Long-awaited $34 billion state budget inches closer to passage
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- The North Carolina Senate is one step closer to signing off on the long-awaited $34 billion budget.
The spending plan includes raises for state employees, law enforcement officers and teachers.
Primary Sponsor Sen. Kevin Corbin, R-Macon, says that more than half of the budget funding is dedicated to education.
"That's a 39% increase in education spending from 2020 to this budget," said Corbin.
The more than 600-page budget called for 3% raises for state employees, an average 8% raise for teachers, with additional bonuses based on years of service, 17% bumps for the North Carolina Highway Patrol, and about a 20% increase for the State Bureau of Investigation and Alcohol Law Enforcement.
"This budget has something really for just about every state employee," said Sen. Michael Lee, R-New Hanover.
There are criticisms of this budget.
Senate Democratic Leader Sen. Sydney Batch, Wake, argued that tax relief won't help families much.
She said, "If you make $49,000-$84,000, that's $7 a month (in tax relief)."
People who work in education say the spending plan falls short for some state workers in keeping up with the cost of living.
"It doesn't keep up with inflation," said UNC-Chapel Hill education professor Eric Houck.
Teachers would get an average 8% raise -- early career teachers would get a higher percentage while veterans would receive less.
"That's kind of an effective pay cut, so there's some issues of teacher retention for middle-career and late-career teachers," said Houck.
The Senate is expected to take up the final third reading on Thursday morning.
