RALEIGH – The North Carolina budget sought by Senate Republicans would eliminate the law that lays out how the state lottery’s net proceeds should be distributed for education.

The spending plan set for a floor vote Wednesday deletes what the General Assembly intended for profits when the North Carolina lottery law passed in 2005. Half is supposed to go toward class-size reduction and pre-kindergarten, with 40 percent for school construction and the rest for college scholarships for needy students.

Budget-writer Sen. Pete Brunstetter said Tuesday legislators have altered the distribution annually to meet their needs, so it makes sense to eliminate language no one follows.

The proposed budget would still distribute lottery profits to those programs. Brunstetter says he doesn’t believe Republican colleagues are inclined to spend the money on non-education needs.