Tuesday Wrap: Honoring Marc Basnight, delivery robots, DOT budgeting

Lawmakers continue working in fits and starts, waiting on House and Senate negotiators to produce a compromise state budget on which they can vote.

Posted 12:50 a.m. Sep 22, 2021 — Updated 12:53 a.m. Sep 22, 2021

RALEIGH, N.C. — Lawmakers continue working in fits and starts, waiting on House and Senate negotiators to produce a compromise state budget on which they can vote.

While the House has been out of session this week, current and former senators gathered Tuesday to honor longtime Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight. The Dare County Democrat, who led the Senate for a record 18 years before retiring in 2011, died last winter. The Senate unveiled a portrait of him that will hang in the chamber.

A Senate committee also approved a proposal that would allow driverless delivery vehicles to operate on North Carolina streets while also setting up regulations for them.

Local officials fear some long-range road projects could get bumped from state Department of Transportation plans after the agency determined its plan was at least $7 billion over budget between 2024 and 2033.

Finally, two Democratic lawmakers have announced they won't seek re-election next year. Sen. Ben Clark, D-Hoke, and Rep. Verla Insko, D-Orange, one of the longest serving members of the General Assembly, both said they will complete their current terms.

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