The North Carolina House today passed a budget with bipartisan support, with negotiations with the Senate to reconcile the differences between the chambers’ proposals up next.

The House’s forward thinking budget included investments in education, such as an 8.7% increase in teacher compensation over the biennium, restoring master’s pay, and making North Carolina #1 in the Southeast for entry-level teacher pay. There is also $50 million in school safety grants, continuing the commitment from legislative leaders over the last decade to improve the safety of our schools.

The House’s budget also strengthens educational choice for North Carolina families. Dave Machado, the executive director of the North Carolina Coalition for Charter Schools said in a statement this week of the House’s budget, “Public charter schools offer parents a diverse array of educational options for their children, and that’s because of the flexibility and autonomy that lawmakers continue to provide for charter schools in state law. Thank you to legislators for supporting the 150,000 families who choose a public charter school for their children.”

Both the House and Senate budgets restore the Rainy Day Fund’s balance to its pre-Helene level of $4.75 billion, reflecting the shared priority of both chambers to keep our state prepared.

The House’s budget also makes prudent reforms to the tax reduction triggers in existing law to account for the impact of the Biden-era inflation on the state’s economy.

The House’s budget maintains a laserlike focus on keeping the government funding only what it needs to, ensuring the state’s necessary services continue to function. The House budget keeps the growth of net general fund spending to just 5% over the biennium, well below the 8.2% TABOR rate. The House proposal would cut off funding for DEI programs in state agencies, saving taxpayers $10 million, while fully funding the state retirement system.

North Carolina Treasurer Brad Briner issued a statement about the House’s budget earlier this week, saying, “State House leaders have taken the needs of state employees to heart in this budget proposal,” Briner said. “The House proposal fully funds the pension plan and increases funding to the State Health Plan to help in our effort to provide affordable, high-quality health care for state workers. Investments made in salary increases and cost-of-living bonuses will help ensure that the state can retain top talent.”