HB 130 North Carolina House · 2025-2026 Session

Agriculture Crops Disaster Relief.

HB 130 establishes a $475 million program to provide financial assistance to North Carolina farmers who suffered crop losses from natural disasters in 2024. It directly affects farmers in counties designated by the USDA as disaster areas, requiring verified losses of eligible agricultural commodities (like crops, livestock, or specialty plants) planted but not harvested by January 1, 2024. The program uses county and state yield/price averages to calculate payments, mandates submission of USDA Form 578 or equivalent documentation within 30 days, and allocates funds from state reserves (Stabilization, IT, and Economic Development) to cover verified losses. Farmers must provide documentation for verification, and the Department of Agriculture may audit claims to ensure proper use of funds, with refunds required for inaccurate information.

Issues: ✓ Budget & Taxes

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 13, 2025 Last action Feb 26, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Edition 1 → Edition 2 · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was updated to a committee substitute version, removing original sponsor names and referral notes while adding a new committee date. The most significant policy change involves the eligibility criteria for disaster relief, shifting from a fixed January 1, 2024, planting deadline to a flexible 'eligibility date' tied to the specific Secretarial declaration for each county. Additionally, the deadlines for submitting loss verification claims were extended from 30 days to 45 days to accommodate slower reporting for certain crops.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding disaster eligibility was broadened to allow for variable dates based on official county declarations rather than a single statewide date.

ELIGIBILITY

The fixed eligibility date of January 1, 2024, was replaced with a flexible 'eligibility date' defined as the date of the specific Secretarial declaration for the affected county.

TIMELINE

The deadline for farmers to submit loss verification forms was extended from 30 days to 45 days after the section becomes effective.

The maximum extension for submitting claims for crops with unknown survival levels was increased from an additional 30 days to an additional 45 days.

TECHNICAL

Removed the list of primary sponsors and the specific committees the bill was referred to.

Added a header indicating this is a 'Committee Substitute Favorable' dated February 26, 2025.

Floor votes

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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 26, 2025

Committee

Re-ref Com On Appropriations

lower

Feb 26, 2025

Lower · Passed

Reptd Fav Com Substitute

lower

Feb 18, 2025

Committee

Ref to the Com on Agriculture and Environment, if favorable, Appropriations, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House

lower

Feb 13, 2025

Introduced

Filed

lower

3 primary · 50 co-sponsors