The Hurricane Recovery Act of 2005, signed into law by Governor Easley, provides disaster recovery assistance to businesses that sustained damages from the hurricanes of 2004. A total of $10 million has been appropriated to support business recovery assistance.

The North Carolina Department of Commerce will be responsible for administrative oversight of the Business Recovery Assistance Program. The Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC), the business development service of The University of North Carolina, will be responsible for providing on-the-ground assistance to business owners wanting to apply for relief.

The Business Recovery Assistance Program will be comprised of four elements:

    federal disaster loan interest rebates
    direct state disaster loans
    assistance in applying or reapplying for federal disaster loans
    follow-up support for state loan requests