Theresa Opeka
Carolina Journal
Anew bill filed Wednesday by House Majority Leader Rep. Brenden Jones, R-Columbus, may finally provide help to the over 1,000 homeowners still needing homes nearly a decade after Hurricanes Florence and Matthew.
HB 222, the Close Out Operations Providing Emergency Relief Act or the C.O.O.P.E.R. Accountability Act, would transfer $217 million from the State Emergency Response and Disaster Relief Fund (SERDRF) to the Department of Public Safety, Office of Recovery and Resiliency (NCORR) to complete the homeowner recovery projects for Hurricanes Matthew and Florence.
The bill also appropriates $1.5 million from the SERDRF to the Office of the State Fire Marshal for supplies and equipment needed for an emergency operation center and new office space.
“For eight years, North Carolinians have endured NCORR’s mismanagement, broken promises, and endless delays,” Jones told Carolina Journal in an emailed statement. “The C.O.O.P.E.R. Accountability Act puts an end to the chaos, forces real oversight, and ensures that every remaining recovery dollar is accounted for.”
He said oversight of the money will be strictly enforced.
“This bill allocates $217 million to finally complete the remaining homeowner recovery projects for Hurricanes Matthew and Florence—but with strict accountability measures, mandatory audits, and real consequences for failure,” Jones told CJ. “We are not writing another blank check. This bill demands full transparency, delivers real results, and guarantees that disaster victims will never again be abandoned by their own government. Enough is enough.”
NCORR was formed in late 2018 by former Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper, shortly after Hurricane Florence hit the state. Hurricane Matthew also caused severe damage to the same area in 2016.
Since September 2022, the North Carolina General Assembly’s Joint Legislative Hurricane Response and Recovery Subcommittee has held at least five hearings: September 2022, December 2022, March 2023, November 2024, and January. Laura Hogshead, the former director of NCORR, apologized at each meeting for the agency’s slow progress, adding that things would get better and that the committee would have her word on it.
In addition to running severely behind in the completion of homes, at November’s hearing, it was revealed that the agency was in the hole to the tune of $221 million. Days later, according to legislators, that figure would jump to $319 million.
It didn’t come as much of a surprise shortly after when Hogshead’s departure came to fruition.
Jones told her successor, Pryor Gibson, at the January hearing that the process couldn’t continue.
“Let’s be clear, this is not our first committee meeting on your failures — this is our fourth,” said Rep. Brendan Jones, R-Columbus. “We can’t keep doing this. This has been one of the biggest shams on the North Carolina taxpayers that’s ever taken place.”
Gibson warned that the recovery effort would run out of funds by late February or early March, creating an urgent need for additional funding from the General Assembly.
As of Feb. 26, 1,050 homes were still incomplete.
Also of note, Richard Trumper, senior adviser for disaster recovery at the North Carolina Department of Public Safety (NCDPS), submitted his resignation last week. He was appointed to the role in February 2023 by NCDPS Secretary Eddie Buffaloe to help improve the Rebuild NC, also known as NCORR, program. His last day will be sometime in March.
Under HB 222, NCORR would report to the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations (Commission) and Fiscal Research Division until all homeowner recovery projects are completed. The reports would include detailed information on all expenditures, obligations, encumbrances, and associated Notices to Proceed or other documentation relating to funds appropriated by or received for those purposes.
NCORR would also report to State Auditor Dave Boliek’s office weekly. If the NCORR fails to do so, the Office of the State Auditor (NCOSA) will notify the Commission. If requested, NCOSA would provide the Commission with a report on how the funds were spent.
The bill would further mandate that the Auditor’s office provide a public online dashboard that compares the amount of funds the legislature appropriates with the amount expended by the executive branch for Hurricanes Matthew and Florence relief.
In addition, NCOSA would also conduct additional periodic financial and performance audits of the Division of Emergency Management of the Department of Public Safety, the Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina(GROW NC), and any additional financial or performance audits as requested by the General Assembly.
The bill would also require the North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management (OSBM) to perform ongoing financial monitoring of NCORR for the duration of its operations, including funding for previous, current, and future storm recovery programs.
Funds appropriated in the bill would revert to the savings reserve if not spent by June 30, 2027, or if money is left after the projects are completed.
NCORR would have 30 days after the bill becomes law to reevaluate all people who were removed, denied, or otherwise ruled ineligible by NCORR within the past 180 days. If the review changes anyone’s eligibility, NCORR will need to include this information in the next report.
The bill also stipulates that the governor may not use the funds described to make budget adjustments under G.S. 143C-6-4 or to make reallocations under G.S. 166A-19.40(c).
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