Sen. Murdock files bill in North Carolina Senate for COVID-19 small business recovery grants

The new bill filed by State Sen. Natalie S. Murdock seeks to support small businesses financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic through targeted recovery grants, according to the North Carolina State Senate.

The bill, filed as SB 891 on April 28 during the 2025 regular session, was formally listed with the short title: ‘Small Business Investment Grant.’

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill appropriates $250 million in one-time General Fund money to the Department of Commerce for a COVID-19 Small Business Recovery Program that provides one-time grants to qualifying small businesses. The bill authorizes grants to North Carolina businesses subject to state income tax with 2019 receipts of $8 million or less and at least a 25% drop in 2020 sales tax collections compared with 2019, capped at the lesser of $250,000 or the documented reduction. It allows applications until funds are exhausted, requires Revenue Department data sharing to verify eligibility, and mandates grant clawbacks if a recipient does not operate for at least six months. It also excludes grant amounts from state taxable income for tax years beginning in 2025 only. The tax provision takes effect Jan. 1, 2025, and expires Jan. 1, 2026; the rest takes effect when the bill becomes law.

Of the three sponsors of this bill, Murdock proposed the most bills (80) during the 2025 regular session.

Bills in North Carolina follow a multi-step process before becoming law. A lawmaker starts by filing a bill, which is assigned to a committee for review. The bill must be read three times in each chamber. If one chamber changes the bill after the other passes it, both must agree on the final version. Once both chambers approve the same bill, it goes to the governor, who has 10 days (or 30 if the legislature is not in session) to sign, veto, or let it become law without a signature.

You can read more about the bills and other measures here.

Murdock graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a BA.

Murdock, a Democrat, was elected to the North Carolina State Senate in 2020 to represent the state’s 20th Senate district, replacing previous state senator Mickey Michaux.