Gov. Josh Stein has signed five executive orders to bring much-needed relief to people in western North Carolina, including accelerating temporary housing and the repair of private roads and bridges.

Three months after the storm tore across the state, more than 12,000 western North Carolinians remain without safe housing, and an estimated 8,000 private roads and bridges need to be repaired or replaced to reinstate access to emergency services, school buses, and other transportation.

Governor Stein’s first two executive orders received concurrence by the Council of State and will temporarily waive procurement regulations to increase the supply of temporary housing in western North Carolina and enable the state to accelerate repair of private roads and bridges necessary to access
homes.

Three additional executive orders will:

• Reorganize the Executive Branch to create the Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina (GROW NC), a dedicated recovery office for western North Carolina within the office of the Governor, and to establish a Division of Community Revitalization
  within the Department of Commerce to address housing needs and community resilience.
• Establish a Governor’s Advisory Committee on Western North Carolina Recovery to advise GROW NC to meet the community’s needs quickly and cost-effectively, and
• Direct the North Carolina Office of State Human Resources to authorize an additional 16 hours of Community Service Leave for state employees to volunteer for organized storm-related efforts.