New version of Helene relief bill passes Senate, adding money for schools, Eastern NC aid
The North Carolina Senate approved a bill Wednesday allocating just under $535 million in additional funding for recovery efforts following Helene’s devastating impact on Western North Carolina in late September.
The bill, which modifies the House version passed unanimously last week, was unveiled Tuesday in an appropriations committee. It passed the Senate unanimously Wednesday, but because senators made changes, the bill must return to the House for agreement or more work before it can be sent to the governor.
One notable change in the Senate’s version is additional funding for local school districts that remained closed for weeks after Helene, allowing them to offer summer instruction for grades 4 through 8.
Sen. Ralph Hise, who represents parts of Western North Carolina, said Wednesday on the Senate floor that the bill — which would be the fourth Helene disaster relief measure passed by lawmakers — brings the total funding for disaster recovery to over $1.4 billion.
The bill would allocate an additional $112.7 million to complete home construction and repairs in Eastern North Carolina following hurricanes Matthew, which struck the state in 2016, and Florence, which struck in 2018.
No grants for businesses; no new rental assistance
Sen. Julie Mayfield, an Asheville Democrat, said Wednesday she appreciated the speed of the bill and the additional funding within it but said ”I’m going to be a broken record” and keep flagging that businesses need grants. She said she understood there was a desire to not set a precedent but said there’s $192 million set aside for farmers.
For months, Democratic Gov. Josh Stein and fellow Democrats, as well as small businesses, have urged lawmakers to provide grants instead of loans for small businesses. Neither the House or the Senate bill does that.
“I am not saying that we shouldn’t be making funding available to farmers... but I am saying there is not in my mind, a sufficient distinction between farmers” and businesses, Mayfield said.
She also said she was “very sorry” to see the Senate take out new funding that would have been available for rental assistance in the House version. She said in researching why it was cut, she’s been told that its because the money allocated in an earlier disaster bill had not been fully spent yet because the state’s health and human services department did not advertise it properly.
The House provision would have sent $10 million to the state Department of Health and Human Services to distribute rental assistance through county social services departments. That funding would have been in addition to the $1 million already allocated under a prior hurricane recovery bill.
“I want to beg this body, to please include more funding for rental assistance in a future bill,” she said.
Asked about his thoughts on the Senate changes, House Speaker Destin Hall told reporters on Wednesday that while he hadn’t seen the specifics yet, from what he was hearing, “it looks like we’re very close.” He said the House would look at the changes next week.
Whether the House agrees with the changes or needs to do more work, “I want us to act as quickly as we can to get it out so folks can start getting that relief,” he said.
What’s in the bill
The Senate’s version of House Bill 47 keeps many of the provisions from the House version but increases recovery funding by $35 million. The House version capped spending at $500 million.
The Senate removed a House provision that allocated $15 million to Golden LEAF to provide grants to other nonprofit organizations, which would then use those funds to provide grants for small business revitalization or other disaster recovery efforts.
Like the House version, the bill creates a “Small Business Infrastructure Grant Program” that would be administered by the state’s Department of Commerce. With $55 million in funding, that program would provide grants to local governments to help repair infrastructure in business districts.
Here’s the breakdown of how the $533 million for Western North Carolina is spent in the Senate’s version:
• $140 million for home repairs.
• $192 million for an agricultural crop loss program.
• $100 million to restore and rebuild private roads and bridges.
• $55 million for the small business infrastructure grant program.
• $20 million for debris removal.
• $10 million for small and volunteer fire departments.
• $10 million for nonprofits for repair and reconstruction projects.
• $3 million for targeted media campaigns to promote tourism in Western North Carolina.
• $4.5 million for school learning recovery.
Republican lawmakers, who control both chambers, have said more state funding is possible but have emphasized caution to avoid missing out on federal aid. This bill falls short of the $1 billion requested by Stein in early February. Helene caused an estimated $59.6 billion in damages.
The state is also set to receive federal aid, with Stein requesting an additional $19 billion in late February beyond the $15 billion already expected from a congressional package approved last year.
Eastern NC funding
As for Eastern North Carolina, the bill provides $112.7 million to complete homes through Rebuild NC, the state’s troubled hurricane housing repair program.
Rebuild NC requested $217 million in state funding in late January to complete remaining home repairs, but lawmakers criticized the agency for repeatedly seeking more money without delivering results. While project completions have increased recently, about 1,200 homes remained unfinished as of December.
The House also introduced a separate bill last week fully funding Rebuild NC’s request. Republican House Majority Leader Brenden Jones filed the C.O.O.P.E.R. Accountability Act—named after former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who established Rebuild NC.
Both the House and Senate bills include new oversight requirements, mandate spending reports, and would ultimately shut down Rebuild NC, with the Senate setting a closure date of Oct. 1, 2026. The Senate bill also says lawmakers intend to appropriate future funds to the program.
Capitol Bureau Chief Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan contributed to this report.
This story was originally published March 5, 2025 at 4:51 PM.
