RALEIGH, N.C. — At the end of the month, lawmakers might leave Raleigh without making adjustments to the two year state budget.

The state’s new fiscal year begins on July 1. The two-year spending plan passed last year does cover the upcoming fiscal year, but usually lawmakers add funds or move around allocated money.

What You Need To Know

  •  While North Carolina does have a budget for the upcoming year, lawmakers traditionally use the short session to make updates

  •  The House wants to add additional pay raises for employees, while the Senate proposal keeps the raises at 3%

  •  Democrats in the House attempted to amend the bill, but most proposals were voted down

  •  Members of the Senate will vote on their proposal Monday

Weeks ago, Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger said House Republicans wanted to spend more money than the Senate was willing to.

House Speaker Tim Moore pushed back against that, saying the House wanted to put more money toward state employees and retirees dealing with inflation.

When a compromise couldn’t be met, House Republicans released their own budget proposal on Monday. It included hundreds of millions of dollars to give every family on the Opportunity Scholarship wait list a voucher for private school tuition, additional raises for state employees, a one time cost-of-living bonus for state retirees and money to cover 75% of the child care stabilization grants that run out at the end of the month.

State employees are scheduled for 3% raises in the new fiscal year, and the House proposal added one more percent.

In a statement, a bus driver union said, “Teamsters Local 391 and the public school support personnel we represent are pleased the House budget invests an extra 1% this year on top of the 3% invested last year in compensation adjustments. While we are grateful and we hope the Senate follows the House’s lead, we are not expecting a 4% increase to reverse the recruitment and retention problem for non-certified school support personnel.”

The Senate did not follow the House’s lead. Later in the week, their budget proposal was released with no additional raises.

It instead focused on eliminating the Opportunity Scholarship wait list and providing about 75% of the child care grants.

Both leaders have said they’re comfortable leaving this session at the end of the month without an updated budget, as there is already one in place.