Rep. Jones files bill in North Carolina House to raise pay for teachers and first responders

A new bill filed by State Rep. Abe Jones in the North Carolina House seeks to provide a permanent 10% pay raise for teachers and first responders in the state, according to the North Carolina State House.

The bill, filed as HB 932 on April 10 during the 2025 regular session, was formally listed with the short title: ‘Ten Percent Raise/Teachers/First Responders.’

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill establishes the 2025 Teachers’ and First Responders’ Pay Increase Program to provide a 10% permanent pay raise to teachers and first responders in North Carolina, effective July 1, 2025. For first responders—which include law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical services personnel, dispatchers, and nurses employed by public institutions—the bill allocates $700 million annually from the General Fund over the 2025-27 biennium to ensure the pay increase, which becomes part of the responders’ base salary and impacts future salary calculations and retirement contributions. Similarly, the bill provides $900 million annually to fund a 10% salary raise for teachers, including those in public schools, charter schools, and regional schools, which is also added to their base salary and subjected to retirement contributions and taxes. Funds unspent by the end of each fiscal year will revert to the General Fund. The provisions of the State Budget Act take precedence in case of conflicts with this bill.

Jones proposed another 16 bills during the 2025 regular session.

Bills in North Carolina follow a multi-step process before becoming law. A lawmaker starts by filing a bill, which is assigned to a committee for review. The bill must be read three times in each chamber. If one chamber changes the bill after the other passes it, both must agree on the final version. Once both chambers approve the same bill, it goes to the governor, who has 10 days (or 30 if the legislature is not in session) to sign, veto, or let it become law without a signature.

You can read more about the bills and other measures here.

Jones graduated from Harvard University in 1974 with an AB and again in 1977 from Harvard Law School with a JD.

Jones, a Democrat, was elected to the North Carolina State House in 2021 to represent the state’s 38th House district, replacing previous state representative Yvonne Lewis Holley.