North Carolina
North Carolina lawmakers erode building code for years before Helene hit
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – When Kim Wooten sees the devastating videos of Helene’s destruction, she thinks about her five years serving on the North Carolina Building Code Council.
Trickling streams in the mountains turned to raging rivers after the hurricane dumped record setting rain. The world has watched as flood waters wiped away roads, homes and entire neighborhoods.
Wooten thinks about the various building code updates that have been blocked or excluded. Codes that could have made some of the structures safer.
“It’s the General Assembly and the North Carolina Home Builders Association,” Wooten said. “Both of those entities have effectively blocked the ability of homebuyers to purchase a home that is built to modern standards, that has been inspected to meet modern standards, that is efficient and affordable.”
A WBTV Investigation is shining a light on how North Carolina lawmakers and lobbyists weakened the state’s building code for years before Hurricane Helene hit. The history reveals a pattern of bills sponsored by legislators who own construction companies, supported by a political action committee that has spent more than $4 million over four years on their preferred candidates.
Wooten, an electrical eningeer, has been vocal about the influence the NC Home Builders Association has had over the building code council and general assembly. She says the devestation in mountain communities provides yet another example.
“There have been a number of bills proposed over the years to address steep slope construction,” Wooten said. “All three of those were defeated.” She added that efforts from local communities to implement stronger slope construction regulation were also opposed and weakened.
State Representative Laura Budd tells WBTV it’s not just what’s about building codes that were blocked. Laws the legislature and NCHBA passed also have a major impact.
“What it does is it erodes the safety and security that’s supposed to be written into the building code,” Rep. Budd, a Democrat representing the Matthews area, said.
NC Home Builders Association bills impact FEMA funding
Budd opposed two bills recently pushed by the NCHBA, even though she’s an attorney practicing in construction litigation. She said most of her clients are general contractors, trade professionals and developers.
“Not a single, solitary one of them is in favor of this,” Budd said.
Republican legislators, backed by the NCHBA, filed House Bill 488 in 2023. The bill essentially blocks North Carolina from adopting newly updated residential codes until 2031. The International Code Council (ICC) introduces a new version of building codes every three years.
Governor Roy Cooper vetoed the bill, warning it could cause the state to lose FEMA funding, but the legislature overrode his veto. The governor’s office estimates North Carolina communities will miss out on $70 million in FEMA funds this year because of the NCHBA backed law. The funds are Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grants and are intended to help local governments reduce their hazard risk.
“They’re our federal tax dollars, and those federal tax dollars are going to other states to make their states more resilient to floods like waters,” Wooten said.
A spokesperson for the NC Home Builders Association wrote in an email “there has been this false narrative that the building code can only be changed every six years.” He claimed that the statutory process allows anyone to petition the Building Code Council to revise or amend the state building codes any time the Council meets (usually quarterly).
Regular council meetings are for individual code changes to specific sections rather than the adoption of new international standards. North Carolina recently updated its building code, meaning the code will be ten years out of date by the time the council can adopt new international standards again.
It’s not just the governor from an opposing political party raising concerns about how NCHBA efforts to change the code are costing homeowners.
When standards go down, insurance goes up
In 2021, the North Carolina State Fire Marshal’s Office opposed another NCHBA policy priority to change the period for revising the code from every three years to every six years. In a letter to the state building code council, the deputy state fire marshal wrote that changing to a six-year code cycle would negatively impact insurance ratings statewide and could decrease participation in the National Flood Insurance Program.
The letter also stated that “North Carolina will be “unable to compete” in the (FEMA) BRIC grant market…due to the weight assigned to the building code scoring criteria.”
The scoring criteria referenced is the Building Code Effectiveness Grading Schedule, used to assess the building codes in individual communities and how they’re enforced. A community’s grade can have a significant impact on homeowner and commercial insurance rates.
North Carolina’s BCEGS score decreased from 2015 to 2019, moving from Class 4 to Class 5 in both commercial and residential categories. North Carolina has a lower commercial ranking than South Carolina, and is tied in residential. Virginia scores higher in both categories.
The most recent ranking is from before North Carolina changed to a six-year code cycle. The impact that might have on the state’s score is still unknown.
Big donations and big impact
When the NCHBA prioritizes legislation, it often passes. Even when the Governor vetoes it, and Republicans lack the supermajority to override it.
“If you follow the money, you tend to find the answers to those questions,” Rep. Budd said.
WBTV analyzed the legislators who received the most campaign contributions from the North Carolina Home Builders Association PAC. Politicians also received contributions from the NCHBA’s Home Builders Education Fund, Inc. which spends money on radio ads, mailers and billboards supporting specific candidates.
Many of the legislators receiving the most financial support from NCHBA ended up being influential, even critical, on Senate Bill 116. The bill was a top legislative priority for home builder legislators and lobbyists in 2024.
“House Bill 488 nor Senate Bill 116 had any requirements that would impact health or safety for buildings in North Carolina,” an NCHBA spokesperson wrote in the email to WBTV. Instead, he said H488 paused the energy code until a future date.
One of the notable impacts of S116, according to Budd, was that it removed the requirement for an architect on the residential code council. State Representative Dean Arp, who has received a significant amount of campaign contributions from NCHBA, also spoke out against some of the code provisions in the legislation but voted for it anyway, saying it could be fixed in a subsequent bill.
The bill was sponsored by Republican State Senators Steve Jarvis, Joyce Krawiec, Tim Moffitt and Democrat Paul Lowe. Since 2020, NCHBA and its Education Fund have spent a combined $195,000 on the four candidates, with Jarvis ($76,000) and Krawiec ($68,000) leading the pack.
But the legislation led to disagreements, even among the NCHBA backed legislators supporting it. A committee of house and senate members was formed to work out their differences. The appointees named read like a list of the Home Builders Association’s favorite legislators to contribute to.
(R) Rep. Jeff Zenger – $115,700
(R) Rep. Mark Brody – $75,000
(R) Sen. Steve Jarvis – $76,000
(R) Sen. Joyce Krawiec – $68,000
(R) Rep. Dean Arp – $31,500
(R) Sen. Bill Rabon – $32,200
(R) Rep. Matthew Winslow – $10,400
Zenger, Brody, Jarvis and Winslow all have their own construction companies according to an NCHBA web post from 2021 titled “Record Number of Builders Sworn in as Legislators.” Brody sponsored House Bill 488 along with Rep Tricia Cotham.
After the bill was passed, then vetoed by the governor, the NCGA leaders organized a vote to override the veto. Democrats had a major role to play in passing the legislation in the House. With eight republicans absent, the supermajority needed for the override was no obstacle as six legislators, five who have received donations from NCHBA or its Education Fund, crossed the aisle to vote for the bill.
(D) Rep. Carla Cunningham – $51,600
(D) Rep. Michael Wray – $22,500
(D) Rep. Cecil Brockman – $18,100
(D) Rep. Shelly Willingham – $13,000
(D) Rep. Nasif Majeed – $2,200
The same group of lawmakers voted to override the veto of H488 in 2023.
The latest electioneering disclosure form from the Home Builders Education Fund was filed in March. It shows money spent on radio advertising for three candidates. $12,500 was designated for Rep. Cunningham and $9,500 for Rep. Brockman.
‘Do voters want a safe home?’
Wooten says North Carolinians are paying the price for the donations and decisions from the North Carolina General Assembly. Whether it’s insurance premiums, FEMA grants or flood mitigation.
“I’m hopeful that they (NCGA) will look at this recent disaster and it will cause a complete paradigm shift,” Wooten said.
She painted an alternative future though, put forward by the NCHBA and state lawmakers. Structures rebuilt in floodplains, on steep slopes, relaxed permit requirements and privatized inspections, all in the name of helping devastated communities recover and rebuild
“I am quite afraid that there will be a rush to rebuild that will end up costing people their lives and their biggest single investment in their lifetimes – their home,” Wooten said.
Wooten said no one is paying attention to these code changes because they’re boring. Budd called the slow and steady filing of bills aimed at changing the code “death by a thousand cuts.”
But with more than $4.3 million spent by the NCBHA on candidates since 2020, Budd says the small legislative victories are part of a bigger battle for profit by some of the larger home building companies.
“And it’s at the expense of North Carolinians.”
If there’s ever a time when homeowners would pay attention to the building code, and all the money spent trying to change it, it’s when they’re forced to rebuild their home.
“I think it’s up to the voters. Do voters want a safe home?” Wooten said.
“Do they want a home that won’t blow away in a hurricane, that will stay anchored during a flood? That’s up for voters to say.”
Copyright 2024 WBTV. All rights reserved.
Democratic lawmakers in North Carolina introduced a trio of constitutional amendments this week aimed at protecting traditional powers of the state’s governor and reforming oversight of its court system.
The effort was prompted in part by ProPublica’s reporting, including an investigation that found that over nearly a decade, Republican lawmakers had pushed through law after law shrinking the powers of North Carolina’s governor, always a Democrat during that time.
At a press conference on Wednesday, the bills’ sponsors readily acknowledged that the initiatives are unlikely to pass, at least in the current legislative session: Republicans hold majorities in North Carolina’s House and Senate.
But in proposing the measures as changes to the state constitution, the group of eight Democrats said their goal was to make them less vulnerable to the persistent partisan warfare that has engulfed the narrowly divided swing state.
Republicans “won’t always be in the majority,” said Rep. Phil Rubin, the primary sponsor of one bill. “And when they’re not, they’re going to suddenly think these are great rules. So let’s do them now.”
Republican leaders in the House, Senate and court system did not respond to requests for comment on the bills.
Experts have long maintained that Republican power grabs have thwarted the will of North Carolina voters, removing the Democratic governor’s control or partial control over numerous boards, entities and executive prerogatives and leaving him the nation’s weakest. (Republican officials have defended the shifts, pointing out that voters also elected a GOP legislative majority.)
Rubin’s measure would bar the legislature from stripping away additional gubernatorial powers, as well as block majority leaders from what he called “government by ambush” — springing major legislation on the minority and public without notice.
“ProPublica’s reporting shows the perils of not having this law,” Rubin said. Voters should have “the opportunity to secure their constitution, demand absolute transparency in lawmaking and ensure that people, not backroom deals, have the final say.”
The two other constitutional amendments unveiled this week target aspects of the judicial system.
The first, authored by House Rep. Marcia Morey, would make disciplinary hearings and sanctions by the courts’ internal watchdog, the Judicial Standards Commission, public.
GOP rules currently cloak the commission’s work in secrecy. Behind closed doors, ProPublica revealed, the majority-Republican state Supreme Court quashed the commission’s recommendations that two Republican judges who’d admitted to committing egregious conduct violations be publicly reprimanded. (Spokespeople for the North Carolina Supreme Court and the Judicial Standards Commission declined to comment or respond to a detailed list of questions about the matter.)
Morey’s bill would also change who appoints the commission’s members, a step she called critical to preventing the “weaponization” of its work.
Currently, Republican legislative leaders and Paul Newby, the state’s conservative chief justice, appoint a majority of the commission’s members. As ProPublica has reported, in 2023 Newby encouraged the commission to investigate a Black Democratic justice who’d criticized his decision to effectively shut down a racial equity commission. (Newby, as well as spokespeople for the court and the Judicial Standards Commission, declined to comment for the story.)
Morey’s measure would divide commission appointments equally among the chief justice, the governor and the North Carolina State Bar. “Who makes decisions about discipline and who appoints the decision-makers,” she said, are critical to making the system “fair and effective.”
The second bill, sponsored by Rep. Deb Butler, would disqualify state Supreme Court justices from hearing cases in which family members are parties. Justice Phil Berger Jr. has caused controversy by ruling in multiple cases in which his father, the leader of the state Senate, is a defendant in his legislative capacity. (Berger referred recusal requests on these cases to the Republican majority on the Supreme Court, which ruled he could participate.)
Butler’s measure would also compel justices to disclose more information about large stock transactions, outside sources of income and sponsored travel. A ProPublica investigation found Newby didn’t disclose a trip to a luxurious Hawaiian resort, paid for by a conservative judicial education program. Newby and court spokespeople did not respond to requests for comment about his decision not to disclose the trip.
Butler described her bill as an effort to restore public trust. “People deserve complete confidence in the integrity of their court,” she said.
In the unlikely event that the bills pass, the public would then have the chance to vote on them in November. If not, the sponsors said, they’d revive them in the next session, by which time even some Republican strategists think that a blue wave may have flipped the North Carolina House.
“We’re committed to following through on these bills to ensure fairness and impartiality in our courts and legislature,” Morey said. “This should be the norm, not the partisan bias we have now.”
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HENDERSON COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS) — An animal more commonly found in the South-Central U.S. is making its way into western North Carolina.
Armadillos are beginning to show up more frequently, according to the N.C. Cooperative Extension Office in Henderson County.
IF YOU SEE AN ARMADILLO IN NORTH CAROLINA, WILDLIFE OFFICIALS WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU
They’re considered an exotic invasive species and can cause damage to yards, buildings, and even forest ecosystems.
AS TICK BITES SURGE NATIONWIDE, VETERINARIANS SAY MOST CASES START WITH PETS
Trapping is considered the simplest way to remove armadillos; they can also be hunted with a permit.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (5)
Officials advise people to keep their distance if they encounter an armadillo in the wild.
JetZero will make the Z4 in Greensboro. Designed for the unserved commercial middle market, with 250 passenger capacity on a range of up to 5,000 nautical miles, the Z4 will be up to 50 percent more fuel efficient with an elevated passenger experience and will readily fit into today’s airport infrastructure.
“Today, a great new chapter in North Carolina’s storied history of flight is taking off,” said Governor Josh Stein. “JetZero’s decision to build here is a vote of confidence in North Carolina’s workforce, our universities and community colleges, and our long aerospace tradition. These 14,500 jobs and $4.7 billion in investment will transform the triad region for generations. North Carolina is not only First in Flight, we are the future of flight, too.”
“It should come as no surprise that JetZero is breaking ground here in North Carolina – the first in flight state,” said Tom O’Leary, CEO and co-founder of JetZero. “North Carolina has a vision for its future as a global aerospace hub, and JetZero shares that vision. We believe the time has come for an all-wing airplane, to support the industry’s need for more efficient airplanes that also deliver an incredible experience. We intend to reshape aviation, from right here in North Carolina.”
JetZero is also designing military variants of the Z4, including an aerial refueler and transport aircraft. As a refueler, the all-wing design allows for twice the range or twice the payload to support U.S. air power.
With America’s 250th birthday just three weeks away, the timing of today’s groundbreaking carries special meaning. As the nation celebrates a quarter millennium of innovation and independence, JetZero’s commitment to reinventing how aircraft are designed and built stands as a testament to that same pioneering spirit, carrying American aviation boldly into the next century.
Digital-First, AI-Native Smart Factory
JetZero’s Greensboro plant will be designed using advanced digital and AI native platforms developed in collaboration with Siemens and Deloitte. These platforms and tools allow engineers to build a complete digital twin of the factory before any concrete is poured — testing how machines, people, and materials will move through the building, and making changes on a screen rather than on a job site. That flexibility is rare in aerospace manufacturing and will make the Greensboro facility the most efficient and adaptable plant of its kind anywhere in the world.
“Our partnership with JetZero demonstrates how cutting-edge industrial technology can help reindustrialize America,” said Ann Fairchild, President and CEO, Siemens USA. “Our digital twins help bring the next generation of manufacturing facilities to life faster and with greater confidence. We’re proud to help JetZero build a world-class aerospace facility that will create thousands of jobs and strengthen North Carolina’s position as the next great U.S. aerospace hub.”
“By pairing advanced AI and digital tools with our deep operational and industry experience, we’re helping JetZero set a new standard for manufacturing speed, quality, and scale,” Kelly Herod, chief client officer, Deloitte. “Our work with JetZero brings automation and AI together with data strategies informed by our experience at The Smart Factory by Deloitte @ Wichita—connecting design, the shop floor, and the workforce.”
Construction in Greensboro begins immediately, with hiring expected to ramp in phases over the next decade as the facility comes online.
About JetZero
JetZero is an American aerospace company developing a new generation of more efficient commercial and defense aircraft. The company partners with leading manufacturers and technology providers to advance the future of flight through innovation and American manufacturing excellence.
Media Contact
[email protected]
SOURCE JetZero
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