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Authorizes FEMA Public Assistance reimbursements to North Carolina state, tribal, and local governments for repair, replacement, or restoration of private roads and bridges that were the sole access to primary residences or essential community services and were significantly damaged by Tropical Storm Helene (FEMA–4827–DR–NC). Reimbursements are subject to documentation, inspection, permitting/authority, access-for-recovery, and regulatory-compliance conditions and may not duplicate work already completed. Sets rules for households that previously accepted Individual Assistance for eligible private road/bridge repairs: those households may either keep the Individual Assistance funds and complete repairs, or return the funds so the government may pursue Public Assistance reimbursement; any §408 assistance used for such repairs will not count against the §408 maximum assistance amount. FEMA must rely on mutually agreed certified cost estimates from licensed engineers and treat accepted certified estimates as presumed reasonable and eligible absent fraud.
The bill provides federal reimbursement and faster approvals to repair privately owned critical access roads and bridges—helping restore access and easing local costs—while narrowing eligibility, adding administrative requirements, and creating risks of higher federal expense and unresolved private-access needs.
State, Tribal, and local governments in North Carolina can receive federal reimbursement to repair private roads and bridges that are the sole access to homes or essential services, reducing local fiscal burden and restoring critical access.
Certified engineering cost estimates accepted by FEMA will be treated as presumptively reasonable and eligible, expediting grant approvals and reducing disputes over eligible costs to speed recovery.
Homeowners who already received FEMA §408 Individual Assistance can either keep proceeding with those funds or return them to make the same repairs eligible for Public Assistance, preserving flexibility in recovery choices.
Homeowners and rural communities: Many privately owned access roads and bridges damaged by the storm may be ineligible for reimbursement because funding is limited to routes that are the sole access or that serve essential services.
Local and state governments and homeowners: The bill's inspection, permission, documentation, and compliance requirements create administrative burdens and upfront costs that could slow or deter repairs.
Taxpayers: Treating certified engineering cost estimates as presumptively reasonable may limit FEMA's ability to challenge inflated estimates and could raise federal costs if oversight is weak.
Introduced January 28, 2025 by Theodore Paul Budd · Last progress January 28, 2025