Disaster Recovery Act of 2025 - Part I.

Establishes a $500 million transfer from the State Emergency Response and Disaster Relief Fund to the Hurricane Helene Disaster Recovery Fund for distribution to affected areas.

Creates formal definitions for 'affected area', 'Helene Fund', and 'SERDRF' to clarify which counties and funds are covered under the act.

Eliminates amendment-specific language about modifying specific line items and pages, replacing it with a complete statutory structure.

Sets the effective date as when the act becomes law, replacing the amendment adoption date format.

Changes document format from amendment markup to standard bill structure with clear sections for title, scope, fund transfers, and effective date.

Reduced $15 million allocation from Department of Commerce, Division of Community Revitalization

Added $10 million funding for Volunteer organization grants

Added $15 million funding for Golden LEAF Foundation to support nonprofit organizations in disaster recovery and small business revitalization

Created new local government cashflow loan program with $100 million appropriation from Helene Fund

Established new Private Road and Bridge Repair and Replacement Program within NCEM for Hurricane Helene damage

Updated refund procedures and interest rates for ineligible financial assistance recipients

Expanded monthly reporting requirements to include additional oversight committees and the Fiscal Research Division

Changed employee threshold from unspecified to 150 or fewer employees for certain provisions

Removed previous amendment instructions that referenced page 10, page 19, and Section 5.8(c) regarding school nutrition compensation.

Updated document version identifiers from A4 (v.2) to A5 (v.1) and adjusted formatting of the amendment header.

Added new amendment instruction to change page 2, lines 8-9 to specify a sum of $534,991,704 in nonrecurring funds.

Removed Section 5.11 provisions that would have delayed the 2024 North Carolina State Building Code effective date until publication and distribution requirements were met.

Added amendments to provide compensation to public school employees and contractors for missed instructional days or remote learning days using school meal or federal funds.

Modified employee size definition from unspecified criteria to 'employs 150 or fewer employees'.

Changed the bill title section from 'DELAY 2024 NORTH CAROLINA STATE BUILDING CODE EFFECTIVE DATE' to 'SCHOOL CALENDAR FLEXIBILITY AND SCHOOL NUTRITION COMPENSATION'.

Updated amendment version numbers from A3 to A4 and adjusted page counts from 2 pages to 1 page.

Added Section 5.11 to delay the 2024 North Carolina State Building Code effective date until 12 months after the State Fire Marshal certifies that publication and distribution requirements are met and the Residential Code Council is fully constituted.

Added requirements for the State Fire Marshal to send certification to the Revisor of Statutes, Senate President Pro Tempore, and House Speaker once publication and distribution requirements are satisfied.

Removed previous amendment language that moved to insert 'and sedimentation' between 'debris' and 'removal' on page 2, line 33.

Added definition of '2024 North Carolina State Building Code' as the Code collection and amendments adopted by the Building Code Council effective July 1, 2025.

Updated document versioning from A1/A1 v.1 to A3/A3 v.2 and changed amendment page count from 1 of 1 to 2 of 2.

Removed proposed language allowing TSERS and LGERS retirees to work temporarily during Hurricane Helene recovery without counting toward retirement separation requirements.

Removed expiration date provisions tied to the Governor's emergency declaration for the temporary work allowance.

Changed amendment version from A2 to A1 and removed all amendment text while keeping only the document header and signature lines.

Added eligibility for Swain County Schools to the list of entities covered by the temporary work provisions.

Added new subsections (c) through (g) that extend protections for LGERS retirees and law enforcement officers who retired before October 1, 2024, allowing them to work during Hurricane Helene recovery without affecting their retirement benefits.

Extended the time period for the emergency work provisions to expire when the statewide emergency declaration expires, rather than a fixed date.

Added certification requirements for positions needed due to Hurricane Helene recovery efforts to be verified by the employing agency with the Retirement Systems Division.

The transfer amount from SERDRF to Helene Fund was reduced from $307,991,704 to $299,000,000

The total appropriation from Helene Fund was reduced from $534,991,704 to $524,000,000

Funding for the Home Reconstruction and Repair Program was reduced from $140,000,000 to $120,000,000

Funding for the Agricultural Disaster Crop Loss Program was increased from $192,491,704 to $200,000,000

New $4,000,000 appropriation for tourism promotion media campaigns was added to the Department of Commerce

New $9,000,000 appropriation for the School Extension Learning Recovery Program was added to the Department of Public Instruction

Fire department grant maximum was increased from unspecified to $500,000 per grant

NCEM grants for nonprofit organizations were changed from 501(c)(3) organizations to any member organization of VOADs

New definition for 'Disaster Relief Reserve' was added referring to Budget Code 23009

Total appropriated funds increased from $532,991,704 to $534,991,704, representing a $2 million increase in available disaster recovery funding.

The debris removal program now explicitly covers 'debris and sedimentation removal' instead of just 'debris removal,' expanding the types of cleanup activities eligible for the $20 million appropriation.

Bill edition number updated from Edition 4 to Edition 5 with corresponding version identifier changes from H47-v-4 to H47-v-5.

Transfer amount from SERDRF to Helene Fund increased from $275,000,000 to $307,991,704, and appropriation from Helene Fund increased from $500,000,000 to $532,991,704.

Home Reconstruction and Repair Program funding increased from $125,000,000 to $140,000,000 with new reporting requirements to multiple oversight committees by March 31, 2025.

Agricultural Disaster Crop Loss Program funding increased from $75,000,000 to $192,491,704 with expanded program name and different statutory references.

Added new $10,000,000 grant program to NCEM for nonprofit organizations for actual and ongoing repair and reconstruction projects.

Fire Marshal funding modified to specifically target small and volunteer fire departments in affected counties qualifying for Individual and Public Assistance Categories C-G.

Tourism media campaign funding reduced from $5,000,000 to $3,000,000 with expanded description of campaign purposes.

Added new definition for NCORR (Department of Public Safety, Office of Recovery and Resiliency) in the acronyms section.

Bill reorganized from PART II to SUBPART II-A with more detailed subpart references for various programs.

Added requirement for DCR to report program setup plans to Joint Legislative committees and Fiscal Research Division by March 31, 2025.

The allocation for the Home Reconstruction and Repair Program was reduced from $140 million to $125 million, decreasing the total nonrecurring funds available for this specific program by $15 million.

Eligibility for disaster response grants to Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster (VOADs) was expanded to include any member organization of VOADs, rather than being limited to specific organizations.

Minor formatting updates including version number changes from H47-v-2 to H47-v-3 and page number adjustments from Edition 2 to Edition 3.

The total transfer amount from SERDRF to Helene Fund was reduced from $500,000,000 to $275,000,000, while the Helene Fund appropriation was increased to $500,000,000 with detailed breakdowns for specific programs.

New definitions were added for CDBG-DR, FEMA, NCEM, OSBM, and other agencies to clarify their roles and ensure compliance with federal guidelines.

Detailed program requirements were added for Home Reconstruction and Repair, Agricultural Crop Loss, Private Road and Bridge Repair, Small Business Infrastructure Grants, debris removal, VOADs, fire station repairs, rental assistance, and tourism promotion.

Removed references to sponsors and committee referrals that were present in the original version but not needed in the committee substitute version.

Added specific eligibility criteria for agricultural projects and debris removal, ensuring funds are targeted to identified gaps and federal compliance requirements.