Committee hears amendment on tax relief for properties destroyed in Helene; HB 6007 rolled to the Hill

House Bill 6,007 was placed on the Finance, Ways and Means Committee calendar on Jan. 28 and the sponsor described an untimely amendment that would offer short-term relief to property owners whose parcels were destroyed by Hurricane Helene and clarify local resource-sharing during emergencies.

Sponsor explanation: Chairman Faison explained the amendment after consulting the comptroller and the attorney general. Under the amendment, property owners whose property was “hurt, damaged, [or] destroyed” by the storm could apply to the comptroller for a grant equal to their 2024 property tax liability plus an additional 30 percent to help cover other expenses. Faison said the comptroller had already worked with local property assessors to identify damaged parcels and the 2024 tax amounts. He described the measure as a grant mechanism, not a tax credit, and said it applies to the 2024 tax season; property reassessments for future years would proceed separately.

Resource-sharing clarification: the amendment also clarifies that during emergency operations local governments may share resources across jurisdictions without fear of reimbursement issues, a change the sponsor said was intended to remove ambiguity that had hindered mutual aid during the Helene response, including debris removal.

Procedure and next steps: Committee members asked about fraud control, insurance offsets and whether grants would duplicate homeowner insurance. Chairman Faison said the grants are tied to the tax liability and that the comptroller had matched damaged parcels to assessors’ data; he said the measure is not tied to homeowners insurance. Several members asked for additional detail and the sponsor agreed to follow up; the committee then rolled HB 6,007 to the Hill for further work rather than taking a final committee vote that day.