Brooks Pierce Capital Dispatch: Legislators Return to Raleigh with Focus on Budget
The North Carolina General Assembly returns to Raleigh on June 1 after a break for Memorial Day. The attention of legislators will be on the state budget bill and remaining policy items.
State Budget bill
Legislative leaders recently announced agreement on some key issues that had held up budget bill discussions last year. This includes state employee and teacher salaries and tax policy. Their announced goal is to vote on the bill by mid-June. The last comprehensive state budget bill was adopted in 2023.
Items agreed upon include increasing starting teacher pay to $48,000 before bonuses and local supplements and an average teacher salary increase of 8 percent. Most state employees would get a 3 percent raise and there would be a 2.5 percent increase for retirees.
Gov. Josh Stein sent his budget recommendations to the General Assembly on April 21.
Constitutional Amendments
Legislators are considering several bills that would place constitutional amendments on the November 3 state ballot. They include:
- S 1080 - Cap state income rate at 3.5% (it is now 3.99% and will fall to 3.49% in 2027) ENACTED
- S 1081 - Right to farm PENDING IN SENATE
- S 1082 - Right to work without joining a union PENDING IN HOUSE
- H 1089 - Require General Assembly to enact a limit on local property tax levies ENACTED
Other Policy Issues
Legislators are discussing several other significant policy issues and may act on them during this year’s session. They include:
- Data centers and energy (S 730) PENDING IN HOUSE RULES
- ABC changes (H 198 and H 921)
H 198 IN SENATE FINANCE
H 921 IN HOUSE FINANCE
For more information, contact the Brooks Pierce Government Affairs Team, linked below:
Ed Turlington, Partner
Drew Moretz, Government Relations Advisor
Katelyn Kingsbury, Government Relations Advisor