West Virginia teachers, state troopers and non-uniformed correctional workers could be seeing a pay bump if a set of bills passed Wednesday becomes law.
But with rising health insurance premiums from the Public Employees Insurance Agency, those gains will likely not result in much additional take home pay.
HB 4883 would see pay raises for teachers of $2,460 and a $2,900 pay raise for state troopers. That bill passed the House unanimously and goes to the Senate.
On Wednesday, Senate President Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, told MetroNews that he hopes to pass a pay raise but that it might be smaller than some of the House proposals.
American Federation of Teachers — West Virginia President Fred Albert said he’s appreciative of the raises passed by the House, but he hopes teachers can get more increases as the bill advances in the Senate.
As it stands right now, Albert said the raise barely offsets PEIA increases and would result in little, if any, increases in take home pay.
Delegates also passed another bill, HB 4734, that would give non-uniformed correctional workers — such as secretaries and counselors working in West Virginia’s jails and prisons — a 3% pay increase.
Last summer, lawmakers increased the pay for uniformed correctional officers, but instead of raises they opted to give bonuses to the non-uniformed personnel.
Elaine Harris, representative for the Communication Workers of America District 213, which represents the state’s correctional workers, said the move in the House helps correct that discrepancy.
Harris said in combination with the governor’s 5% raise for state workers in the budget, some people might see an increase in take home pay, while others will just see it offset the PEIA increases.
Both bills will now be considered by the Senate.