The Department of Transportation would be able to add toll lanes to existing highways as long as some lanes stayed free under a bill that cleared the House Tuesday.

In meetings Tuesday of the Senate appropriations and finance committees, legislators sketched the outlines of the budget debate that will begin in the chamber Wednesday.

Charter schools would have the same rights to permanent tags for their vehicles as other public schools have under a bill that cleared the House Transportation Committee Tuesday.

The House Education Committee did not vote Tuesday on a bill that would use taxpayer money to send children to private schools. Instead, they let the public -- those in favor and against -- have their say.

McCrory says he has had "influence" over Senate and House tax reform plans and is aiming to help the legislature craft a consensus plan.

The state Senate will spend today making amendments to its $20.6 billion budget that was unveiled Sunday night. Meanwhile, the House education committee will hear a bill that would provide publicly-funded vouchers for some students to attend private schools.

Proponents of the measure say it will give parents a choice of where and how to educate their children. Opponents say it will drain resources from public schools.

The single largest increase in the Senate budget plan - by far - is an additional half a billion dollars spent on Medicaid in the upcoming year. Senate leaders say that has to change.

Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie and investigative reporter Mark Binker break down the North Carolina Senate's budget proposal.

It's longstanding tradition for legislative leaders to tuck controversial policy items into the budget. The state Senate's latest plan is no exception.