ASHEVILLE, N.C. — New North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein took several actions Thursday to support the short- and long-term recovery from Hurricane Helene, with an immediate focus on more temporary housing and repairs to private bridges and roads .
Stein, who took the oath of office Wednesday to succeed fellow Democrat Roy Cooper, traveled to Asheville and, with lawmakers and officials from both parties behind him, announced he was signing five executive orders related to the historic late-September flooding in the West North have Carolina.
“The needs of this region are enormous and require immediate attention,” Stein said at a news conference. “I promise to do everything in my power as governor to accelerate recovery and rebuild a more resilient region for the long term.”
Over 100 people died in North Carolina as a result of Helene, causing a record $59.6 billion in damage and reparations, according to state officials' estimates. Billions of dollars from federal and state governments have already been spent or earmarked for recovery, and Congress approved at least another $9 billion in aid last month. But more needs to be done this winter to house more people in warm, safe housing on their own property and to restore critical transportation connections between small communities and first responders and school buses, Stein said.
An executive order will allow the state Department of Public Safety to purchase up to 1,000 temporary housing units by the end of next month without going through the usual state procurement and bidding processes. Stein said the Federal Emergency Management Agency is covering the cost of these units. FEMA is already pursuing another regulatory process as it installs similar trailers itself, he added.
Stein also delegated to the Department of Emergency Management the ability to contract repair companies for private bridges and roads without procurement requirements. Additionally, environmental agencies can waive rules to speed up permitting and inspections.
More than 12,000 people in western North Carolina were displaced from their homes due to Helene, which also resulted in significant damage to more than 8,000 private roads and bridges, Stein's orders said.
“When I have met with affected people here in the mountains, the need for housing support and the repair of private bridges and roads came up in almost every conversation,” he said. “Western North Carolina – I want you to know that I hear you.”
Another Stein order will create a new Governor's Recovery Office for Western North Carolina and create a Community Renewal Division within the Department of Commerce that will partially oversee the reconstruction of homes destroyed or damaged by Helene.
The North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency, created during Cooper's tenure, will continue to work on rebuilding homes in eastern North Carolina damaged by Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and Hurricane Florence in 2018, Stein said. Republicans in charge of the General Assembly were upset about the pace of the agency's work and a budget deficit for ongoing housing projects.
Stein also issued an order giving many state employees more paid leave this year to volunteer with Helene recovery efforts, and he agreed to continue a Helene recovery advisory committee he founded after his election victory in November. Republican Sen. Kevin Corbin, who co-chaired the panel with Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer, said Thursday that Stein's actions were “bipartisan, common-sense solutions.”
New Comptroller Dave Boliek, also a Republican, released a statement later Thursday telling Stein that his department would hold Stein's office accountable for how money from the orders is spent.
“Given the past failures to provide effective hurricane relief in eastern North Carolina, it is in the best interest of Hurricane Helene victims that our office take such action,” Boliek said.