Gov. Stein signs $34.4B NC budget into law: 'Real wins'
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Gov. Josh Stein signed North Carolina's $34.4 billion state budget into law, approving a spending plan that includes pay raises for public employees, additional Hurricane Helene recovery funding and support for Medicaid, while also eliminating more than 1,000 state government positions and reducing powers held by the governor's office.
"You have to make compromises," Stein said. "But if you're committed to the common good, you can make progress. And that's what this budget represents."
The budget ends a lengthy stalemate between House and Senate Republican leaders and outlines spending priorities across education, health care, disaster recovery and state government operations.
It delivers the largest starting teacher pay raise in nearly 50 years, and the largest overall teacher pay raise in the last 15 years.- Gov. Josh Stein
Stein highlighted investments for children and families, including funding for summer food programs, child care and community colleges.
"When it comes to student outcomes, this budget embraces ideas that work -- advanced teaching roles, science of reading expansion, school safety grants, apprenticeships," Stein said.
The governor also pointed to pay increases for educators and public safety personnel.
"It delivers the largest starting teacher pay raise in nearly 50 years, and the largest overall teacher pay raise in the last 15 years," Stein said. "It protects health care for millions of North Carolinians by fully funding Medicaid. It gives double-digit pay raises to state law enforcement officers. It appropriates another $700 million to help the people of western North Carolina continue their recovery from Hurricane Helene. The budget also makes meaningful investments in our community colleges, the DMV, child care, and summer food programs for our kids. These are real wins worthy of celebration and worthy of my signature," said Stein.
Advocates for child care providers praised provisions aimed at stabilizing the industry.
"It changes our childcare subsidy reimbursement rate floor to create a minimum statewide rate that all providers will receive," said Neil Harrington, Senior Director of Policy and Research for NC Child.
Harrington said the policy could reduce pressure on providers to raise tuition while helping parents remain in the workforce.
"We've done some modeling with the Department of Commerce, NC Child has, that found this exact policy the General Assembly passed could increase our state's GDP by up to $115 million per year," Harrington said. "It could add up to 1700 jobs across North Carolina's economy, and 1,400 of those jobs are in the childcare sector alone."
The budget also provides funding for services supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including higher wages for direct support professionals.
"We have a massive workforce shortage here in North Carolina of direct support professionals who are those caregivers who help people with developmental disabilities get in and out of bed, go to work, do the basic things of life that are so critical to be part of the community. We were very pleased to see that this budget has $21 million in an increase for wages for direct care workers," said Talley Wells, executive director of the North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities.
State officials also applauded salary increases for correctional employees as prisons continue to struggle with staffing shortages.
"Last year, we lost more people than we gained, and those are people that have been working in our agency," said Leslie Dismukes, Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Correction. "We need to keep those staff. They need to train our new recruits. We need to value their work and this budget does that."
Despite signing the measure, Stein said more work remains.
"(This budget) will point the way forward as well where we need to keep going because we are not there yet. The truth is, North Carolina, we've got a lot of catching up to do because there have been years of chronic underinvestment in state and public services."
"This is such a critical step for our community, but we have a lot further to go. We have a 20,873-person waiting list for people to get the most important services for developmental disabilities. Our population of people over age 65 is supposed to grow extraordinarily high over the next 25 years. We're going to need to continue to make sure that we're meeting the workforce demands for caregivers," added Wells.
In a statement, House Speaker Destin Hall wrote:
"Today, the best budget in decades becomes law, delivering historic raises for teachers and law enforcement, as well as tax relief for the working men and women of our state. There is something in this budget for every North Carolinian, and the meaningful investments we've made will deliver real results that strengthen our communities, put more money back in people's pockets, and improve lives across our state."
