Bill > H1146

This bill, the Current Operations Appropriations Act of 2026, makes base budget appropriations for the current operations of state departments, institutions, and agencies for the 2025-2027 fiscal biennium. * **Education:** * Community College System: $1.73 billion in FY 2025-2026 and $1.88 billion in FY 2026-2027 from the General Fund. * Public Instruction: $12.39 billion in FY 2025-2026 and $13.60 billion in FY 2026-2027 from the General Fund. * University of North Carolina System: $4.80 billion in FY 2025-2026 and $4.14 billion in FY 2026-2027 from the General Fund. * **Health and Human Services:** $8.70 billion in FY 2025-2026 and $9.71 billion in FY 2026-2027 from the General Fund. * **Justice and Public Safety:** Includes appropriations for the Judicial Department ($824.3 million in FY 2025-2026), Department of Public Safety ($666.0 million in FY 2025-2026), and Department of Adult Correction ($2.23 billion in FY 2025-2026), all from the General Fund. * **Highway Fund:** $3.40 billion in FY 2026-2027 for the Department of Transportation. * **Highway Trust Fund:** $2.57 billion in FY 2026-2027 for construction and other purposes. * **Teacher Salaries:** Increases teacher salaries by 2.5% effective July 1, 2025, and another 2.5% effective July 1, 2026. * **Principal Salaries:** Establishes new salary schedules for principals based on school growth and average daily membership, with increases effective July 1, 2025, and July 1, 2026. * **Disaster Recovery:** Allocates $50 million from nonrecurring funds for the State Emergency Response and Disaster Relief Fund for future storm response and recovery. * **NCInnovation:** Requires NCInnovation to transfer $500 million back to the State, which will be deposited into the State Emergency Response and Disaster Relief Fund. * **Education Lottery Funds:** Allocates funds for various educational purposes, including noninstructional support personnel, prekindergarten programs, and school building capital. * **IT Modernization:** Allocates $165.7 million from the Information Technology Project Reserve for various IT modernization projects across state agencies. * **Opportunity Scholarships:** Significantly increases funding for the Opportunity Scholarship Grant Fund Reserve, with appropriations reaching $625 million in FY 2025-2026 and $675 million in FY 2026-2027. * **Tax Changes:** Maintains the personal income tax rate at 3.99% after 2025, maintains the corporate income tax rate at 2.25% after 2025, and enacts a sales tax holiday for back-to-school items.