Bill > H581

This bill appropriates funds for salary increases for various state employees, provides cost-of-living adjustments for retirees, expands a childcare program, and creates a tax credit for small businesses, covering the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 fiscal years. * **Teacher Salary Increases:** The General Fund is appropriated $673,612,851 in recurring funds for the 2023-2024 fiscal year to implement salary raises for licensed teachers, with specific salary schedules and supplements based on experience and qualifications. * **State Employee, Community College, and UNC Employee Salary Increases:** The General Fund is appropriated $666,842,000 in recurring funds and $568,443,000 in nonrecurring funds for the 2023-2024 fiscal year, and $1,003,074,000 in recurring funds and $43,466,000 in nonrecurring funds for the 2024-2025 fiscal year to fund cost-of-living adjustments and legislative salary increases for state employees, community college personnel (5% in FY24, 3% in FY25), and University of North Carolina employees. * **Retention Bonuses:** Funds are allocated for retention bonuses for state and local education employees, with payments scheduled for November 2023 and April 2024. * **Child Care WAGE$ Program Expansion:** The General Fund is appropriated $22,700,000 in recurring funds for the 2023-2024 fiscal year and $36,300,000 in recurring funds for the 2024-2025 fiscal year to expand the Child Care WAGE$ program statewide to provide salary supplements for early childhood educators. * **Small Business Tax Credit:** A new tax credit is established for qualifying employers, allowing a credit equal to the lesser of $10,000 or 5% of wages paid during the taxable year. This credit is refundable and sunsets for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2027. * **Retiree Cost-of-Living Adjustments:** Retirees of the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System, Consolidated Judicial Retirement System, and Legislative Retirement System will receive a 2% increase to their retirement allowance effective July 1, 2023, and one-time supplement payments of 2% in late 2023 and 1% in late 2024. * **Retirement and Health Plan Contributions:** The bill outlines updated State employer contribution rates for various retirement systems and sets maximum annual employer contributions for the North Carolina State Health Plan for Teachers and State Employees for the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 fiscal years.