Gov. Josh Stein travels to Asheville to announce five executive orders

The five orders are focused on helping western North Carolina recover from the devastating impacts of Helene.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Gov. Josh Stein announced his first executive orders as governor of North Carolina in a trip to western North Carolina on Thursday.

The new governor spoke in Asheville. Ahead of the news conference, his office indicated the executive orders would support Hurricane Helene recovery efforts in the region.

“Winter is here in western North Carolina, and we must act quickly to get people in temporary housing, repair private roads and bridges, and keep people safe,” said Stein. “I will do everything in my power to make sure we are both thinking creatively and acting swiftly to help our neighbors recover.”

During the announcement, Stein said the biggest challenges remain around the need for housing and the repair of private bridges and roads.

More than 12,000 people remain displaced as winter grips the region, and thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed. The storm also left thousands of private roads and bridges in desperate need of repair, cutting off critical access to homes and services.

Stein signed five executive orders to address these issues and move these recovery efforts forward.

The first two orders temporarily waive some regulations in order to increase the supply of emergency housing.

“Providing an unlimited waiver on state procurement regulations so that we can quickly increase the supply of temporary housing units on people’s property so that we can keep them safe through the winter so that they can begin the process of rebuilding or repairing,” said Stein.

Another order temporarily waives certain procurement regulations, allowing faster action to restore essential transportation routes. It will essentially help the state speed up the repair of private roads and bridges.

He also signed an order that established a dedicated recovery office for the western North Carolina region and other resources.

Under the orders, Stein directed the state to authorize 16 extra hours for state employees to volunteer in the community.

“To keep moving forward we will act with urgency, focus and transparency and accountability, we want every dollar dedicated to recovery whether federal, state, local or charitable to be spent as efficiently, impactfully and quickly as possible ,” Stein said.