Millions of dollars in Hurricane Helene recovery funds would be redirected away from western North Carolina fire departments and rescue squads under a bill in the North Carolina General Assembly. Emergency management leaders are criticizing the plan, but supporters say it’s needed to make disaster response more efficient.
Senate Bill 1050 – which, if passed, would go into effect during hurricane season (June 1 - Nov. 30) – would shift key disaster response authority from North Carolina Emergency Management to the Office of the State Fire Marshal.
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Emergency management officials warn the bill would potentially disrupt disaster response during major emergencies by removing firefighting, search and rescue, and hazardous materials coordination from a system that they say has operated well for decades.
The North Carolina Emergency Management Association opposes the bill, calling it unnecessary and disruptive.
“It appears to be trying to fix a problem that doesn’t exist,” said Drew Pearson, legislative director for the association and director of Dare County Emergency Management. “North Carolina Emergency Management has been doing that for decades. Those are core elements of the state program that really need to stay where they are.”
State Fire Marshal Brian Taylor says the change would better align disaster response with agencies already working directly with fire departments and emergency responders. His office says it would place firefighting, search and rescue, and hazmat response under an agency with existing operational expertise, established relationships with local fire departments and emergency responders. Taylor’s office says it’s better equipped to provide statewide support immediately during disasters and emergency incidents.
The office argued the bill would strengthen operational leadership, improve coordination and speed up deployment during emergencies.
Peason says that would be too disruptive. “If they’re not sitting within emergency management where they have been, they’re going to fall into somebody else who’s never done it before,” Pearson said. “It’s a big change that just doesn’t need to be taking place.”
Emergency Management didn’t immediately respond to comment. The bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Todd Johnson, R-Cabarrus, is a key figure in the North Carolina Senate and a potential contender to succeed Senate leader Phil Berger, who lost his Republican primary in April. His involvement gives the proposal added political weight to move through the legislature.
Johnson didn’t immediately respond for comment.
Helene recovery funding dispute
The bill also would redirect about $4.9 million in remaining Hurricane Helene recovery funds into a new disaster response fund controlled by the fire marshal’s office.
According to the office, more than $23 million has already been distributed to more than 260 fire departments and rescue squads after Helene, with officials saying every eligible department received the full $50,000 allowed under state law.
The Helene Recovery Act directs $28 million in recovery funding through the Office of the State Fire Marshal, including a $10 million program for larger capital and equipment grants of up to $500,000 per department and an $18 million program providing $50,000 grants to fire departments and rescue squads in eligible western and foothills counties.
The law allows funding to be used for equipment, facility repairs, and preparedness improvements, but prohibits staffing costs, and it permits up to $250,000 in administrative expenses for managing the larger grant program.
The office said the remaining money would otherwise revert to the General Fund and would instead support future disaster response needs.
The legislation would allow the Office of the State Fire Marshal to use up to 5% of the new disaster response fund for administrative costs. That could amount to roughly $245,000 from the remaining Helene recovery money.
“That $200,000 could go a long way to a rural fire department in western North Carolina,” said Jimmy Brissie, Henderson County’s public safety director.
Emergency management officials argue some western North Carolina departments still have unmet needs and say the money should remain tied to Helene recovery efforts.
Pearson warned the bill could fragment disaster response and create confusion during emergencies.
“We don’t need to be splintering our emergency management entity at this point in time,” he said.
Under new management
The Office of the State Fire Marshal has been at the center of political and administrative disputes in recent years.
In 2023, a legislative overhaul split the fire marshal’s duties away from the elected insurance commissioner and created an independent Office of the State Fire Marshal within the Department of Insurance, a change that triggered a power struggle over control of the agency.
During that period, Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey fired Taylor and other senior officials before later reinstating them following legislative action requiring their return.
The dispute highlighted broader tensions over who controls fire service oversight in North Carolina, with lawmakers arguing the role should be separated from insurance regulation.
Helene: What We Lost, What We Found with Western North Carolina Recovery
WRAL released its documentary "Helene: What We Lost, What We Found with Western North Carolina Recovery" in September 2025.
During the summer of 2025, WRAL reporters Eric Miller and Cristin Severance and photographers Sean Braswell and Dwayne Myers spent a week in the mountains, talking to people about the progress made and work still to be done almost a year after Hurricane Helene.