RALEIGH – July 1, the beginning of the 2013-2014 fiscal year, came and went without the General Assembly passing the state’s budget.

While both the House and the Senate have passed their own versions of North Carolina’s budget, the two bodies did not reconcile the differences between the two budgets in time to reach Governor Pat McCrory’s desk.

In order to keep the state funded while final budget decisions are being made, state legislators passed a stop-gap measure last Tuesday that will keep state functions funded until July 31.

Part of the stop-gap’s provisions requires that spending be five percent less than what was already approved for the fiscal year.

House and Senate leaders are negotiating to compromise on differences between the two bills, namely tax reform and education.

The Senate has deeper cuts to taxes than the House’s proposed budget, with the Senate’s budget raising $384 million less in revenue than the House’s budget, which raises $300 million less than would be raised over a two-year period under current tax levels.

On the tax issue, both legislative houses have also faced some pushback from Gov. McCrory, who has urged the General Assembly that any tax reform plans should still raise enough revenue to adequately fund the state.