A proposed two-year state government budget passed the North Carolina Senate on Thursday, setting the stage for negotiations with House counterparts in the coming weeks to craft a final spending and tax plan.
For the second day in a row, seven Democrats joined all Republicans present in voting on the measure, which includes more than 1,000 pages of spending articles and policy guidelines.
The House, which is also controlled by Republicans, passed its own budget proposal last month that spends the same overall amount as the Senate. That’s $29.8 billion in the year starting July 1 and $30.9 billion the following year. But the plans differ in the extent of the proposed income tax cuts, wage increases for workers and teachers and policy prescriptions.
NORTH CAROLINA HOUSE GIVE INITIAL APPROVAL TO RESPONSIBLE BUDGET THAT WOULD FUND THE STATE FOR THE NEXT 2 YEARS
A couple walks near the North Carolina State Capitol in Raleigh on May 9, 2016. A proposed budget that would fund the state for the next two years has passed the North Carolina Senate. The measure will now go to the House for negotiation. (Al Drago/CQ Roll Call)
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For example, the House wants to move oversight of the State Bureau of Investigation further away from the administration of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper. Meanwhile, the Senate wants to eliminate many more “certificate of need” laws that require regulatory approval before a medical facility can be built or expensive equipment purchased.
After the negotiations, the two chambers will vote on a consensus bill and it will go to the desk of Cooper, who has criticized the House and Senate plans, especially on spending and public education policy.
Republicans now hold majorities of veto-proof seats in both chambers, making it more likely that any final measure could overcome a Cooper veto. And a provision of the Medicaid expansion law that Cooper gleefully signed into law in March makes the rollout of health coverage to hundreds of thousands of additional adults conditional on the passage of a budget bill.
