If you will recall, SEANC has worked with legislators to gain overwhelming bipartisan support for bills that would give a true pay raise to active state employees and a cost-of-living adjustment to retirees.

House Bill 540, filed by Rep. Chris Malone (R-Wake) would give all state employees and teachers who make less than $100,000 a year a $2,400 pay increase this year. Representatives from both sides of the aisle and all over the state support this bill because it is evident the need for real pay raises is a crisis for the state that must be addressed. In fact, more than a third of all House Republicans feel strongly enough to lend their name to it as co-sponsors.

House Bill 497, filed by Rep. Jonathan Jordan (R-Ashe) would grant a 2-percent COLA to retirees this year. It received a unanimous favorable vote from the House Pensions and Retirement Committee last week, but still must pass through the House Appropriations Committee to get a floor vote.

We need members to reach out to your legislators to ask them to hear the bills! It doesn't cost the state a dime to discuss these bills in committee, so there's no reason not to have a good debate over what state employee pay and retiree COLA should be this year.

Click here to contact your representative using SEANC’s Engage tool. Simply type your address in the search bar to find your representative. You will then be able to send a pre-written message directly to them, or type in your own message.

You can also click here to find your legislators by county to give them a call.