Capitol Roundup is NC Farms Bureau’s weekly video and email report that summarizes key legislative developments and explains in clear terms how those developments affect agriculture.
Disaster Relief Bill Signed into Law (March 22, 2025)
What a week for relief! Gov. Josh Stein signed HB 47, Disaster Recovery Act of 2025- Part 1, into law Wednesday evening after legislators passed the bill that afternoon. The law appropriates $524 million for Helene relief, and state lawmakers say they intend to do more to fund recovery needs in Western North Carolina.
The final version of the bill also included aid for other counties in North Carolina impacted by weather events in 2024. In particular, the law includes $200 million for an ag disaster crop loss program for Helene-affected counties and a little over $100 million for counties holding disaster declarations from other events in 2024. The N.C. Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services will administer the crop loss programs. The new law also includes N.C. Emergency Management funding for private bridge and road repair and N.C. Department of Commerce funding for a small business infrastructure grant program.
North Carolina Farm Bureau wishes to express its gratitude to legislators for passing this much-needed relief for North Carolina farmers and to Governor Stein for quickly signing into law.
In other activity at the General Assembly this week, HB 184, Promote North Carolina Sawmills, passed the House. As previously reported, the bill would allow the use of ungraded lumber in certain circumstances and establish a basic lumber grading training program through N.C. Cooperative Extension. Also this week, HB 134, Prohibit Misbranding of Certain Food Products, cleared the House Agriculture and Environment Committee and is now on its way to the Rules Committee. The bill would define what products may be sold as meat and set labeling requirements for cell-cultured food products. And finally, NC Farm Bureau volunteer leaders from across the state visited the General Assembly to build relationships with their legislators and advocate for agriculture. We’d like to thank all the farmers who took part and all the legislators and staff who welcomed them!
Next week is the Senate deadline for bill filing, and all bills that have been filed can be found here.
For more information about these bills or any others of interest, visit the North Carolina General Assembly website, www.ncleg.gov. Bills are searchable by bill number and subject.