Senate Rejects House Budget Plan

As reported in Under the Dome:

The N.C. Senate voted unanimously Monday night not to go along with the budget the House approved Saturday.

Delegations from the two chambers will now meet to work out a compromise, Lynn Bonner reports.

The House passed an $18.6 billion budget that includes $780 million in new taxes. The Senate's previously approved spending plan, drafted before the worst of the state's revenue news had come in, weighs in at $20 billion. It contains $500 million in new taxes, but senators haven't approved a plan spelling out how that money is raised.

Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight, a Manteo Democrat, appointed more than half of the Senate as conferees, but the appropriations committee chairs will handle most of the negotiating.