WRAL.com: Raleigh, Durham, Fayetteville

Now that the crossover deadline has winnowed the number of bills eligible for consideration, lawmakers are turning their attention to budget and tax matters. House leaders rolled out a tax bill Thursday as Senators said they would unveil their budget plan on Sunday evening.

House and Senate lawmakers passed nearly 200 bills this crossover week. But hundreds more didn't make the deadline.

Bills that are subject to crossover and don't make the deadline are considered "dead" for the rest of the two-year session. But state lawmakers have come up with plenty of ways to resurrect them.

The crossover deadline passed Thursday with little last-minute panic, with the Senate leaving town before noon and the House adjourning before 3 p.m.

The state House passed a bill that would restrict tolling on existing highways. It also passed a bill fixing a gap in the state's Medicaid program and several other bills in the closing hours of the crossover period.

The House has approved a measure that would prohibit health plans on North Carolina's insurance exchanges from offering abortion coverage. The measure now goes to the Senate.

A proposal to ban the recognition of Islamic Sharia law in North Carolina is headed for the Senate after winning final House approval Thursday.

The anti-tax campaigner is in North Carolina this week to herald efforts by lawmakers to reduce corporate and personal income tax rates.

The legislative attempt to overturn outdoor smoking bans in cities, on beaches and on community college campuses has stalled in the Senate and appears unlikely to make the cut as lawmakers scramble to meet their "crossover" deadline.

The state Senate plans to unveil its budget plan for the coming fiscal year late Sunday, Appropriations Committee Chairman Sen. Pete Brunstetter said Thursday.