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SB 671

Creating By-Right Housing Development Act

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Patricia Rucker

Creates the Helene Local Government Revenue Replacement Grant Program to compensate western NC counties/municipalities for revenue losses from Helene, stabilizing services.

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Bill Summary · SB 671

SB 671 — Helene Local Government Revenue Replacement Grant Program; Property Tax Relief

Status: Introduced Feb 20, 2025 (listed as Withdrawn From Committee in provided header)
Primary subject areas: disaster recovery, local government revenue, property taxation, sales & use tax distributions, water & sewer revenues

Purpose / Intent

To provide targeted state grants to replace locally lost revenues caused by Hurricane Helene and to provide interest relief on property taxes for owners who sustained qualifying storm damage. The stated goal is to stabilize local government finances in affected western North Carolina counties and municipalities so local services are maintained following storm-related declines in tax and utility receipts.

Key provisions

  • Establishes the Helene Local Government Revenue Replacement Grant Program, administered by the Department of Revenue.
  • Eligible applicants:
    • Counties that qualified for FEMA individual and public assistance under FEMA‑4827‑DR as of Sept. 28, 2024.
    • Municipalities located wholly or partly in those counties.
  • Grant uses: awarded funds may be used by the local government for any public purpose.
  • Definitions and loss calculations:
    • Qualified revenue loss = sum of:
    • Property tax revenue loss: the negative difference between estimated property tax revenue based on appraised values as of Jan. 1, 2025 versus Jan. 1, 2024 (both using the tax rate in effect for the taxable year beginning July 1, 2024). Applies to taxable years beginning July 1, 2025 until the county’s next scheduled reappraisal.
    • Sales and use tax revenue loss: quarter-to-quarter comparisons (fourth quarter 2024 through fourth quarter 2025), adjusted by statewide (non‑Helene local governments) distribution changes; special treatment for Q4 2025 comparing to Q4 2023.
    • Water and sewer fee revenue loss (if the local government operates the system): quarter-to-quarter declines from customers who experienced service disruptions (same quarter series as sales/use tax).
    • “Storm-damaged property” defined as real property revalued under G.S. 105‑287 with a decrease in value as of Jan. 1, 2025 due to the hurricane.
  • Application process and timing:
    • Grants equal to the applicant’s qualified revenue loss for the applicable application period.
    • Multiple application periods covering different quarters/years:
    • 1st period: includes property tax loss for taxable year starting July 1, 2025, sales/use and water/sewer loss for Q4 2024 — application within 60 days of the section’s effective date.
    • 2nd period: sales/use and water/sewer loss for Q2 2025 — apply by Aug 31, 2025.
    • 3rd period: sales/use and water/sewer loss for Q3 2025 — apply by Nov 30, 2025.
    • 4th period: property tax loss for taxable year starting July 1, 2026 and Q4 2025 sales/use & water/sewer — apply by Feb 28, 2026.
    • Subsequent periods: for property tax losses for taxable years beginning July 1, 2027 or later — apply by last day of February prior to the taxable year.
  • Limitations:
    • Notwithstanding G.S. 105‑472, a county that changes its method of sales/use tax distribution for FY beginning July 1, 2025 is not eligible for a grant for sales/use tax revenue loss.
  • (The text excerpts showed an appropriation/allocation section but that language was truncated in the provided materials.)
  • The bill also references interest relief for property owners with a certain level of storm damage (mentioned in bill title/summary), but detailed statutory language for that relief was not included in the excerpt provided.

Who is affected

  • Primary: counties and municipalities in western NC that received FEMA‑4827‑DR individual/public assistance as of Sept. 28, 2024 — their budgets and cash flows.
  • Secondary: local taxpayers and ratepayers (through preservation of services or changes in local tax policy); Department of Revenue (administration workload); state budget (requires appropriations to fund the grants).

Procedural/timeline notes

  • Multiple, date-specific application windows spanning late 2024 through 2026; subsequent annual windows for later tax years.
  • The bill as provided had an internal status of “Withdrawn From Com,” so enactment and funding depend on future legislative action and any appropriation language that accompanies the program.

Potential impacts

  • Short-term stabilization of local revenues and service continuity in affected jurisdictions.
  • Administrative burden on the Department of Revenue to verify losses, administer applications, and process payments.
  • State fiscal impact depends on total awarded grants and appropriations (amounts not provided in the excerpt).

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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