On First Day, Stein Delivers Relief to Western North Carolina

Josh Stein was sworn in as North Carolina’s new governor on January 1, and he immediately took action to deliver more disaster relief for Western North Carolina.

Governor Stein’s first order of business on his first full day in office on January 2 was signing five executive orders expediting the delivery of disaster relief to aid recovery from the catastrophic damages unleashed by Hurricane Helene. The orders included authorizing additional emergency housing assistance and aid in restoring damaged roads and bridges.

Hurricane Helene’s Tie to Climate Change

Hurricane Helene’s mountain-area severe impacts, due to extraordinary rainfall totals over an abbreviated time, produced a catastrophic estimated $50 billion in damages to the region. Studies show that its rainfall impact was made worse by ongoing climate change. It was one of 24 billion-dollar-plus United States disaster events in 2024, a historic total exceeded only by the 28 billion-dollar disasters of 2023.

Top Three Executive Officers

Newly elected NC Lieutenant Governor Rachel Hunt and NC Attorney General Jeff Jackson were also sworn in on January 1. Both were endorsed in the 2024 election by the NC League of Conservation Voters (NCLCV), along with Stein. This marks the first time in more than a decade that the top three statewide elected executive officers in North Carolina (governor, lt. governor, and attorney general) have all been held by officials with positive environmental voting records and stances.

Challenge to Relief Aid

Newly elected NC State Auditor Dave Boliek immediately questioned Stein’s disaster relief orders and said he would audit the spending to implement them. However, his authority to intervene is limited. 

Under North Carolina law, the ten-member NC Council of State can only block executive orders by the Governor by majority vote. With the election of NC Superintendent of Public Instruction Mo Green and the re-election of NC Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, five of the ten Council of State members are allies of Governor Stein, and are highly unlikely to block his orders for disaster relief. 

More than $9 billion in additional federal aid for Helene relief is contained in the recently passed legislation extending funding for the United States government into March 2025, and may serve as one of the funding sources in support of Governor Stein’s actions.