House budget to start trickling out

Next Tuesday, Moore said, the House budget chairs will hold a press conference to roll out their plan, which he said will come in at $22.9 billion. That's the same bottom line as the Senate's plan, but well below Gov. Roy Cooper's $23.5 billion proposal.

In some years, the two chambers have disagreed on how much the state should spend, prolonging the final negotiation process. Early agreement on a target could help speed the deal along.

However, there will still be major differences between the two plans, Moore stressed, including tax policy. Senate leaders have called for $1 billion in tax cuts over the next two years, while House leaders proposed a more modest plan focused on increasing the standard deduction and making small changes to benefit economic development.

Moore said the House's tax proposal will be part of its spending plan.

"The Finance Committee will meet, review the tax package, and that will have a standalone vote within the Finance Committee, but it will be rolled into the overall budget," he said.

"There’s going to be tax relief in there. We’re going to fund education. We’re going to fund the criminal justice system in this state. We’re going to work on road infrastructure and transportation needs. We’re going to try to get at the core needs of what North Carolinians tell us they want us to deal with," Moore told reporters. "We'll certainly, on the House side, improve the budget."