North Carolina Senate approves spending plan adjustments, amid budget impasse with House

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The North Carolina Senate approved late Monday a budget-adjustment measure that is stripped down and spends less compared to similar legislation advanced by their House GOP counterparts last week.

The Senate voted 27-19 along party lines for the Republican-drawn measure, which alters the second year of a two-year budget enacted by the General Assembly last fall.

With Republicans from each chamber currently unwilling to consider the other chamber’s proposal, GOP leaders have signaled they’re ready to send colleagues home after this week without a budget adjustment agreement. They could return later in the summer to act if the standoff eases.

“Even if we can’t get an agreement with the House on these measures, I am confident that the state of North Carolina is going to be in good shape,” Sen. Brent Jackson, a Sampson County Republican who is one of the chamber’s chief budget-writers, told colleagues during floor debate. Jackson suggested lawmakers could even wait until early 2025 if necessary.

The Senate plan would spend $31.4 billion during the fiscal year starting July 1, or $287 million less than the House plan. A chief difference is that the House is seeking to raise teacher and state employee pay above what the two-year budget already orders in the coming year. The Senate adjustments don’t contain these additional pay increases.

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