{"id":2970,"date":"2026-07-07T15:05:38","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T15:05:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2970"},"modified":"2026-07-07T15:05:38","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T15:05:38","slug":"nc-budget-with-year-delayed-raises-is-now-law-gov-stein-signs-spending-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2970","title":{"rendered":"NC budget with year-delayed raises is now law. Gov. Stein signs spending plan"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.<\/p>\n

Read our AI Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

North Carolina \u2014 a year late \u2014 now has a state budget, as Democratic Gov. Josh Stein signed the legislation into law on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Read more Half a shark reported on NC island ignites debate over what killed it<\/a><\/p>\n

The new law means that thousands of teachers and state employees will get across-the-board raises they\u2019ve been waiting on for a year, as the Old North State was the last state in the country to pass a new budget.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis budget bill gets a lot of things right,\u201d Stein said at the signing ceremony, highlighting provisions in the budget, such as double-digit pay raises for state law enforcement officers and $700 million to help residents of Western North Carolina continue their recovery from Helene.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are real wins worthy of celebration and worthy of my signature. So, after careful deliberation this morning, I will sign the state budget into law,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But \u201cI won\u2019t sweep this budget\u2019s flaws under the rug,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Stein said the raises for many state employees are not enough to keep up with inflation and criticized several provisions in the budget, such as cuts to vacant job positions. He noted the budget eliminates the Office of Health Equity, within the state\u2019s health and human services department, which works to improve health access and eliminate health disparities, and the Office for Historically Underutilized Businesses in the Department of Administration, which helps connect people to jobs.<\/p>\n

The bill, which emerged from a long, drawn-out negotiation between Republican House Speaker Destin Hall and Republican Senate leader Phil Berger, gained support from half of House Democrats<\/a> and several Senate Democrats.<\/p>\n

It seemed likely Stein would sign the bill, in part because of the number of Democrats who already voted for it. Republicans have a veto-proof supermajority in the Senate, but need some help from Democrats or independents in the House to override a veto by a three-fifths majority. Final budget votes were 88-21 in the House and 35-10 in the Senate.<\/p>\n

Read more NC coastal town ranks among the nation\u2019s best \u2014 again. Why it\u2019s \u2018underrated\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Asked by The N&O, when it first crossed his desk, about Democrats who voted in favor of the budget, Stein said he thinks \u201cthat\u2019s a sign that there\u2019s some good things in the bill and there\u2019s some bad things in the bill.\u201d<\/p>\n

Teachers will get an average raise of 8%, with the highest raises for starting teachers.<\/p>\n

Law enforcement raises range from 10.1% to 27.5%.<\/p>\n

Most state employees, UNC System and community college employees will receive 3% raises across the board.<\/p>\n

The House and Senate each passed its own budget bill in 2025, but top Republican negotiators failed to reach a final deal for a year. The main debate was over the amount of raises and tax cuts.<\/p>\n

This story was originally published July 7, 2026 at 10:37 AM<\/span> with the headline “NC budget with year-delayed raises is now law. Gov. Stein signs spending plan.” <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Opponents urge Wake commissioners to block WakeMed merger with Atrium Health<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gov. Josh Stein signed North Carolina\u2019s long-delayed state budget, delivering raises for teachers, law enforcement, UNC and community college employees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2969,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nNC budget with year-delayed raises is now law. Gov. Stein signs spending plan - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2970\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NC budget with year-delayed raises is now law. Gov. Stein signs spending plan - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Gov. Josh Stein signed North Carolina\u2019s long-delayed state budget, delivering raises for teachers, law enforcement, UNC and community college employees.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2970\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-07T15:05:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2970#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2970\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\"},\"headline\":\"NC budget with year-delayed raises is now law. Gov. Stein signs spending plan\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-07T15:05:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2970\"},\"wordCount\":527,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2970#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/dbaf196d8c345e6470d28ee0d99e8b3b.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Read today's Edition\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2970#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2970\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2970\",\"name\":\"NC budget with year-delayed raises is now law. Gov. Stein signs spending plan - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2970#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2970#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/dbaf196d8c345e6470d28ee0d99e8b3b.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-07T15:05:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2970#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2970\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2970#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/dbaf196d8c345e6470d28ee0d99e8b3b.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/dbaf196d8c345e6470d28ee0d99e8b3b.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":675,\"caption\":\"North Carolina Governor Josh Stein delivers remarks during the Freedom Fest 250, celebrating the country\u2019s Semiquincentennial, on Saturday, July 4, 2026 in Raleigh, N.C.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?p=2970#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"NC budget with year-delayed raises is now law. Gov. Stein signs spending plan\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/charlotterelocationguide.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"NC budget with year-delayed raises is now law. Gov. Stein signs spending plan - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2970","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"NC budget with year-delayed raises is now law. Gov. Stein signs spending plan - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","og_description":"Gov. Josh Stein signed North Carolina\u2019s long-delayed state budget, delivering raises for teachers, law enforcement, UNC and community college employees.","og_url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2970","og_site_name":"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","article_published_time":"2026-07-07T15:05:38+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2970#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2970"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93"},"headline":"NC budget with year-delayed raises is now law. Gov. Stein signs spending plan","datePublished":"2026-07-07T15:05:38+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2970"},"wordCount":527,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2970#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/dbaf196d8c345e6470d28ee0d99e8b3b.jpg","articleSection":["Read today's Edition"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2970#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2970","url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2970","name":"NC budget with year-delayed raises is now law. Gov. Stein signs spending plan - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2970#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2970#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/dbaf196d8c345e6470d28ee0d99e8b3b.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-07T15:05:38+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2970#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2970"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2970#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/dbaf196d8c345e6470d28ee0d99e8b3b.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/dbaf196d8c345e6470d28ee0d99e8b3b.jpg","width":1200,"height":675,"caption":"North Carolina Governor Josh Stein delivers remarks during the Freedom Fest 250, celebrating the country\u2019s Semiquincentennial, on Saturday, July 4, 2026 in Raleigh, N.C."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=2970#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"NC budget with year-delayed raises is now law. Gov. Stein signs spending plan"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/","name":"\u0421harlotte Relocation Guide","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/#\/schema\/person\/8dbe691609d05fbc6dbaa5c440b54a93","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com"],"url":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2970"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2970\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2969"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}