Thursday Wrap: Congressional map, DOT money and hurricane relief

After days of drawing and redrawing district lines, the House voted along party lines Thursday in favor of a new map of North Carolina's 13 U.S. House districts. The new map, which still must be approved by the Senate and by a three-judge panel overseeing a legal challenge to the current map, would likely favor eight Republicans and five Democrats, compared with the existing 10-3 split in favor of the GOP.

Both the House and the Senate approved a cash infusion for the state Department of Transportation, which has been strapped for months because of the expense of repairing roads damaged by natural disasters in recent years and of settling lawsuits over a state law that has since been repealed. The legislation comes with a raft of items that DOT must report to lawmakers and calls on state auditors to look into the agency's spending.

A $230 million aid package for people affected by Hurricane Dorian and other recent storms also cleared the General Assembly. But a list of budget technical corrections glommed onto the measure to fix problems with the series of "mini-budgets" passed in lieu of an overall state budget sparked a brief brouhaha. Gov. Roy Cooper claimed one provision amounted to a money grab by lawmakers, but legislative leaders and university officials said Cooper was reading the language of the provision incorrectly.

One thing that appears to have died as lawmakers prepare to adjourn for the year is money for shifting Medicaid to a managed care program. Lawmakers had discussed passing another mini-budget to provide the needed funds, but the House and the Senate couldn't agree on a final package, which could stall the makeover next year.