Senators gave tentative approval Wednesday to a $20.6 billion budget that Republican leaders say will help right North Carolina fiscal ship even as Democrats slammed cuts to schools and economic development programs.

House lawmakers voted unanimously Wednesday on a bill that would dissolve the lease for the Dorothea Dix property but offer the City of Raleigh concessions for not fighting a rewrite of the deal.

On a busy Thursday afternoon, the Senate passed a bill to allow hunting with noise suppressors, saying it would save hunters' hearing. The cursive writing bill mirrors another measure sent over from the House. Senators also passed a bill giving Asheville's water system to a regional authority.

Legislative Democrats say Gov. Pat McCrory's budget proposal does nothing to create jobs, cuts education, and harms working families and rural communities.