A half-billion-dollar Hurricane Helene relief bill is scheduled for a full state House of Representatives vote this week as the filing period for the North Carolina General Assembly’s long session continues.
The “Disaster Recovery Act of 2025 – Part I,” House Bill 47, got favorable votes in state House committees on Feb. 11, 12 and 18 and now is slated for a full vote. The bill was on the calendar for the Feb. 25 session, which took place after deadline. A bill passes a chamber once it passes its second and third readings, which must happen separately. The first reading is a rubber stamp, where a newly introduced bill gets sent to a committee or multiple committees. The second and third readings come after a bill gets through committee.
Once out of committee and on the floor for its second and third readings, any of the chamber’s members can file amendments to the bill, all of which are voted up or down.
As it reads before the floor vote, House Bill 47 breaks down how the $500 million would be spent as follows:
• $140 million to the Department of Commerce, Division of Community Revitalization, for the Home Reconstruction and Repair Program.
• $75 million to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Soil & Water Conservation for natural restoration projects that enable farmers in the affected area to resume production and protect the community against flood damage, plus cost-share, engineering and technical assistance.
• $75 million to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for the Hurricane Helene Agricultural Crop Loss Program
• $100 million to NCEM (Emergency Management) for the Private Road and Bridge Repair and Replacement Program
• $55 million for the Small Business Infrastructure Grant Program
• $20 million to OSBM to distribute to State agencies and units of local government for debris removal unmet needs.
• $10 million to NCEM to provide grants to Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster assisting with disaster response and recovery efforts in the affected area.
• $10 million to the Office of the State Fire Marshal to provide funds for repairs of damage to fire stations and buildings or vehicles used by rescue squads or emergency medical service providers.
• $10 million to the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Social Services, to supplement rental assistance payments.
• $5 million to the Department of Commerce “for targeted media campaigns.”
• Using incarcerated persons from the N.C. Department of Adult Corrections to clean up debris.
If House Bill 47 passes the state House, it must go through the entire process in the state Senate again. The Senate filed its version of the same act, Senate Bill 56, but the bill hasn’t been acted on in committee and currently is only one page with no dollar amounts named.
Rep. Karl Gillespie, a Franklin Republican representing House District 120 (Macon, Clay, Graham and Cherokee) previously said a new Helene relief bill is one of his first priorities of the 2025 legislative session. He is a sponsor of this House Bill 47.
Bills filed by local legislators
With a short window for bill filing, the proposed acts are coming in the dozens every day, including from far western North Carolina legislators.
On Feb. 6, Gillespie filed the “Farmers Protection Act,” which would prohibit banks from denying or canceling service to a farmer due to their greenhouse gas emissions, use of fossil-fuel derived fertilizer or fossil-fuel powered machinery.
Another Gillespie bill, House Bill 63, would be for the Town of Andrews to de-annex four parcels of land, three of which belong to Steelhouse Mountain, LLC.
House Bill 160 would direct the UNC School of Medicine’s Area Health Education Centers to disseminate information about Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP). The bill is named after 24-year-old Joey H. Crisp, of Robbinsville, who died of SUPED in 2022. Crisp’s mother Donna has worked to raise awareness for SUDEP and proposed the bill to Gillespie’s office last year.
Sen. Kevin Corbin, a Franklin Republican representing Senate District 50 (Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Jackson, Macon, Swain, Transylvania and part of Haywood) filed his first bill on Feb. 4, Senate Bill 45, a local bill placeholder to be filled in a later date. Corbin previously said legislators are limited on how many local bills they can file. Local bills are only to be effective within a certain county or counties and become law once passed in the General Assembly, bypassing the governor.
On Feb. 21, Corbin filed two more bills, Senate Bill 124 and 125. The former would direct state agencies to replace four-year requirements with practical experience, training, apprenticeship, trade school and relevant military service education in its place. The latter, Senate Bill 125, rewrites the state provisions for the North Carolina Community Colleges System.
On Monday, Feb. 24, Corbin filed a local act for Lake Glenville in Jackson County, north of Highlands, to restrict wake surfing within 500 feet of any shoreline or structure. Given the narrow topography of the lake, it would create small areas where wake surfing could legally occur.
One bill has already passed a full floor vote in Senate Bill 24, which aims to disclose the cost of the state government health insurance mandates. The state Senate passed it 30-15 on Feb. 12.
The session, which began in January, has bill-filing deadlines for each chamber. For the state House, the introduction deadline is April 3, which requires public bills to be submitted by March 6. The state Senate has a public bill submission deadline of Feb. 27 with introductions due by March 25. The crossover deadline, where a non-budget bill must pass one chamber or the other to be considered this year, is May 8. After which, the 170-member General Assembly (120 in the House, 50 in the Senate) will begin work on the state biennium budget.
As of Feb. 21, more than 300 bills have been filed, with scores more expected in the coming weeks, most of which will die in committee.