $75 million for state and local match of federal disaster assistance programs.
A third legislative package, Disaster Relief-3/Budget/Various Law Changes, required a veto override to get through and has since been litigated. The legislation is 132 pages, the first 13 of which are related to Helene and the remainder for the “various law changes” that include shifting authorities from elected offices. The latter was the sticking point.
The package included $252 million in Helene relief, bringing the state’s total to just more than $1.1 billion. It also appropriated another $50 million to help the Office of Recovery and Resiliency remain open.
Cooper made a 99-page request for $3.9 billion to the Legislature in October. The Republican majorities indicated, and have followed through on, paying installments amounts.
