Differences left to hammer out

Major differences in budget proposals by Gov. Mike Easley, the state House and Senate leaders:

* TAXES: The House and Easley would extend temporary tax increases on sales and income taxes for another two years. The Senate lets them expire, which saves taxpayers $300 million in the first year alone.

* STATE PAY RAISES: The House would give most state employees a 4.25 percent raise, while the Senate is proposing a 4 percent increase. Both are more than the 2.5 percent raise proposed by Easley. All three agree on other pay raises: 5 percent (on average) for teachers, community college faculty and administrators, and judges; a 2 percent cost of living adjustment for retirees.

* COURTS: The Senate plan includes $37 million in new fees to pay for more court personnel and technology upgrades. Out-of-state lawyers, for example, would pay $100 more to practice in North Carolina courts. The fee for criminal defendants appearing in District and Superior courts would increase $10.

* MEDICAID: The House plan provides $100 million in one-time money to help counties pay for their share of Medicaid costs. The Senate only provides language saying legislators "intend" to find a solution to the issue by July 1.

* GAS TAX: The Senate would make the cap on the gas tax permanent at 30.15 cents per gallon. A temporary cap expires June 30.

* LOTTERY REVENUE FOR EDUCATION: The Senate and House agree on lottery revenue estimates, but they differ on how they would spend the proceeds. The House would spend $70 million on Easley's More at Four pre-kindergarten program, while the Senate would spend $84.6 million. The Senate would spend $90.4 million on Easley's class-size reduction initiative, while the House budgeted $105 million.

* CANCER RESEARCH: The Senate would take $16 million from a trust fund that collects money from a national settlement between the states and the major tobacco companies for public health-care costs. That $16 million would be spent on cancer research at UNC Hospitals.

* INCOME TAX REDUCTION FOR THE WORKING POOR: The House calls for an earned income tax credit for the working poor that would cost the state $69 million in the first year. Easley has proposed eliminating the state income tax for the state's poorest residents and reducing it by half for those who make slightly more at a cost of $63 million.