Abandoned Bill Ratified in North Carolina General Assembly

A bill to fund the cleanup of the state’s abandoned manufactured housing was ratified in the North Carolina General Assembly yesterday.  H1134, sponsored by Philip Haire, awaits a signature from Governor Easley.  It will become effective July 1, 2009 and run until 2023.

The bill authorizes the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to distribute up to $1 million per year to counties that clean up abandoned homes.  While an earlier version extended the bill’s coverage to include abandoned mobile homes that were utilized as classrooms, no explicit extension of that provision is included in the final version.  Counties must develop a plan to remove the homes in order to apply for funding dollars, although no county is required to participate in the program.  Tier One and Tier Two Counties can get extra dollars when removal costs exceed $1000 per unit.

It is hard to know how much of a difference this bill will make.  Certainly, North Carolina has stepped out to stamp the counties with the authority to clean up their spaces.  Nonetheless, some of the success or failure of this bill will depend upon the marketing efforts that occur going forward. If counties do not know about these funds, then it is unlikely that they develop a removal plan.  Funding of $1 million per year could soak up a considerable portion of the discretionary funds at DENR, too.