In this week’s edition of The Legislative Review, the House submits its state budget proposal and the latest disaster recovery bill is introduced.
For the week beginning, Monday, May 19, 2025, the House held an administrative, non-voting session. I met with my colleagues from the Western Delegation Monday afternoon to continue our discussion on the latest Helene relief bill.
At 4 p.m., the Rules Committee convened and considered several bills.
On Tuesday, the Appropriations Committee met at 10 a.m. to consider the state budget proposal put forth by the House along with several amendments, extended throughout most of the day. By mid afternoon, SB257 successfully passed the Appropriations Committee. No votes were held in the House on Tuesday.
Wednesday morning, I attended a brief caucus with my colleagues. Shortly thereafter, the House convened for a voting session, where we considered the following legislation:
- SJR764: Confirm Chris Ayers/Ex. Dir. Util. Comm. PS, is a joint resolution providing for the confirmation of Christopher Ayers as Executive Director of the Public Staff of the North Carolina Utilities Commission. SJR764 passed the House by unanimous consent.
- SJR765: Confirm Regina Adams/Bd of Review, is a joint resolution providing for the confirmation of Regina Adams to the Board of Review. SJR765 passed the House by unanimous consent.
- SB257: 2025 Appropriations Act, is an act to make base budget appropriations for current operations of state agencies, departments, and institutions. I voted in favor of the budget and it passed second reading, 93-20.
Highlights of the NC House budget include:
- Raises starting teacher pay to $50,000, making NC #1 in the Southeast for entry-level teacher compensation.
- Increases teacher compensation by 8.7% over the biennium.
- Restores master’s pay, rewarding teachers who pursue advanced training.
- Delivers a 2.5% across-the-board raise for state agency employees, community college staff, and UNC System personnel.
- Grants state retirees a 1% cost-of-living bonus in year one and a 2% bonus in year two.
- Reinstates the back-to-school sales tax holiday starting in 2026.
- Exempts the first $5,000 in tips from state income tax, supporting service industry workers.
- Increases the standard tax deduction by $500 for individuals and $1,000 for married couples.
- Restores the Rainy Day Fund to $4.75 billion.
- Eliminates wasteful spending by cutting nearly 3,000 vacant government positions.
- Slashes more than $10 million from state DEI programs.
Thursday morning, I attended the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations, Subcommittee on Hurricane Response and Recovery Committee. The committee heard from various individuals about contracting developments and the debris removal progress.
At 10 a.m., the House convened its final voting session of the week. During session, the House passed the state budget proposal by a vote of 86-20. The House also passed the latest disaster relief legislation.
HB1012, Disaster Recovery Act of 2025 – Part II, allocates more than $450 million to support ongoing recovery efforts in Western North Carolina, including critical infrastructure and building repairs, as well as relief for small businesses. HB1012 passed the House by unanimous consent.
Key funding provisions in the latest disaster relief legislation include:
- $70M in additional state funds to match critical federal recovery programs.
- $60M in Small Business Disaster Grants, up to $100k per small business with eligibility based on a 20% loss threshold.
- $50M for local governments to fulfill unmet and unreimbursed capital needs.
- $30M in additional funds to support reconstruction of private roads and bridges.
- $30M for agricultural and general debris removal.
- $25M to support reconstruction of destroyed schools.
- $25M to improve airport infrastructure in WNC to expand emergency response capacity and repair Helene damage.
- $25M toward rebuilding damaged and destroyed farm infrastructure i.e. fences, barns, greenhouses, and farm roads.
- $20M for flood mitigation grants to rebuild infrastructure.
- $20M to support volunteer organizations directly supporting recovery efforts.
- $18M to provide $50,000 grants to fire stations and EMS units across WNC.
- $15M in firefighting equipment and contract personnel to the NC Forest Service to enhance wildfire preparedness.
- $8M for damaged schools.
The NC House has previously allocated over $1.4 billion in relief before this bill, which brings the total to $1.85 billion.
With no further business, the House largely concluded its work for the week. E-mail: [email protected]; or phone: 919-733-5859