North Carolina lawmakers have reached a long-awaited state budget deal and plan to vote on the spending plan this week, according to WRAL.
The agreement, finalized Sunday, is expected to keep in place the framework leaders of the state House and Senate settled on last month.
That framework includes raises for all state employees, with larger increases for teachers and law enforcement officers. It also preserves scheduled income tax cuts and raises tax rates on sports gambling operators. The state currently collects 18% of gross wagering revenue from eight legal, regulated operators.
The deal does not include some high-profile items, including a mechanism to fund a Major League Baseball stadium tied to a potential expansion bid in Raleigh.
Lawmakers have been at odds over the budget for more than a year. They previously outlined broad terms of an agreement, but Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Destin Hall have spent recent weeks negotiating remaining differences over spending priorities.
North Carolina is the only state that has not passed a comprehensive budget for the two-year fiscal cycle that began in July 2025. As a result, most state agencies have continued operating under spending levels approved in October 2023.