(The Center Square) – Legislation designed to help get North Carolinians impacted by hurricanes back into homes faster cleared the House on Wednesday.
Lawmakers overwhelmingly approved House Bill 119 to increase the informal bid threshold for disaster recovery construction and repairs for the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency. The program, established under Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, has been harshly criticized by lawmakers for the slow pace of recovery from hurricanes Matthew and Florence that left thousands homeless.
“This is one of those bills to make things move smoother,” said Republican Rep. Mark Pless, the bill’s sponsor who represents the mountain counties of Haywood and Madison.
Coastal counties went through four hurricanes in 47 months: Matthew in October 2016, Florence in September 2018, Dorian in September 2019, and Isaias in August 2020. Combined, Florence and Matthew killed more than 50 and caused nearly $20 billion in estimated damage.
Cumberland County’s Frances Jackson, a Democrat, was the lone dissent in a 114-1 vote. The legislation next goes to the Senate.
Lawmakers worked with officials in the Office of Recovery and Resiliency and other agencies to find ways to speed the recovery, and “we found out (the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) will allow them to go to $250,000” without necessitating a bid process, he said.
HB119 would increase the informal bid threshold for disaster construction and repair projects the Office of Recovery and Resiliency uses to award contracts to between $250,000 and $500,000. The threshold is currently $30,000 to $500,000. The informal bid process requires the agency to pick the “lowest responsible, responsive bidder, taking into consideration quality, performance, and the time specified in the bids.”
“For the purposes of this subdivision, the term ‘construction’ shall include the purchase of manufactured housing units,” the bill reads.
The change would take effect when HB119 becomes law and apply to contracts awarded on or after that date. HB119 is sponsored by Republican Reps. Pless of Haywood County, Sarah Stevens of Surry County, House Majority Leader John Bell of Wayne County, and Brendan Jones of Columbus County, along with several Republican co-sponsors.
The bill follows a tense four-hour hearing of the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations in December on delays that have left thousands waiting for relief years after the destruction.
Laura Hogshead, directer of the Office of Recovery and Resiliency, told lawmakers at the time that out of a total of 4,313 applications for relief, only 889 had been completed. Hogshead blamed much of the delay on the process to obtain federal funds, zoning and permitting, and the weather.
She explained ways the agency has cut wait times for awards, improved inspection and processing times, and other changes to address the backlog. The pace of five homes finished per month from January to August 2022 increased to 17 in November, in part by moving faster through the eight step application process.
“If you were in the private sector, I don’t know any employer that would keep you employed with all the failures that you’ve allowed to happen,” Sen. Danny Britt, R-Robeson, told Hogshead at the hearing, where he called for her resignation. Hogshead is an appointee of Cooper making $145,000 annually.
The Office of Recovery and Resiliency received $778 million from the federal government to help residents impacted by hurricanes Matthew and Florence, which must be spent by 2025 for Matthew and 2026 for Florence, officials told lawmakers at a previous hearing in September.
Lawmakers at the December meeting noted the state is currently paying between $500,000 and $600,000 per month on hotels and storage for families waiting on relief.
In January, the North Carolina Department of Public Safety announced the appointment of Richard Trumper as senior advisor for disaster recovery. He started work Feb. 1 coordinating disaster recovery with the Office of Recovery and Resiliency, North Carolina Emergency Management and other partners to improve recovery efforts.
