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| Social Services Consortium Members, FYI - Below is an article that outlines where the legislative budget is at right now. Karen BUDGET DEAL NEAR: Cigarette taxes would rise by 25 cents per pack on Sept. 1 and another nickel next July 1 under a tentative deal reached by House and Senate negotiators Thursday night. The compromise on cigarette taxes was among several agreements reached as legislative leaders pushed to conclude budget negotiations on the same day the General Assembly approved a third stopgap spending measure in lieu of a final budget. But one month into the new fiscal year, House and Senate leaders appeared confident a final agreement is near. House Speaker Jim Black predicts budget votes would be held by Wednesday and Thursday of next week. In addition to the cigarette tax deal, Senate leaders also agreed to drop a provision that would have allowed UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State University to set tuition rates independent of the UNC Board of Governors. Late Thursday night, Black and Senate leader Marc Basnight , D-Dare, were still trying to hammer out final agreements on state employee pay, and language detailing how lottery proceeds would be spent and how the game would be run. Sen. David Hoyle, D-Gaston, a co-chair of the Senate Finance Committee, said any final budget would likely include a state pay provision similar to the House's last offer the greater of 2 percent or $825. He said legislators may also offer employees some extra days off. Besides the tax hike on cigarettes, a 3-percent across-the-board increase would be applied to other tobacco products, including chewing tobacco and cigars. The agreement also calls for changes in how smaller cigarette makers that did not participate in a national tobacco settlement pay into a state-controlled escrow account. Larger cigarette makers have argued that the current payment structure puts them at a competitive disadvantage. On the UNC tuition provision, Hoyle said, "We've waved the white flag."
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