NC lawmakers agree on state worker pay, edge closer to budget deal as session drags on

State lawmakers are closer to a budget deal, a proposal to authorize four new casinos has momentum and a controversial education bill is likely dead for this legislative session, top General Assembly leaders said Thursday.

The flood of updates broke a relatively quiet period at the North Carolina statehouse, where the House and Senate are mostly idle while top leadership negotiates on a state budget now nearly three weeks past due. Speaker of the House Tim Moore said Thursday that negotiators are “a lot closer than we were” and that they may reach agreement in the coming days.

Moore said House and Senate negotiators have an agreement on raises for teachers and state employees, though he wouldn’t share specifics. The House proposed larger raises than the Senate, though, and Moore told reporters that House budget writers are “very pleased” with the compromise.

Moore, R-Cleveland, also said opportunity scholarship funding increases will be part of the final budget agreement. He said there’s no appetite among the House’s Republican majority to split Medicaid expansion out from the rest of the budget, something Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and others in his party have pushed for.

Senate Republican Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, also spoke to reporters Thursday. His comments largely backed Moore’s read of various issues pending before the General Assembly. But, as is his habit, Berger shared less information and less optimism.

“There’s movement,” Berger said of the budget. “There’s no resolution.”

Here’s a breakdown of updates discussed by Moore and Berger on Thursday:

Casinos, video lottery terminals: Moore said a long-discussed proposal to legalize more casinos, as well as slot-machine-style games called video lottery terminals, has “a decent amount of support” among House Republicans.

Berger has also expressed support for the proposal, which in its latest draft would authorize four new casinos. Three would be located in Anson, Nash and Rockingham counties, with a fourth set aside for the Lumbee Tribe somewhere in eastern North Carolina, Moore said.

Video lottery terminals would be legalized on a much wider basis, potentially being allowed in bars, restaurants and convenience stores.

These proposals have percolated at the statehouse for months. Moore said Thursday that proposed language has been traded between House and Senate negotiators, and later in the day WRAL News obtained a copy of a draft bill.

Berger said casinos would be part of larger “entertainment districts,” potentially including a casino, hotel, residential, commercial and office space. He said these facilities could have more than 1,000 employees.

Education bill: Moore said a wide-ranging education bill released last week in the House is likely dead for this legislative session.

Senate Bill 90 has dozens of provisions and is largely aimed at empowering parents when it comes to public schools. It would have set a procedure for complaints from five parents to lead to a school system superintendent’s firing. It also would have required libraries to keep some materials in adults-only sections and to cancel childrens’ library cards if they didn’t get written permission from their parents to have a card.

Moore said some Republican House members were particularly concerned about the bill’s library language.

State budget: Moore and Berger said they continue to negotiate over a pair of issues that have delayed a final budget for weeks: How to handle tax cuts and state reserves.

Moore said the House wants tax cuts that the Senate is pushing to be tied to revenue triggers so that the cuts only go into effect if the state hits certain revenue targets. That way, if state tax collections dip, planned tax cuts don’t kick in and compound the problem, Moore said. It’s one of the main issues House and Senate negotiators are discussing, Moore said.

Moore said he suspects negotiators are getting close to “a resolution or an impasse,” but both he and Berger expressed confidence that lawmakers will finalize a budget soon.

The state’s new fiscal year began July 1. State government operates under the terms of the previously approved budget when a new budget isn’t approved so that there’s no shutdown when lawmakers fail to agree on time.

Election bills: Moore said he expected a pair of major election bills to be heard in a House committee the week of Aug. 7, with a possibility that they’re heard the week before. He said the House will likely make some changes to the measures, which already cleared the state Senate, but that it has “not been determined exactly what the changes will be.”

Session schedule: A number of major issues beyond the budget remain for this legislature to handle, but floor votes on those bills likely won’t come until August.

Moore told House members to expect “a significant number of votes” the week of Aug. 7, including potential votes on the state budget. The House will also likely take up veto override votes that week on bills Cooper rejected, including bills that would limit transgender student’s ability to play school sports and limit gender transition care for minor children.

The override votes won’t be taken earlier than Aug. 7, Moore said.

A redistricting session, to redraw the state’s congressional map as well as the state House and Senate election maps, is expected to be held around the end of September and beginning of October, Moore said.

Moore’s plans:Moore reiterated Thursday that this will be his last term as Speaker of the House, but he remained mum about his future plans. “I haven’t decided what I’m going to do next,” he said.

Moore is a potential congressional candidate and will have some say during the coming redistricting session about what the state’s congressional districts look like.