The budget bill might not be ready for a vote next week after all.

Legislative leaders said Tuesday that they’re close to reaching a budget agreement, raising the possibility that floor votes could come as early as next week.

The tiny town of East Laurinburg in Scotland County will cease to be a town on June 30, and the county government will take over all town-owned buildings, property and bank accounts.

Legislation legalizing sports betting could finally start moving in the House this week, House Majority Leader John Bell told me Thursday.

The N.C. House is trying to expand a sales tax exemption for the aviation industry that supporters say could attract more jobs. House Bill 1046, which sailed through the House Finance Committee on Tuesday, addresses the sale of parts and accessories used to repair and maintain aircraft.

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There are a lot of unknowns about how this year’s budget process will play out. Reporters have been peppering House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger with questions about it during our daily after-session “press gaggles,” but there aren’t many concrete details to report at this stage.

The chairs of House and Senate budget subcommittees will meet soon to start hashing out the minutiae of the spending plan.

Old articles in The News & Observer from the planning and grand opening of the building – built because the legislature’s chambers at the historic Capitol were too small – offer some fun facts about the place.

Budget talks between top House and Senate leaders have been under way for weeks behind closed doors, but more details could begin emerging this week.

Senate Democrats want to use the state’s revenue surplus to temporarily suspend the gas tax, but they might not have buy-in from GOP leadership.

N.C. Senate Democrats are proposing sales tax holidays as a way to help with rising prices.

The first day of the short session meant the opening of a relatively short bill filing window. Many of the bills filed Wednesday were appropriations bills, unlikely to move on their own but an attempt to get some allocations included in budget discussions.