CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Senate Finance Committee approved Gov. Jim Justice’s state worker pay raise bill on a voice vote Wednesday afternoon.
SB 531 calls for an average 5% raise for teachers, other professional school workers like counselors, school service personnel and state police troopers. Those are the state employees included in state code.
Gov. Justice has also promised all other state workers a similar raise.
SB 531 has a $71.3 million price tag and is included in Justice’s proposed state budget for next fiscal year.
According to the bill, teachers and those in student support services would receive a $2,240 raise which would cost $52.3 million.
School service personnel will receive a raise of $122 a month for a total cost of $16.4 million.
The state police raise would be $2,550 and cost $2.2 million.
Sen. Eric Nelson, R-Kanawha, asked state Department of Education School Operations Officer Sam Pauley if the raise covers all school workers.
“The only way a county would be able to keep a person on their staff from getting this raise would be if their county proposed a separate pay table for that class of employee which is not very common,” Pauley said.
Nelson also confirmed through a representative of the state Consolidated Public Retirement Board that the state’s employer share of pension payments would increase in connection with the bill.
The state contribution for the teacher part of the pay raise would increase the state’s share by $165 million to be paid off with $20 million a year over the next 12 years.
The state’s retirement liability for raising the pay for troopers by 5% by $12 million for 10 years costing the state about $2 million annually.