RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — This week, state lawmakers are expected to resume debate on SB 382 — the controversial bill that ties hundreds of millions of dollars in new disaster relief funding for Hurricane Helene to sweeping changes in state law.

The General Assembly is set to return Monday, where work on overriding Governor Cooper’s recent veto of the bill could begin.

Cooper vetoed SB 382 last week, calling the bill a “sham” and criticizing Republicans for tying relief to legal changes. Among other changes, SB 382 would change North Carolina election law — giving voters less time to fix issues with their provisional ballots — and strip certain powers away from the Governor and Attorney General. It includes $227 in new funding for Helene relief.

“Two months since Helene, there’s a lot of progress being made, but there’s still so far to go,” said Charity Honeycutt, a Burnsville native who has spent the last two months shuttling supplies and aid from Tennessee across the border into Western North Carolina. Those efforts have blossomed into a new non-profit, Mountain Strong.

SEE ALSO | 2 months after Helene, some Western North Carolina survivors move into temporary housing

“We’ve raised a substantial amount of money, but that doesn’t even you know, come close to, you know, dipping a toe and just what our community actually needs,” Honeycutt said.

Republicans have so far downplayed the political aspects of SB 382, saying they’re doing what they can to get help out West.

“We want to do this in a way where we’re certainly going to give them the funding that they need, but we want to make sure the funding is going towards putting people back in their homes, rebuilding businesses,” said Destin Hall, the newly chosen House Speaker.

Charity called the debate “frustrating”, but said it emboldens volunteers to do the hard work they’re focused on.

“They have their priorities, but that’s where the Appalachians have shown their resilience, honestly taking matters into their own hands and there’s been organizations like ours that have formed and are trying to get money into the hands of the people that need it most as quickly as possible.”

SEE ALSO | Some socially vulnerable communities taking longer to recover from Hurricane Helene

Arthur Smith will not be North Carolina’s next head coach.

According to NFL.com, the former Atlanta Falcons coach and current Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator has taken himself out of the running for the job. A North Carolina alum, Smith had been in preliminary contact with UNC administrators.

The school announced last week that it was firing coach Mack Brown at the end of the season. North Carolina lost 35-30 to rival NC State on Saturday to drop to 6-6 on the season. After the game, NC State players tried to plant a flag on the North Carolina logo at midfield and Tar Heels players didn’t take too kindly to that. Flag planting was a theme on Saturday.

Brown had said that he planned to to return for the 2025 season after North Carolina was blown out by Boston College in Week 13. A day later, North Carolina announced that the longtime coach would not be retained for the 2025 season. Brown coached Saturday’s loss, a game that will be his final one with the school. Brown said afterward that he would not coach in whatever bowl game the Tar Heels play in.

Smith, 42, is in his first season as Pittsburgh’s offensive coordinator following his stint as the Falcons’ head coach. He coached the Falcons for three seasons after serving as an assistant with the Tennessee Titans from 2011-2020. He got his coaching start with North Carolina as a graduate assistant in 2006.

Depending on how the coaching carousel shakes out, North Carolina could be the biggest job that opens up ahead of the 2025 season. The Tar Heels were the first power conference team to make a head coaching move and UCF is the only outer power conference program with a head coaching opening as of Sunday morning. Saturday night, Knights coach Gus Malzahn resigned to reportedly take the offensive coordinator job at Florida State.

Mack Brown’s rollercoaster week came to a bitter end as North Carolina fell to in-state rival NC State, 35-30, on Saturday. Brown, recently dismissed as the Tar Heels’ head coach, spoke candidly about his frustrations with how the situation was handled by the university administration.

“All I wanted to do was wait until the end of the year,” Brown explained, according to On3. “And they wanted me to retire on Monday, before the (NC) State game. We haven’t beaten State—it was really important for these kids to play well and have a chance to win. I didn’t want to break their hearts on Monday. So I said, ‘No, I won’t do that.’ And then they wanted me to do it Friday. Well, I sure wasn’t going to do it Friday before the game.”

Despite his protests, North Carolina opted to part ways with Brown ahead of the rivalry showdown, leaving the long-time coach disheartened by the timing.

The Tar Heels’ loss on Saturday only deepened the sting, as the team fought hard—and even harder afterward in an attempt to prevent the NC State players front planting their flag at midfield—but ultimately couldn’t overcome the Wolfpack.

Reflecting on the week, Brown expressed disappointment not only with his dismissal but also with the administration’s approach to the transition.

“As far as the he-said, she-said and the, what you’d call the ‘source close to the university,’ I don’t need any of that,” Brown stated. “There were three people that talked about this. And it was me, John Cryer, chairman of the board of trustees, and athletics director (Bubba) Cunningham. I never talked to the chancellor, didn’t have one conversation with him.”

While Brown acknowledged the need for new leadership, he felt the decision should have been delayed until the season’s end, citing the hardships his players had endured, including the death of teammate Tylee Craft.

“These poor kids have had so much turmoil in their lives,” Brown said. “I wasn’t thinking about me. I wasn’t thinking about my future. I was thinking about what’s best for these young people.”

Despite the challenges, Brown praised his players for rallying to earn wins against Virginia, Florida State, and Wake Forest before the NC State game. North Carolina will now begin its search for a new head coach.