By admin 
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — After nearly a year without a state budget, Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger (R-N.C. 26) and House Speaker Destin Hall (R-N.C. 87) came together Tuesday afternoon to announce that a deal has been reached.
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Rep. Brenden Jones (R-46) made a first announcement on X, saying, “The NC House and Senate have come to a budget deal! A press conference will begin in 30 minutes.”
Berger and Hall made the announcement together as respective leaders of the state’s House and Senate just before 4 p.m. The full press conference at the state legislative building is available in the video player above.
Sen. Berger began by saying that this agreement is a “starting point” that establishes a “good framework” to move forward. However, there are still lots of points to be discussed and decided between the two chambers, according to Berger.
While the mechanics of the budget still need to be sorted, Rep. Hall said, “I’m confident we’ll be able to get a comprehensive budget done relatively soon.”
Both chambers of the state legislature had been working behind closed doors during a shortened legislative session to come to such a deal. Major disagreements were had over tax cuts, state employee raises and other spending priorities.
One of the biggest disagreements came over raises for teachers, state employees and law enforcement officers.
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A top priority brought up by Rep. Hall during the press conference was teacher salary increases. Rep. Hall said the proposed budget would come with an average 8% increase for teacher pay.
“It’s something we’re very proud of,” Hall said, adding that it would be the largest increase to teacher pay in the state since at least 2006.
Berger spoke to state employee increases, saying that it was a focal point in conversations to provide meaningful raises to the state’s law enforcement officers in particular.
The agreement includes an average 20.3% raise for SBI & ALE officers, and an average 17.7% raise for State Highway Patrol officers. It also includes a raise of up to 11.5% for civilian personnel serving in the ranks of the NC Highway Patrol.
At the time of this announcement, North Carolina had been without a state budget for nearly a year, passing occasional “mini budgets” for crucial funding needs.
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