Give-and-take continues on N.C. budget
Friday, June 30th, 2006
By Chris Fitzsimon
The Associated Press
RALEIGH, N.C.
State budget negotiations boiled down Thursday to a series of give-and-take positions from the House and Senate on employee raises, university construction money and policy issues that the Senate wants in the spending plan but the House doesn’t.
"We’ve been plowing this ground over and over again," a weary Sen. Linda Garrou, D-Forsyth, a chief negotiator, said during a break in meetings.
House and Senate leaders have been meeting daily from morning until night for more than a week trying to complete a budget before the current fiscal year ends Friday. Gov. Mike Easley, whose lobbyists also have been involved in the negotiations, also will be asked to sign the final bill.
They won’t meet that deadline now, but they could eliminate their final differences and pass a budget early Saturday _ a day late but nothing that would shut down state government, since a two-year budget was passed last summer.
The House late Thursday sent up a signal it was ready to go home for the long holiday weekend without a budget that adjusts the second year of the spending plan. It unanimously passed a procedural spending bill that would allow negotiators to continue working for another two weeks. (more…)
Last 5 posts in Daily News
- N.C. lottery ticket sales slipping - December 4th, 2008
- Apodaca leaving leadership role in state GOP - December 4th, 2008
- Freeman wraps up 38-year government stint - December 4th, 2008
- Editorial: States right to seek federal stimulus plan - December 4th, 2008
- Moore, Cooper should resolve differences - December 4th, 2008
Email This Post
Print This Post
