This week, leaders of both North Carolina General Assembly chambers appointed conferees to work on the budget bill and legislators considered various other bills.            

Budget Bill

Now that both chambers in the General Assembly have passed a version of the biennial budget bill (S 105), they have begun working to resolve their differences in a conference committee. Although a new budget bill was not enacted before the end of the state’s fiscal year on June 30, state government operations are continuing pursuant to state law with spending at the FY 21 recurring funding levels. The conference committee members were named this week.

Although it is uncertain how long the conference process will take, Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger was quoted this week as targeting Sept. 9 as a date for final floor votes on the final budget bill.

Sports Betting

This week, the Senate passed a bill (S 688) by a 26 to 19 margin that would permit online sports betting (termed “wagering” in the bill) in North Carolina. It would allow for 10 to 12 betting sites in the state and allow betting on professional sports, college sports, electronic sports and amateur sports. The bill now goes to the House.

DEQ Secretary Confirmation

Two Senate committees this week gave favorable approval to the nomination of Elizabeth Biser to be secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality. She was named to this post by Gov. Cooper in June and the Senate will likely approve her nomination next week.