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Gov. Pat McCrory declined to say Wednesday whether he would veto a state budget that includes provisions he disagrees with.

The Republican governor told the Charlotte Observer he believes he can compromise with leaders of the GOP-controlled General Assembly. McCrory doesn’t like some parts of the Senate budget that could be passed by that body Wednesday. Among them: a proposal to eliminate special Superior Court judges, transferring the SBI from the Attorney General’s office to the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety and the lack of pay increases for state employees. “I’ll probably follow the same line I did as (Charlotte’s) mayor,” the governor said. “I never showed my cards this early in the process.”

Only one in 10 North Carolina voters support a sales tax on groceries, according to a new Public Policy Polling survey, and many appear uninterested in the House and Senate tax plans.

The Senate tax plan would levy a 6.5 percent state and local sales tax on food -- 14 years after state lawmakers repealed it. Local governments currently can tax food at 2 percent but the state doesn't received the revenue.

The Democratic firm's poll of North Carolina voters found that 81 percent oppose the Senate's idea and another 9 percent are undecided. The House tax plan doesn't touch the food tax.

Asked if they support the Senate's tax plan (without description of what it did), 44 percent opposed the plan and another 42 percent were undecided. Only 14 percent support it. Likewise, the House plan -- which debuted Thursday -- fared about the same with just 11 percent supportive and 41 percent opposed. Another 48 percent were undecided.

EDWARDS REGROUPS: Former presidential contender John Edwards has reactivated his license to practice law and is setting out on the speaking circuit, the Associated Press reports. The former U.S. senator and 2004 Democratic vice-presidential nominee is scheduled to appear June 6 at a private retreat in Orlando, Fla., for lawyer clients of the marketing firm PMP.

Edwards has remained largely out of public view since his acquittal in May 2012 on one charge of campaign finance fraud. A judge declared a mistrial on five other criminal counts after jurors couldn’t agree whether Edwards had illegally used campaign money to hide his pregnant mistress as he ran for president in 2008. An itinerary says Edwards will speak for about 45 minutes as part of a program titled “Historic Trials of the Century.” Edwards earned millions as a personal injury lawyer before entering politics.

***Thanks for reading the Dome Morning Memo. If you're here, you survived crossover. Get a wrap up below. Now hold your hats for the final weeks of the legislative session. Send news and tips to dome@newsobserver.com.***

The divide between legislative Republicans about how to revamp the state’s tax code became clear Thursday, as House leaders unveiled a dueling plan, calling it a more measured approach.

The House legislation (Read it here.) offers smaller income tax cuts in exchange for fewer new taxes on services. Supporters pledged it would give a break to all taxpayers but the numbers remain unclear. It contrasts greatly with a sweeping Senate proposal that some experts believe could leave many people with a tax hike, a point its supporters dispute.

“We think our tax plan is a lot simpler in terms of the expansion of the sales tax base,” said state Rep. David Lewis, a Dunn Republican leading the effort. “We think it makes sense to people.”

HOUSE TO UNVEIL TAX PLAN OUTLINE:House Republicans plan to offer their own North Carolina tax overhaul plan Thursday that would reduce personal and corporate income tax rates and expand the sales tax to cover more services. The proposal's scope is much narrower than what Senate counterparts offered as GOP legislators try to fulfill a commitment to carry out tax reform this year.

The plan attempts to simplify income taxes and reduces the number of income tax brackets from three to one, according to the proposed legislation obtained by The Associated Press. House Republican leaders want to reduce slightly the combined state and local sales tax consumers in most counties pay from 6.75 percent to 6.65 percent. They also would subject the sales tax to a handful of new services such as automobile repairs and installations for personal property and warranty and service contracts, the bill says. In contrast, the Senate proposal unveiled last week would make the sales tax base one of the broadest in the country. More here.

NORQUIST TO BLESS SENATE TAX EFFORT: Americans for Tax Reform leader Grover Norquist will stand with Senate leader Phil Berger at a 9:30 a.m. press conference Thursday to talk about the Senate's tax rewrite. The visit is being coordinated by Americans for Prosperity, an advocacy group that pushing hard for a major tax overhaul measure this session. Opposition groups already are framing the visit, saying Norquist will support a bill that could raise taxes on a majority of people in the long-term. A luncheon with tax activists outside the legislature will follow later in the day.

Good Morning! This Dome Morning Memo is (unofficially) brought to you by Krispy Kreme donuts and coffee -- which is much needed after the House worked near midnight to beat the crossover deadline on a bevy of controversial bills in a 10-hour session. If you went to bed early, click below for all the North Carolina political news and analysis.***

A week after Senate Republicans unveiled an ambitious -- yet controversial -- tax overhaul measure, the forthcoming legislation continues to take shape.

Among the ideas on the table: capping localities ability to add to the state sales tax at 1.5 percent instead of the current 2 percent. It's part of how lawmakers get the 6.5 percent combined state and local sales tax. (The state sales tax would go from the current 4.75 to 5 percent.) But any change is likely to unnerve local governments, given the restraint on their ability to raise revenue.

Sen. Bob Rucho, a Charlotte Republican, said localities won't lose money because the plan will create more economic growth for them, and thus more tax revenue. "We want to make sure municipalities and local governments are kept where they are," he said. "And any growth will come from economic opportunity."

See other ideas being considered for the bill below.

TAX PLAN COULD MEAN TAX HIKE IN LONG TERM: The majority of taxpayers likely would see a tax increase after the plan is fully implemented, according to early long-term projections from legislative fiscal researchers who analyzed the potential legislation – not a tax break as Senate Republican leaders suggested when announcing the plan this week.

A taxpayer with a federal adjusted gross income below $51,000 could pay an average $100 to $200 more in the 2017 tax year. Based on current tax brackets, 2.3 million taxpayers would fit that category, according to the analysis, while 1.8 million taxpayers could expect an average $300 to $3,000 tax cut that year. In announcing the plan Tuesday, Senate leader Phil Berger, an Eden Republican, emphasized that the legislation was not yet finalized, but said the “vast majority,” or roughly two-thirds of taxpayers, would initially get a tax cut as a result of the legislation. (More below.)

***This is the Dome Morning Memo -- the source for North Carolina political news and analysis. Send tips to dome@newsobserver.com. And read more new details about the tax plan below.***

TODAY AT THE STATEHOUSE: The sausage machine is churning fast these days. A House regulatory reform committee will consider a number of measures to streamline government oversight, a major Republican agenda item, and the House Elections Committee will hear bills to repeal the state's antiquated literacy test and make judicial elections partisan contests. A Senate education committee will vote on a bill to regulate student prayers at school and athletic events and a Senate health care care committee takes up another abortion-related bill. The full House will take votes on a bill to impose term limits on House and Senate leaders and a proposal to repeal the estate tax. The full Senate will hear a measure to ban e-cigarette sales to minors. Gov. Pat McCrory will make an economic development announcement at 3 p.m. in Raleigh.

***More political intelligence below in the Dome Morning Memo including analysis of the Senate's tax plan and a roundup of the fast and furious legislative action. Send news and tips to dome @newsobserver.com. Thanks.***

Top Senate Republicans detailed a much-anticipated plan Tuesday to overhaul the state’s tax system by cutting personal and corporate income taxes in exchange for a broader sales tax applied to everything from haircuts to car repairs.

Senate leader Phil Berger, an Eden Republican, said the forthcoming legislation would trim the personal income tax from the highest 7.75 percent rate to 4.5 percent over three years and cut the corporate income tax from the current 6.9 percent to 6 percent.

The combined local and state sales tax would fall from 6.75 percent to 6.5 percent, but it would apply to hundreds of services currently exempted, including prescription drugs. The food tax would increase from the current 2 percent to the full sales tax rate, more than a three-fold increase.

The plan represents a retreat for Senate Republicans who earlier this year announced intentions to eliminate personal and corporate income taxes, a proposal also floated by Gov. Pat McCrory on the campaign trail. And many questions remain because lawmakers have not filed the exact legislation yet. Full story.

SENATE LEADERS TO PITCH TAX PLAN: The long-awaited plan to overhaul the state's tax system will debut Tuesday. Senate Republicans want to slash the personal income tax from the highest 7.75 percent rate to 4.5 percent over three years and drop the corporate income tax from 6.9 percent to 6 percent.

In a video previewing a 12:30 p.m. announcement, Senate leader Phil Berger called it a $1 billion tax cut -- the largest in state history. The question is how to pay for it and the details are less clear, but Berger said it will involved taxing a range of services from haircuts to auto mechanics. (More details below.)

TODAY AT THE STATEHOUSE: Taxes won't take all the air from the N.C. General Assembly today. In committees, the governor's transportation plan gets a final hearing before going to the full House; a health committee considers a measure to limit what a doctor can do about sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy and birth control without parental consent; and Senate lawmakers will consider (but not vote on) a proposal to allow armed guards in elementary schools who aren't necessarily law enforcement officers.

The controversial gun bill gets a third reading on the House floor and the Senate will consider a controversial state charter school bill similar to ALEC-sponsored legislation. (More on ALEC below.) Gov. Pat McCrory -- who promised to hold regular media availability -- will not take questions after the Council of State meeting at 9 a.m. today. It is normal practice but McCrory has shunned the media after the meetings just about every time since he took office. He lists no other public events on his calendar today.

***Thanks for reading the Dome Morning Memo. A big day in North Carolina politics ahead. Get the scoop below. Send news and tips to dome@newsobserver.com.***