Rep. Wil Neumann, a Belmont Republican, plans to run for the Gaston County senate seat currently held by Sen. David Hoyle, a Democrat who lives in Dallas.

The district is Republican, but Hoyle has managed to hold the seat because of his pro-business record and ties to the business community. Neumann said he has worked well with Hoyle for several years and called him a "very good friend."

Hoyle has not said whether he will run for a 10th term.

"I’m not looking at this as a challenge to David but as it’s time for a Republican to be in that seat," Neumann said. "The community has asked me to do this."

Neumann, 47, was first elected to the House in 2006. He owns two small businesses with partners, a renewable energy company and a contractor, but said lately he has been focused on helping Republicans reclaim a majority in the House and, now, the Senate.

Kathy Harrington, the Republican candidate for Hoyle's seat last year, has not announced whether she will run again.

As Wednesday evening dragged on at the legislature, one of the hottest items of debate was when to end the session.

House Democrats and Republicans generally agreed that it would be best to bring the session in for a soft landing next week. Senators were ready to brew some coffee and work long hours throughout the weekend.

"We need to go home," said Sen. David Hoyle, a Gaston County Democrat, echoing an earlier sentiment from Sen. Phil Berger, the chamber's Republican leader.

The senate Democrats plan to meet Wednesday to decide when to go home.

Gov. Beverly Perdue signed a bill today that will increase inspections of high hazard coal ash ponds in North Carolina.

“Because of potential risk posed by the location of North Carolina’s coal ash ponds, we must provide greater oversight and more frequent inspections,” Perdue said in a statement. “This legislation will keep our citizens safer and our dams more secure.”

The Environmental Protection Agency has identified 12 coal ash dams in North Carolina, the most of any state in the country, reports Rob Christensen.

The issue drew attention because a dam burst in Tennessee last year, causing five million cubic yard of sludge containing many metals to escape.

Power companies dispose of their coal ash by mixing it with water and pumping it into ponds near their power plants.

Currently, power companies are only required to file reports every five years by private engineers on the structural conditions of the dams.

The new law, sponsored by Rep. Pricey Harrison, a leading environmentalist from Greensboro, and Sen. David Hoyle, a major voice for business from Gastonia, requires a state inspection every two years.

It's the end of July and the House and Senate are still in session. Here are three signs that they'll be done soon.

* House Speaker Joe Hackney told members to prepare next week for a lighter committee schedule as they work on the budget.

* The House and Senate approved another extension to the continuing resolution, which allows the state to function even though it has no budget. And unlike the last two resolutions, this time the House didn't insist on a deadline. Maybe that's because they figure they don't need one.

* Sen. David Hoyle and Rep. Paul Luebke stood next to each other and agreed on something. Hoyle, of Dallas, perhaps the most business-sympathetic Democrat in the legislature, and Luebke, of Durham, one of the more outspoken liberals in the legislature, agreed Thursday on a tax deal.

Legislative leaders reached a basic agreement on a tax plan late Wednesday that limits a proposed 2 percent income tax surcharge to North Carolinians who earn more than $250,000 a year.

"There's a broad agreement," said Bill Holmes, spokesman for House Speaker Joe Hackney, a Chapel Hill Democrat. "There are still a couple small things they want to talk about. It's an agreement in principle."

The plan otherwise resembles a compromise that fell apart last week but that includes a 1-cent increase in the sales tax, a 10-cent-per-pack increase in the cigarette tax, higher taxes on alcohol and a tax on digital downloads and online purchases. It raises $990 million for the state.

The proposal fell apart last week because the 2 percent surcharge, which is applied to the taxpayer's income tax liability, was imposed on everyone.

Gov. Beverly Perdue and some lawmakers objected to raising the income taxes on middle- and lower-income North Carolinians. Perdue was briefed on the revised plan by legislative leaders Wednesday morning.

"She is basically on board," said Sen. David Hoyle, a Gaston County Democrat and co-chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.

Legislators were feeling the pressure of a frustrated public and school systems unsure how many teachers they can hire for a school year that begins in three weeks. Lawmakers are already a month overdue with their spending plan. (N&O)

Gov. Beverly Perdue succeeded Thursday in blocking a tax package deal struck between the House and Senate just 24 hours earlier.

Senate leaders said they would start over on what taxes to raise and how much because of objections Perdue raised to a proposed 2 percent surcharge on all income tax brackets. Perdue also is insisting on no reduction in per pupil spending for public schools, said Sen. David Hoyle, a Gaston County Democrat and co-chair of the Senate Finance Committee.

"What we're going to do is regroup and replan," Hoyle said.

House leaders generated further confusion when they insisted that the tax deal was still viable.

"It's still on the table," said Rep. Mickey Michaux, a Durham Democrat and senior chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

House leaders also said they would be writing their own version of the spending side of the budget.

Legislative leaders, already three weeks late in crafting a budget, reached a tax deal yesterday that included the income tax surcharge, a 1-cent hike in the sales tax and a group of alcohol and tobacco tax increases to raise $982 million.

House Majority Leader Hugh Holliman, a Lexington Democrat, expressed frustration that Perdue blew up the compromise. Perdue's staff has been privy to negotiations.

"We would certainly appreciate it, if she has any problems with that plan, that she'd let us know," Holliman said.

Perdue, a Democrat, wants another $200 million, and Hoyle said Democratic leaders don't know where that money will come from.

More after the jump.

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Democratic Senate tax writers said their leadership has settled on a 1-cent sales tax hike and a list of alcohol and tobacco tax increases proposed by the House.

Now it's up to the House as to whether the Democratic caucus there will get behind the overall tax package.

Sen. David Hoyle, a Gaston Democrat and co-chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said Democratic Senate leaders were proceeding with writing a budget that included a 1-cent sales tax increase. Hoyle's comments followed a Democratic caucus meeting where members also settled on a series of alcohol and beer tax proposals offered by the House, he said.

Those increases include: 0.8 cents more per can of beer (or about a nickel per six-pack), 10 cents more per pack on cigarettes, 4 cents more per bottle of wine, 5 percent more per bottle of liquor and 2.8 percent on other tobacco products, such as chewing tobacco.

The sin taxes raise $74 million this year and $101 million next year, according to Sen. Clark Jenkins, a Tarboro Democrat and another finance co-chair.

Hoyle said Democratic leaders question the idea of putting a two-year sunset on the sales tax increase, because there is not an obvious way to replace that revenue in two years.

"The sunset," Hoyle said, "means we have to vote again in two years to extend it."

Correction: Post now includes correct home town for Jenkins. 

After more than a month of strained negotiations about how to raise money to offset a gigantic state budget deficit, lawmakers saw a third path Tuesday morning: Raise the tax burden on everybody.

The Senate put forth a plan that takes pieces of both the House and Senate proposals without giving either chamber what it really wanted.

The proposal calls for increases in sales taxes and sin taxes, as well as a two-year surcharge on corporate and individual income taxes for all taxpayers, to raise $990 million. It would put the total budget for this fiscal year at about $18.9 billion.

Supporters of the plan say it will raise the revenue Democratic lawmakers say the state needs to prevent dramatic cuts to education, public safety and health services.

"Nobody wants any more taxes, but they also don't want cuts on services," Sen. David Hoyle, a Gastonia Democrat involved in budget negotiations. "People don't realize the state is in an economic crisis."

The plan is sure to anger many state residents, who will face up to an extra dollar in sales tax for every $100 they spend shopping.

"This is always the case in government," said Jon Blum of Angier, who bought more than $130 worth of household items at the Super Target in Cary. "They need to learn to do more with less, just like we're having to do."

House and Senate Democrats are expected to discuss the tax proposal in closed sessions today. Even if members agree, negotiators still have to work out which state programs will be cut. House Speaker Joe Hackney said an agreement could be final within a day or two.

"We think it's time to get an agreement and finish this off," Hackney said.

Tax plan details after the jump. (N&O)

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The Senate pitched a tax proposal this morning that represents the best chance yet for a budget deal.

Rep. Paul Luebke, a Durham Democrat, and key budget negotiator said the Senate proposal represents a compromise between the House and Senate priorities.

"I think we have the possibility right now to move on this third way," Luebke said after House Democrats broke up a caucus meeting about the plan.

Luebke and Sen. David Hoyle, a Gastonia Democrat, said the Senate pitch includes a higher sales tax, unspecified "sin" taxes and a surcharge on the income tax.

A continued sticking point is combined reporting, Luebke said. House Democrats want all national corporations to report all earnings in all states to make it tougher to dodge taxes. Senate Democrats want to continue to allow the state Department of Revenue to demand combined reporting in specific cases.

Hoyle said the Senate still believes in broadening the sales tax base by including more items and services, which would allow a lower rate for everyone.

"We've got to get out of here," Hoyle said. "We'll keep pushing that issue over the next six to eight months and present it at the short session."

Democrats are expected to return to caucus after an abbreviated floor session.

Correction: Post now includes updated list of taxes. 

Sen. David Hoyle, a Gastonia Democrat and co-chairman of the Senate finance committee, said Thursday that budget negotiations are making broad tax reform difficult.

Both House and Senate Democrats have proposed revenue plans that would restructure parts of the tax system. The Senate's plan would broaden the sales tax base to include a variety of services while lowering rates for every major tax category.

Hoyle said that in negotiations, the House has been reluctant to sign on to parts of the Senate's plan.

"The House just can't seem to bite into that apple," Hoyle said. "And if they can't, then we have to move away, and where do we move? We have to go somewhere along the lines of the governor."

He said that means more traditional ways of raising revenue such as a sales tax increase and an income tax increase for high-income earners or businesses.