@NCCapitol

Today@NCCapitol (Feb. 14): The budget dance begins

Members of the House and the Senate Appropriations Committees meet Tuesday morning to hear about the state's fiscal situation, marking the first public hearing the in the budget process.

Posted 2017-02-13T22:46:32+00:00 - Updated 2017-02-14T11:00:00+00:00

This is a picture of the North Carolina flag, although it's a bit tattered.

Mark Binker

It looks like lawmakers will have plenty of time to make last-minute flower runs for Valentine's Day, as neither the House nor the Senate has any bills listed on their floor calendars.

The biggest meeting of the day will be a joint House-Senate Appropriations meeting at 8:30 a.m. during which members will get a briefing about North Carolina's fiscal status.

There will also be education committees meeting on both sides of the building. The Senate Higher Education Committee meets at noon to take up a measure slimming down the UNC Board of Governors. The House K-12 Education Committee will use a 10 a.m. meeting to consider setting up a task force to restructure how school funding is parceled out.

ICYMI: Late Monday, the state Supreme Court stepped into the ongoing fracas over merging the state elections and ethics boards. The court's order effectively reinstates the State Board of Elections, which lawmakers want to fold into the Ethics Commission.

Bill Filings: Lawmakers filed House Bill 88 and Senate Bill 73 on Monday, identical bills titled "Modernize Nursing Practice Act" that place a lot of emphasis on defining the role of "advanced practice" nurses such as nurse practitioners and nurse midwives.

Program Notes: Today@NCCapitol will publish most mornings the legislature is in session with a look ahead for that day's activities. Look for TheWrap@NCCapitol, a video recap of legislative business, at the conclusion of most legislative days.