Spencer Schneier
      News Editor

The North Carolina General Assembly is currently embroiled in a historic budget dispute, which has now included a third deadline extension, pushing back its deadline to Sept. 18.

The News and Observer’s DOMECAST, which is a weekly podcast, suggested that the General Assembly will be able to complete the budget by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 18.

The state Senate and state House, both of which are controlled by the Republican party, have wrangled over spending issues, most recently grappling over educational funding that would specifically go toward Teacher’s Assistants in primary and secondary schools throughout the state.

The state Senate’s proposed budget stood at $21.33 billion, while the state House’s stood at $22.22 billion. The compromise budget is shaping up to be about $21.74 billion.

One of the broader issues is the state House’s desire to spend significantly more than the state Senate was prepared to allow.

The deal is proving to be delicate as minor changes in policy are causing people to drop support.

DOMECAST cited one reason being many Republicans in the state House of Representatives do not stand on solid ground in their districts and face an uncertain future in upcoming elections.

Many representatives in the  state Senate have more solid support.

Gov. Pat McCrory has stayed out of the debate publicly but has reportedly been active behind the scenes, according to the News and Observer.

A recent Public Policy Poll puts McCrory’s approval rating at 35 percent approval compared to 48 percent disapproval.

The poll suggests that McCrory’s approval is being hurt by the unpopularity of the legislature, which polled at 15 percent approval in the Aug. 20 poll. McCrory has been at odds with the General Assembly for most of 2015.

McCrory is up for re-election in 2016, which makes passing this fiscal year’s budget important to his administration.

He intended to roll out incentive programs for entrepreneurs and businesses in North Carolina.

Grant programs and economic incentive packages have come under fire in the discussions with some filmmakers in Wilmington claiming that they need to move to Georgia due to the costs in North Carolina, according to the News and Observer.

One issue at hand was pay for state employees, which was remedied with a compromise to include bonuses for state employees that will cover some of the difference.

As it stands, this is one of the latest budgets in recent history. At 80 days late, the budget has not been this late since 2002 when it was 92 days late.