Raises for law enforcement pass NC Senate. Here's how much they would be paid

Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan, The News & Observer on Sep 22, 2025

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Police officers across the state would receive pay raises if a bill passed by one chamber of the General Assembly on Monday becomes law.

The bill passed the Senate unanimously without debate on Monday, 48-0. It now goes to the House.

Senate leader Phil Berger presented the bill on the floor and in committee earlier Monday. It is rare for a legislative leader to present bills, usually reserving the move for their major priorities.

The General Assembly is nearly three months late in passing a comprehensive state budget, as Senate and House Republicans have not come to an agreement on issues including future tax cuts. Instead, lawmakers passed a mini-budget bill during a brief session at the end of July that authorized step-increase raises for teachers and some state employees.

The bill passed by the Senate on Monday directly focuses on jobs in law enforcement.

House Bill 42, which was replaced Monday with a new bill, called the “Back the Blue Act,” would give raises to various law enforcement officers at the state and local level.

Here’s what is in the bill:

Raises for sworn law enforcement officers

Retroactive to July 1, a raise of 6.5% would be given to sworn law enforcement officers, including these state agencies:

•Department of Agriculture, Forestry

•Department of Environmental Quality, Marine Fisheries

•Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, Parks.

•Wildlife Resources Commission

•State Capitol Police

New salary pay schedule for SBI, ALE, Highway Patrol

Law enforcement officers with the State Highway Patrol, State Bureau of Investigation and Bureau of Alcohol Law Enforcement would be moved to an experience-based salary schedule, resulting in additional raises.

Starting base pay would be $58,575, going up to a base salary of $85,468 for those officers with more than six years of experience.

Other state employees who would move to a new salary schedule include probation and parole officers, as well as juvenile court counselors.

Raises for administrative employees

Non-sworn administrative employees of the State Bureau of Investigation, who were employed there as of June 30, would receive a 5.75% raise.

Bonuses

If the bill becomes law, sworn state and local law enforcement officers could receive bonuses of $1,500 in November, if they were employed as of June 30.

Another bonus of $1,500 would be given in November 2026.

National Guard bonuses and pensions

The bill allocates money for recruitment and retention bonuses for members of the North Carolina National Guard. No specific amount of a bonus is listed.

The bill increases the monthly pension benefit in the North Carolina National Guard Pension Fund from $105-$210 to $108-$216, according to the bill summary.

Line of duty death benefit

In the Senate proposal, the death benefit payment for public safety employees who die in the line of duty would increase from $100,000 to $150,000.

Firefighters and rescue squad workers’ pensions

The bill, if it becomes law, would increase monthly pension payments from the North Carolina Firefighters and Rescue Squad Workers’ Pension Fund from $175 to $180 starting Jan. 1.

What’s next

The bill passed unanimously, with all Democrats in favor along with Republicans, who hold a supermajority. However, the House historically wants higher raises than the Senate’s proposals, so it is unclear if the House will pass the bill in its current form.

If it is changed in the House, the bill would have to go back to the Senate for a final vote. If the House passes the bill as is, it then goes to the desk of Democratic Gov. Josh Stein for action. Stein recently proposed raises for law enforcement.

The Senate’s spring 2025 budget proposal also included raises for state law enforcement, including new salary schedules and some raises of 6.5% — higher than those proposed for other state employees.