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GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
SESSION LAW 2025-18
HOUSE BILL 251
*H251-v-7*
AN ACT TO MAKE VARIO US REFORMS RELATED T O DISASTER RESPONSE AND
RECOVERY.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
NONDISCRIMINATION IN STATE DISASTER RECOVERY ASSISTANCE
SECTION 1. The General Assembly makes the following findings:
(1) The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
controls and manages the distribution of the Community Development Block
Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) awards authorized by the United States
Congress.
(2) North Carolina does not have dir ect control over how CDBG -DR funds and
other federal financial and operational assistance program funds are awarded
to qualifying individuals and businesses.
(3) North Carolina, through the General Assembly, does have control over how
State disaster recove ry programs, including financial, operational, and
housing assistance, are distributed to its residents.
(4) Section 19 of Article I of the North Carolina Constitution guarantees that "[n]o
person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws; nor shall any person
be subjected to discrimination by the State because of race, color, religion, or
national origin."
(5) Florida has filed a complaint against the Federal Emergency Management
Agency in the Southern District of Florida alleging an actionable cons piracy
to interfere with civil rights through 42 U.S.C. § 1985, which allows for those
who have been denied equal protection, privileges, or immunities under the
law to sue those who engaged in conspiracy against them, on the basis of
political affiliation.
SECTION 2.(a) Article 1A of Chapter 166A of the General Statutes is amended by
adding a new section to read:
"§ 166A-19.4. Nondiscrimination in State disaster recovery assistance.
(a) No United States citizen, United States nation al, or qualified alien as defined in 8
U.S.C. § 1641 shall be denied or discriminated against by the State or its agencies and employees
for disaster recovery assistance on the basis of political affiliation or political speech.
(b) Any person who knowingly violates this section shall be guilty of a Class I felony."
SECTION 2.(b) This section becomes effective December 1, 2025, and applies to
offenses committed on or after that date.
SECTION 3. G.S. 166A-19.41 reads as rewritten:
"§ 166A-19.41. State emergency assistance funds.
(a) Governor May Make Funds Available for Emergency Assistance. – In the event of a
gubernatorially or legislatively declared state of emergency, the Governor may make State funds
available for emergency assistance as authorized by this section. Any State funds made available
by the Governor for emergency assistance may be administered through State emergency
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assistance programs which may be established by the Governor upon the declaration of a state of
emergency. It is the intent of the G eneral Assembly in authorizing the Governor to make State
funds available for emergency assistance and in authorizing the Governor to establish State
emergency assistance programs to provide State assistance for recovery from those emergencies
for which federal assistance under the Stafford Act is either not available or does not adequately
meet the needs of the citizens of the State in the emergency area.
…
(e) Any State emergency assistance in the form of grants must be administered free from
discrimination. No ap plicant for any State emergency assistance in the form of grants made
available pursuant to this section shall be required to provide any personal demographic
information unless that information is necessary to award the grant or is otherwise requ ired by
State or federal law."
THEFT OF TEMPORARY HOUSING DURING EMERGENCY
SECTION 4.(a) G.S. 14-288.1 reads as rewritten:
"§ 14-288.1. Definitions.
Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the following definitions apply in this Article:
…
(3) Declared state of emergency. – A state of emergency as that term is defined
in G.S. 166A-19.3 or a state of emergency found and declared by any chief
executive official or acting chief executive official of any county or
municipality acting under the autho rity of any other applicable statute or
provision of the common law to preserve the public peace in a state of
emergency, or by any executive official or military commanding officer of the
United States or the State of North Carolina who becomes primarily
responsible under applicable law for the preservation of the public peace
within any part of North Carolina.
…
(4a) Emergency. – As defined in G.S. 166A-19.3.
(4b) Emergency area. – The geographical area covered by a declared state of
emergency.
…
(11) Temporary housing. – Any of the following:
a. A tent, trailer, mobile home, or any other structure being used for
human shelter which is designed to be transportable and is not
permanently attached to the ground, to another structure, or to any
utility system on the same premises.
b. A vehicle being used as temporary living quarters.
c. Any equipment used to transport or deliver a structure or vehicle
described in sub-subdivision a. or b. of this subdivision.
d. Any item attached, affixed, or connected to, or intended to be attached,
connected, or affixed to, a structure or vehicle described in
sub-subdivision a. or b. of this subdivision to provide air conditioning,
heating, or a source of power for the structure or vehicle."
SECTION 4.(b) G.S. 14-288.6 reads as rewritten:
"§ 14-288.6. Looting; trespass during emergency.
(a) Any person who enters upon the premises of another without legal justification in an
emergency area during a declared state of emergency when the usual security of property is not
effective due to the occurrence or aftermath of riot, insurrection, invasion, storm, fire, explosion,
flood, collapse, or other disaster or calamity the emergency that prompted the declared state of
emergency is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor of trespass during an emergency.
House Bill 251 Session Law 2025-18 Page 3
(b) Any person who commits the crime of trespass during emergency under subsection
(a) of this section and, without legal justification, obtains or exerts control over, damages,
ransacks, or destroys the property of another is guilty of the f elony of looting and shall be
punished as a Class H felon.looting. A violation of this subsection is punishable as follows:
(1) If the looted property is temporary housing or is taken from temporary
housing, a violation of this subsection is punishable as a Class F felony.
(2) If the looted property is anything other than property described in subdivision
(1) of this subsection, a violation of this subsection is punishable as a Class H
felony.
(c) Any person whose person or property is injured by reason of a violation of this section
may sue for and recover from the violator three times the actual damages sustained, as well as
court costs and attorneys' fees."
SECTION 4.(c) This section becomes effective December 1, 2025, and applies to
offenses committed on or after that date.
AUTOMATIC STATE ADOPTION OF ANY TEMPORARY FEDERAL RELIEF
ISSUED BY THE SECRETARY OF THE US DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES OR THE CENTERS FOR MEDICARE AND MEDICAID
SERVICES
SECTION 5. G.S. 131E-84 reads as rewritten:
"§ 131E-84. Waiver of rules and increase in bed capacity during an emergency.
…
(a2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or the General Statutes, in the
event the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services or the Centers
for Medicare and Medicaid Services issues a temporary waiver or modification under section
1135 or 1812(f) of the Social Security Act, the corresponding rule or portion of a rule adopted
by the Commission pertaining to hospitals is automatically mo dified or waived to the extent
necessary to allow for consistency with the federal waiver or modification and shall continue in
place at least until the federal waiver or modification has expired. Nothing in this subsection shall
be construed as preventing the Division of Health Service Regulation from further waiving or
modifying any rules of the Commission.
(b) As used in this section, "emergency management agency" is as defined in
G.S. 166A-19.3."
AUTHORIZE A TEMPORARY EXEMPTION FROM CERTAIN STATE BUILDING
CODE REQUIREMENTS PERTAINING TO FIRE -RESISTANT WINDOWS FOR
DOWNTOWN, COMMERCIAL STRUCTURES DAMAGED BY HURRICANE
HELENE
SECTION 6.(a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) Eligible building. – A commercial building or structure that meets all of the
following:
a. The building or structure is located in a Helene -affected county, as
defined by this section, that existed prior to September 27, 2024, and
was directly damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Helene.
b. The building or structure must be solely classified as a commercial
occupancy under the North Carolina State Building Code and not
classified under any residential or mixed -use occupancy group in the
North Carolina State Building Code.
c. The building or structure mus t be located within the central business
district or downtown commercial district, as of September 27, 2024,
of a city, as defined by G.S. 160A-1.
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d. The building or structure must be undergoing reconstruction,
rebuilding, rehabilitation, or repair solely for the purpose of restoring
the building to substantially its previous condition, use, occupancy,
and size, without expanding its original footprint, height, or changing
its occupancy classification under the North Carolina State Building
Code.
(2) Fire-resistant window requirements. – Any provision of the North Carolina
State Building Code, including the Building Code and the Residential Code,
requiring the installation of fire -resistant or fire -rated windows, window
glazing, or other fire -rated opening p rotections for exterior or interior wall
openings when constructing, altering, or repairing a building. This includes
window requirements for fire protection based on building use, occupancy,
proximity to property lines, fire separation distance, interior fire barriers,
corridors, partitions, or location in fire-prone areas.
(3) Helene-affected county. – Any county in North Carolina declared a major
disaster by the President of the United States under the Stafford Act (P.L.
93-288) as a result of Hurricane Helene.
SECTION 6.(b) Window Exemption for Eligible Buildings. – Notwithstanding any
provision of the North Carolina State Building Code, G.S. 143-138, or any other law to the
contrary, the owner of an eligible building may elect to reconstruct or repair the building with
window assemblies having the same fire -protection rating that existed in the building as of
September 27, 2024, without being required to upgrade to the current fire -resistant window
assemblies required by the North Carolina State Buildin g Code. This exemption applies solely
to the North Carolina State Building Code provisions mandating a higher or upgraded
fire-protection rating or fire-resistant glazing for window openings. This exemption is available
only when the work on the eligible b uilding is solely to restore damage caused by Hurricane
Helene and does not include additions or changes that would otherwise trigger the higher
fire-resistant window requirements.
SECTION 6.(c) Limitation on Exemption. – If the exemption provided by this
section is elected for an eligible building, all other applicable provisions of the North Carolina
State Building Code shall remain in full force and effect. The exemption provided by this section
does not relieve the building from compliance with other f ire safety or North Carolina State
Building Code requirements.
SECTION 6.(d) Required Affidavit. – A building owner electing to utilize the
exemption provided by this section shall submit a written affidavit to the local building
inspections department with the building permit application and prior to the installation of any
windows. The affidavit shall be signed by the owner and notarized to constitute a legally binding
statement. The local building inspections department shall retain the affidavit with t he building
permit records and note the exemption on the certificate of occupancy. The affidavit shall include
all of the following:
(1) A citation to this act and confirmation that the building qualifies as an eligible
building under subsection (a) of this section.
(2) A statement that the owner voluntarily assumes any risks associated with not
installing fire-resistant window assemblies.
(3) Identification of the specific window installations for which the exemption is
claimed.
SECTION 6.(e) Expiration of Exemption. – To utilize the exemption provided by
this section, an owner shall claim the exemption with submission of their building permit
application within two years of the effective date of this section. Buildings with windows
installed under the exemption may continue to use those windows following the expiration of the
House Bill 251 Session Law 2025-18 Page 5
two-year period specified by this section; however, any subsequent renovations or additions shall
comply with the State Building Code as then in effect.
SECTION 6.(f) Liability Protection. – No state or local government, building code
official, inspector, or department shall be liable for any damages arising directly or indirectly
from a building owner's use of the exemption provided by this section.
SECTION 6.(g) Rulemaking. – The Office of the State Fire Marshal and the North
Carolina Building Code Council may adopt rules to implement the provisions of this section. The
Office of the State Fire Marshal shall produce a standard form to provide to local code
enforcement officials that may be provided to building owners upon request for purposes of the
affidavit requirements of subsection (d) of this section.
SECTION 6.(h) This section is effective when it becomes law and applies to eligible
buildings for which a Certificate of Occupancy is issued on or after that date.
HISTORIC FLOOD EVENT BUILDING CODE EXEMPTIONS
SECTION 7.(a) In the counties of Western North Carolina designated in FEMA’s
disaster declaration for the Helene flood event, defined as a historic flood event meeting or
exceeding a 200-year flood, and pursuant to a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the
State of North Carolina and FEMA, the owner of a lawfully established building or structure
damaged by the Helene flood event may replace or reconstruct the building or structure within
the base floodplain to the same or lesser extent or volume as existed immediately before the flood
event. Such reconstruction shall comply with the terms of the MOA and shall not preclude
compliance with FEMA’s minimum floodplain management standards (44 C.F.R. § 60.3) in all
other parts of the State.
SECTION 7.(b) G.S. 143-215.54(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a) A Subject to G.S. 160D-108, a local government may adopt ordinances to regulate
uses in flood hazard areas and grant permits for the use of flood hazard areas that are consistent
with the requirements of this Part."
SECTION 7.(c) The exception provided in Section 7.(a) shall only take effect upon
the execution of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the State of North Carolina and
FEMA. The MOA shall specify conditions under which reconstruction in the designated Western
North Carolina counties may deviate from specific NFIP floodplain management standards (44
C.F.R. § 60.3) for structures damaged by the Helene flood event, while ens uring that all North
Carolina communities remain eligible for participation in the NFIP. The MOA shall include
provisions limiting deviations to the counties designated in FEMA’s disaster declaration for the
Helene flood event and ensuring no statewide loss of NFIP eligibility.
SECTION 7.(d) Except as provided in Section 7.(a) and subject to the terms of the
MOA described in Section 7.(c), all communities in North Carolina shall continue to enforce
FEMA’s minimum floodplain management standards (44 C.F.R. § 60.3) for all substantially
improved structures, including those damaged by a historic flood event, to maintain eligibility
for the National Flood Insurance Program.
SECTION 7.(e) The exception provided in Section 7.(a) shall expire three years
from the effective date of the memorandum of agreement with FEMA, unless extended by mutual
agreement between the State of North Carolina and FEMA or terminated earlier in accordance
with the MOA.
SECTION 7.(f) No provision of this act shall be construed to waive or modify any
State or local regulations necessary to comply with FEMA’s minimum floodplain management
standards.
SECTION 8.(a) The Department of Environmental Quality, the Department of
Agriculture and Consumer Services, and a unit of local government, as applicable, shall waive
all of the following permits or requirements, to the extent the permits or requirements are State
or local in origin and not otherwise required to satisfy federal law, as they may apply to persons
Page 6 Session Law 2025-18 House Bill 251
or entities undertaking activiti es to process tree stumps and other vegetative debris into mulch,
compost, or soil amendments in the counties designated before, on, or after the effective date of
this act under a major disaster declaration by the President of the United States under the Stafford
Act (P.L. 93-288) as a result of Hurricane Helene:
(1) A solid waste composting permit for Type 1 facilities under 15A NCAC 13B,
provided that a person or entity undertaking such activity submits written
notice at least 10 days prior to commencement of operations to the Department
of Environmental Quality with all of the following information:
a. The facility location.
b. The name(s) and contact information of the owner and operator.
c. The type and amount of wastes to be received.
d. The composting process to be used.
e. The intended distribution of the finished product.
(2) Approval of erosion and sediment control plans under 15A NCAC 04B, where
activities do not involve the removal of trees or other existing groundcover.
(3) Air quality permit re quirements for vegetative debris processing equipment
under 15A NCAC 02D.
(4) Notwithstanding Article 2A of Chapter 106 of the General Statutes, and rules
adopted thereunder, soil amendment or compost product registration required
by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
(5) State Fire Code limitations on mulch pile storage.
SECTION 8.(b) With respect to the permits or requirements set forth under
subdivisions (2) through (5) of subsection (a) of this section, a person or entity undertaking such
activity shall submit written notice at least 10 days prior to commencement of operations to the
Department of Environmental Quality or the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services,
as applicable, and the unit of local government within which a ctivities will be conducted, that
includes a description of the general nature of the materials to be managed and the method(s) of
management, the location of activities, and the date on which activities will be commenced.
SECTION 8.(c) Individual sites u nder this section are limited to a maximum
allowance of 25,000 cubic yards, composed of both processed and unprocessed material.
SECTION 8.(d) The waiver of a permit pursuant to this section does not exempt
activities conducted from compliance with other applicable regulations.
SECTION 8.(e) Mulch used for the purposes of temporary erosion control shall not
be applied at a rate to exceed 4 inches in depth.
SECTION 8.(f) Material to be used as a soil amendment must be used at normally
accepted agronomic rates as determined by industry practice. Recommendations for appropriate
application rates should be determined in consultation with an agronomist with the Department
of Agriculture and Consumer Services, a County or State Agriculture Extension agent, or a
licensed soil scientist.
SECTION 8.(g) This section is effective when it becomes law and expires July 1,
2027. Any material managed under this section shall be removed from the site for its intended
purpose no later than July 1, 2027.
SECTION 9.(a) All units of local government in the counties designated before, on,
or after the effective date of this act under a major disaster declaration by the President of the
United States under the Stafford Act (P.L. 93 288) as a result of Hurricane Helene managing
vegetative debris removal within their jurisdictions shall transport the material to a composting
site for reuse as mulch or soil amendment when the transportation and disposal costs for
processing tree stumps and other vegetative debris at a composting si te are equal to or less than
the costs associated with transportation and disposal at a landfill. The Department of
Environmental Quality and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, to the extent
House Bill 251 Session Law 2025-18 Page 7
they assist in removal of vegetative debris in the affected area, shall comply with and assist local
governments in complying with the requirements of this section.
SECTION 9.(b) This section is effective when it becomes law and expires July 1,
2027.
EFFECTIVE DATE
SECTION 10. Except as otherwise provided, this act is effective when it becomes
law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 18th day of June, 2025.
s/ Phil Berger
President Pro Tempore of the Senate
s/ Destin Hall
Speaker of the House of Representatives
s/ Josh Stein
Governor
Approved 9:38 a.m. this 26th day of June, 2025