Senate Bill 438 Summary

• Establishes procurement procedures for Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery construction projects, requiring the Office of Recovery and Resiliency to develop a priority-based system favoring lowest-income applicants, seniors over 62, households with disabled persons or dependents, and those in temporary relocation.

• Limits individual contractors to no more than 75 detached single-family dwelling projects at any time, with automatic contract cancellation if construction activities do not begin within 45 calendar days and liquidated damages of $250 per day assessed for delays beyond 135 calendar days.

• Protects homeowners from increased property taxes on rehabilitated residences by preventing reassessment at higher values for up to five years after rehabilitation using disaster recovery funds, with exceptions for property transfers, owner deaths, or change of permanent residence status.

• Increases the informal bid threshold for North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency construction contracts from $100,000 to $250,000 and authorizes the Office to use best value procurement methods for disaster recovery contracts.

• Requires local government inspection departments to prioritize building permits and inspections for disaster recovery-funded single-family dwelling projects, effective for contracts awarded after the bill becomes law.