Teachers would get a pay raise of up to 5 percent, and most other state employees would get a 2 percent raise under the House budget plan. Floor debates and two required votes were expected Thursday and Friday. Earlier Wednesday the Senate Finance Committee recommended raising standard deductions to the same level as the House wanted by 2017.
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Tax collections that are slightly higher than expectations and lower-than-projected Medicaid enrollment and services have provided a cushion for Republican budget-writers to create what one GOP leader called “modest, well-constructed” budget. Reserves would grow by $300 million to $1.4 billion. A married couple filing jointly ultimately would save more than $100 because less income would be subject to taxes. The standard deduction is the base amount of income that isn’t taxed unless a taxpayer chooses itemized deductions.
Increasing the standard deduction over time would cost $25 million to carry out in the next fiscal year, growing over time to $230 million in lost revenue by mid-2021. McCrory provided no such tax change. “Now we’re working on addressing the middle ranges of teacher experience”.
“Why would we as a body want to reduce taxes when we have such a serious need for our schoolteachers’ salaries?”
House Republican leaders also included a tax cut proposed by Senate leaders. Teachers in both those categories would instead receive a $1,000 bonus that would count toward their retirement.
McCrory’s budget would have offered teacher raises that are higher on average than what the House provides but only to teachers with up to 24 years of experience.
Teachers at the beginning and end of the careers would get a one-time $1,000 bonus, according to the proposal.
Teachers with less than five years of experience wouldn’t get a raise this year, and teachers with 25 years or more would get 2 percent – the smallest raises. But House Republicans say they get close to that total and aim to reach it next year. The House plan located $60 million to help treat the mentally ill and substance abusers – $30 million that was taken away from regional managed-care agencies a year ago and $30 million to pay for recommendations by a McCrory study commission. House and Senate Republicans have already agreed on capping spending growth on a pace linked to inflation and population increases.
“It is a dramatic step forward”, said Rep. Craig Horn, R-Union, a House education budget-writer.
As for state employees, most rank-and-file state workers would get 2 percent raises and $500 bonuses in the House plan, which will be heard by two key committees Tuesday. North Carolina is about $10,000 behind the national average.
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A year ago, the House budget bill initially received 94 votes, with 11 Republicans voting no. “We’re very pleased to see a strong bipartisan vote”, House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland.
