The North Carolina General Assembly officially sent House Bill 251 to Gov. Josh Stein’s desk on Tuesday, which would prevent discrimination based on political beliefs in state-administered disaster aid by classifying violations as a Class I felony.
The North Carolina House gave final approval of the Disaster Recovery Reform bill in a 113-1 vote. The bill restricts unnecessary demographic questions for state emergency grants, limiting inquiries to relevant criteria, such as verifying a farmer’s status for agricultural relief.
The bipartisan legislation comes in response to reports last November that FEMA was selectively providing aid after Hurricane Helene, culminating in the termination of a federal emergency worker. A leaked text chain revealed Washington had instructed colleagues to avoid homes displaying Trump signs, sparking outrage and calls for reform.
“This is the bill that we passed that had to do with discrimination regarding a person’s free speech when it came to receiving aid following a natural disaster,” said Rep. Kelly Hastings, R-Gaston, on Tuesday. “One of the great provisions is it restricted the types of questions that people can be asked.”
Hastings described a Senate-added provision inspired by a tragic case in Yancey County, where a resident’s home was looted after his wife’s death in the storm. The bill elevates looting of temporary housing during emergencies to a Class F felony, while other looting remains a Class H felony, effective Dec. 1, 2025.
SEE ALSO: NC moves to block political discrimination in disaster aid after FEMA bias
The legislation also streamlines recovery in Helene-affected counties by adopting federal health service waivers for hospitals, exempting downtown commercial buildings from stricter fire-resistant window codes for two years, and allowing floodplain reconstruction under a FEMA agreement. Additionally, it waives certain permits for processing vegetative debris into mulch or compost until July 1, 2027, and prioritizes composting over landfill disposal when cost-effective.
The bill now awaits consideration from the governor.
The post Bill blocking political discrimination in disaster aid heads to governor first appeared on Carolina Journal.
The post Bill blocking political discrimination in disaster aid heads to governor appeared first on First In Freedom Daily.
Click this link for the original source of this article.
Author: Brianna Kraemer
This content is courtesy of, and owned and copyrighted by, https://firstinfreedomdaily.com and its author. This content is made available by use of the public RSS feed offered by the host site and is used for educational purposes only. If you are the author or represent the host site and would like this content removed now and in the future, please contact USSANews.com using the email address in the Contact page found in the website menu.
