RALEIGH, N.C. (WECT) – Nearly one year after state lawmakers passed House Bill 488, effectively banning building code updates, Gov. Roy Cooper and other leaders say it’s hurting North Carolina.

Cooper says the ban makes homes less safe and could cost neighbors affordable home insurance policies.

“Legislative Republicans moved North Carolina backward by recklessly blocking new building codes that would require new homes to be more resilient and efficient,” Gov. Cooper said in a press release. “As a result, it will become harder to find home insurance and we’re missing out on tens of millions of dollars in federal recovery funds. That’s a lose-lose for our state, particularly when storms hit.”

Insurance costs are already trending higher along the coast because of the threat of major storms.

Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey believes the law is making it harder to keep those rates down.

“Anytime you weaken state building codes, it has a direct impact on driving up homeowners insurance,” Causey said. “The message is to keep our insurance rates low, especially in the coastal areas, we need to make sure we’re not going in the wrong direction.”

The codes would have required new homes to be more resilient and energy efficient, but Steven Webb with the North Carolina Home Builders Association, who lobbied Republican lawmakers for the ban, says those are regulations people can’t afford.

“Housing affordability has been a huge issue the last several years, whether it’s the lack of labor to build the houses, the material costs have shot through the roof, and excessive regulations,” Webb said. “We believe that too many people will be pushed out of the housing market. So, we thought at the time, it’s better to hit the pause button.”

It’s not just about costing homeowners.

Gov. Cooper says the ban makes it impossible to update codes consistent with FEMA standards, leaving the state without tens of millions of dollars in federal money.

“This year, North Carolina state and local governments are set to collectively receive approximately $30 million in federal funding from FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (“BRIC”) program, a significant drop from the $58 million and $102 million in 2022 and 2023 respectively. HB 488 makes it impossible to update the residential codes in a manner consistent with FEMA requirements until 2031, meaning this loss of funding will worsen in coming years,” A spokesperson with Gov. Cooper said in a press release.

Others have questioned the law that was essentially written by a lobbying group.

Saying when it comes to safety, it’s to put people first.

“We just need to look at safety as a real factor. Keeping people safe and certainly doing everything we can to hold our insurance rates down as low as we can,” Causey explained.

A spokesperson for Gov. Cooper says he continues to urge legislators to undo the block on building standards.

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