Bill
HB 581
HB 581 raises pay for public school teachers and state employees, adds COLAs for retirees, expands WAGE$, and creates a 5%/up to $10k employer tax credit; broad statewide impact.
Purpose
- To increase pay and benefits for public school teachers and a broad set of State-funded employees, provide cost-of-living adjustments for retirees, expand the WAGE$ program statewide, and create a new employer tax credit to encourage hiring/retention.
Key provisions (selected)
- Teacher salary schedule (2023–24): establishes a new monthly “A” teacher pay table (examples):
- Step 0: $4,100/month
- Mid career steps: $5,000–$5,850/month depending on years of experience
- Step 28+: $6,000/month
- Teacher supplements:
- NBPTS-certified teachers: +12% of monthly “A” salary.
- “M” teachers (master’s level): +10%.
- Six-year degree supplement: +$126/month (in addition to M supplement).
- Doctoral-level supplement: +$253/month (in addition to M supplement).
- Certified school nurses: +10% of monthly “A” salary.
- Counselors (master’s or higher): +$100/month.
- Special education / related school professionals:
- School psychologists, school speech pathologists (M.A.+), and school audiologists (M.A.+): first step = 6th step of teacher schedule; +10% supplement plus $500 monthly supplement; eligible for degree-level supplements; 26th step set 7.5% above 25th step.
- State employee increases:
- One-time/legislative compensation adjustment of 5% effective July 1, 2023.
- Additional cost-of-living increase of 3% effective July 1, 2024.
- Permanent part-time positions receive prorated increases.
- Several groups are excluded from the legislative increase (e.g., employees of local boards of education, local community college employees, UNC employees, certain correctional and law‑enforcement groups — see bill for full list).
- Retiree adjustments: provides a cost-of-living increase for eligible retirees (details in bill text).
- WAGE$ program: expands the WAGE$ program statewide (program provides wage supplements tied to credentialing/credentials completion).
- Employer tax credit: creates a new credit equal to the lesser of 5% of wages paid to employees during the taxable year or $10,000 (intended to benefit qualifying employers; bill text governs qualification and administration).
Who is affected
- Public K–12 teachers and instructional support personnel (salary schedule and supplements).
- School nurses, counselors, psychologists, speech pathologists, audiologists.
- State-funded employees across Executive Branch agencies (subject to exclusions noted above).
- Retirees eligible for COLA.
- Employers eligible for the new tax credit.
- Community colleges, UNC, and other higher education employees depending on bill sections (some receive raises; some are excluded from the legislative increases).
Fiscal impact and funding
- The bill appropriates recurring funds to implement teacher raises: $673,612,851 from the General Fund for 2023–24 (explicit appropriation shown in bill).
- The 5%/3% raises and program expansions will create additional recurring personnel and operating costs across state agencies; bill text directs implementation details but full statewide fiscal totals are not included in the excerpt.
Procedural status (selected, 2023)
- Filed and introduced in the NC House (Apr 5–10, 2023).
- Referred to Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House (Apr 10, 2023).
- (Readers should consult the NC General Assembly website or legislative tracking for subsequent committee actions, amendments, final passage, or appropriations implementation details.)
Notes / implementation
- Many provisions specify effective dates for pay changes (notably July 1, 2023 and July 1, 2024 for the two rounds of statewide adjustments).
- The bill substitutes monthly salary schedule amounts in lieu of prior longevity payments for teachers (longevity rolled into base salary).
- For precise eligibility definitions, compensation calculations, and agency implementation authority, consult the bill text (Part I and Part II) and any fiscal notes or implementing budget language.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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