Gov. Roy Cooper said to expect "trilateral" budget negotiations after the North Carolina House of Representatives takes its turn at writing the state budget.
Cooper said legislative leaders have agreed his administration will be part of conference committee talks on the budget, which ordinarily focus more on working out House/Senate differences on a given piece of legislation.
Other WRAL Top Stories
"We look forward to trilateral discussions during the conference committee and negotiation to try and get a budget that (House and Senate leaders) can get the majority of members in their chambers to vote for and that I can sign," Cooper said Friday. "I think the bulk of the negotiations will occur after both the Senate and House have finished their preferred versions of the budget."
The Senate finalized its budget on Friday. The House will work up its proposal in the coming weeks, then the conference committee process starts.
"There has been a commitment to me by the leaders that there will be a real negotiation during that period of time," Cooper said. "I think, last budget session, that's the point where we really missed out."
Cooper has vetoed the General Assembly's budget proposal the last two years, leading to stalemates that left a number of priorities for both sides on the cutting room floor. In those years, Cooper said Friday, "we didn't really have good discussions in the conference committee before it was clearly a budget I needed to veto."
"We didn't reach agreement at the end of the day," he said. "We're going to try to get there beforehand."
The governor's remarks came Friday afternoon at the North Carolina Museum of Art, following a bill signing event on legislation dealing with trails and greenways.
Spokespeople for House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger later confirmed the negotiation plan.