HOW BIG ARE THE RAISES?

Teachers, UNC professors and community college instructors would receive an average raise of 3 percent. All other state employees would receive the greater of 2.75 percent or $1,100. Retirees would receive a 2.2 percent cost of living increase. Employee associations had sought more, particularly teachers, who praised Gov. Mike Easley's call to give them a 7 percent raise. Legislative leaders said there wasn't enough money, and noted that teachers and state workers are getting better raises here than just about anywhere else in the Southeast.

The Senate had offered Easley budget language that would allow him to revisit teacher salaries if the state's fortunes improved over the next four months, but House leaders kept it out of the budget. They said it made no sense when Easley was already urging lawmakers to cut spending as the economy worsens.

WHY SO MUCH BORROWING?

House and Senate leaders are authorizing $857 million in borrowing -- much of it for new buildings on UNC campuses. (The budget also has an additional $129 million in direct spending on construction projects.)

The legislative leaders say the construction, which would be let over four years, could provide an economic boost. They estimate it will create more than 20,000 construction-related jobs and generate about $85 million in sales, income and other taxes back to the state.

Locally, N.C. Central University gets $24.5 million for a School of Nursing building, N.C. State University receives $109 million for a new library on Centennial Campus, and UNC-Chapel Hill's School of Dentistry expansion grows by $69 million. A big project for downtown Raleigh is the complex called Green Square, which includes a new office building for the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, an expansion of the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences and a parking deck. The budget borrows $107 million for that project.

HOW DOES THE BUDGET DEAL WITH MAJOR ISSUES THAT HAVE MADE HEADLINES?

* It expands four prisons, creating 1,500 new beds for a system that is currently telling counties to keep convicted felons in jail cells until space opens up. It also includes $10 million for gang prevention programs, which may keep some teenagers out of the prisons down the road.

* In response to the two high-profile killings, those of UNC-CH Student Body President Eve Carson and Duke University graduate student Abhijit Mahato, it includes money to help probation and court officials keep track of those who have violated probation. A tracking system pilot project would get $5 million, and the Department of Correction would receive $2.5 million to improve its probation supervision.

* It makes steep cuts -- roughly $85 million -- in mental health community support services, which have squandered an estimated $400 million, audits show.

* It includes $600,000 for sheriffs to participate in federal illegal immigration enforcement.

* Rape victims would no longer have to pay out of pocket for forensic exams. The budget includes $1 million to cover the cost.

WHAT ELSE IS COMING TO THE TRIANGLE?

The Triangle Expressway in western Wake County would receive $25 million annually in gap funding for the planned toll road. Wake County would get another assistant district attorney, District Court judge and two magistrates. Durham County would receive another magistrate.

ANY TAX RELIEF?

If you are a fully disabled military veteran, you could receive a property tax homestead exemption. Buying an energy-efficient appliance? You may want to wait for a sales tax holiday that will begin the first Friday in November and run through the weekend. Bakers and other small businesses could avoid charging sales taxes to their customers.