North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein Signs $34 Billion Budget
Governor Josh Stein signed a $34 billion state budget on Tuesday, saying it highlights key priorities including investments in teacher pay, state employees and law enforcement.
Republican legislatures finalized the budget last week after nearly a year of negotiations that were delayed due to several issues. Due to the delay, state agencies have been mainly operating on a budget approved in 2023, according to WRAL.
Stein stated that though the budget has “flaws,” it delivers top priorities in the final agreement that will benefit North Carolinians.
The biggest highlight of the budget includes a significant increase in teacher pay raises, the largest increase in nearly five decades.
According to WRAL, the budget also:
- Spends more than $700 million on Hurricane Helene recovery and $10.7 million on Tropical Storm Chantal recovery.
- Makes Wake County the most understaffed prosecutor’s office in the state.
- Raises taxes on sports betting companies — and allows UNC and N.C. State athletics to get a slice of the pie for the first time — while also authorizing prediction market betting companies to operate at a much lower tax rate.
- Includes dozens of policy changes and budget adjustments affecting K-12 education.
- Gives the North Carolina Collaboratory at UNC-Chapel Hill $15 million for research and remediation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — a group of man-made chemicals known as “PFAS” — near North Carolina fire stations.
With the governor’s signature, the budget will take effect and fund the state government operations for the next fiscal year.
