Stein asks NC lawmakers for $792M more in new Helene recovery funding

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein is asking state lawmakers for $792 million in additional Hurricane Helene recovery funding. 

“Western North Carolinians are still working every day for their own recovery,” Stein said in a statement. “Let’s match their grit and meet them with the urgency they deserve.”

Republicans control the state’s General Assembly, and therefore they make final decisions on state spending. Stein, a Democrat, is making the request — his third for Helene funding — as lawmakers prepare to return to Raleigh next month for a short legislative session. Lawmakers have been stuck in a battle over state funding and haven't passed a new state budget. But they've approved stopgap funding for individual priorities, such as disaster relief.

Stein has worked with the General Assembly to pass more than $1 billion in state disaster recovery aid. His latest request would set aside funding for rental and utility assistance and seek to keep infrastructure projects moving forward while also funding emergency management efforts. 

State and federal funding have led to the restoration of most of the drinking water systems that were damaged during the storm, and most of the impacted state roads have reopened, Stein’s office said Thursday. Meanwhile, about 15.5 million cubic yards of debris has been cleared. 

“Some of the most complicated repairs remain, especially for private roads, bridges, and local systems that are not fully covered by federal programs,” Stein said in a news release. 

Stein is proposing $230 million to help close those funding gaps, support local governments, and strengthen emergency communications systems.

His proposal also targets fire risks caused by storm debris that remains across western North Carolina. Stein’s proposal seeks to repair damage to state parks and restore forestry infrastructure.

“Communities continue to face delays and rising costs as they work to rebuild,” Stein’s office said. “Governor Stein's budget proposal is focused on keeping current progress moving.” 

The proposal seeks to allow the state to use available federal funding and cover upfront costs so local governments are not forced to wait on reimbursements before moving forward on projects.  

Stein also proposed redirecting existing funding to bolster the state's partnership with nonprofit housing organizations, prioritizing families whose needs aren’t being met by insurance or existing government programs.

“Hurricane Helene recovery remains a top priority," Lauren Horsch, a spokeswoman for Senate leader Phil Berger, said in a statement. "Sen. Berger and the Republican Caucus will review Gov. Stein’s proposal as they prepare for the short session."

House Speaker Destin Hall Hall told WRAL that his chamber expects to pass another Helene relief bill in the short legislative session that begins next month. Hall said Thursday that he hadn’t had the chance to study the proposal in detail, but pledged to work with the governor to make sure money is going to Western North Carolina. “We've worked well with the governor on those issues in the past,” Hall said.

Federal funding delays

Helene caused North Carolina $60 billion worth of damage and killed more than 100 people. But more than a year later, the state has received only a fraction of the disaster relief aid it has requested from the federal government.

The state has also requested at least $19.2 billion from the federal government tied to Helene relief. At the end of December, only $2.4 billion had found its way to the state, and another $4.6 billion had been awarded by the federal government but hadn't been dispersed, according to the Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina. 

The federal funding delays have stalled rebuilding projects for many of the state’s western towns and counties, state officials say.

The governor and other lawmakers have criticized the federal administrators for the funding delays, focusing much of their criticism on the Federal Emergency Management Agency. U.S. Reps. Don Davis, a Greene County Democrat, and Chuck Edwards, a Henderson County Republican, have been pushing colleagues to act on a bill aimed at streamline the FEMA approval and disbursement process.

Slow action on disaster funding was among the reasons Republican President Donald Trump removed Kristi Noem this month as the head of the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA. 

Noem had demanded that FEMA funding for Helene go through her office in an effort to reduce wasteful spending. She had faced criticism from Stein and the state’s Republican U.S. senators over her policy that any amount of spending over $100,000 needed her personal approval. An ongoing government shutdown — due in part to an impasse over spending by Congress —  has added to the delays, officials say.

Markwayne Mullin was sworn in this week to replace Noem as Homeland Security secretary.

Secretary Mullin will immediately get to work implementing President Donald J. Trump’s agenda — building on the historic successes in securing our borders, removing criminal illegal aliens, combating terrorism and cartels, streamlining disaster response, and serving the American people,” the White House said in a statement this week.  

New hospital 

Earlier in the day Thursday, Stein joined a groundbreaking ceremony for AdventHealth Weaverville, a new hospital that is expected to create 1,300 jobs and increase access to health care in Madison and Yancey Counties.

“This new hospital in Weaverville is an investment in the health and economic future of western North Carolina,” Stein said in a statement. “It will create good-paying jobs, reduce transport times for first responders, and expand access to care for families across the region.”

This week marks the third anniversary since North Carolina passed a law to expand Medicaid. The program has provided affordable health care for more than 720,000 North Carolinians. Stein has pushed lawmakers to provide more funding for Medicaid, projecting that the program will run out of money this spring if lawmakers don’t come to an agreement on a state budget. 

Republicans say they’re not opposed to funding Medicaid, but they say stemming cost overruns and potential fraud could free up more money. 

Public health leaders have said the state has safeguards and controls in place to monitor spending and potential fraud.