After more than three hours of debate, on Wednesday the state House passed the budget conference report for 2017-19 by an initial margin of 77-40, five votes more than needed to override a potential veto by Gov. Roy Cooper.

The House is set on Thursday to give the compromise budget a final vote. The Senate passed the budget Wednesday on final reading by a 39-11 margin. The governor should have more than a week to decide the fate of the $23 billion General Fund package before June 30, when the fiscal year ends.

The House debate featured familiar arguments from the two sides — so many that Rep. John Blust, R-Guilford, said he recognized the same talking points during Wednesday’s debate that he had heard each of the past seven years Republicans have controlled the General Assembly.

“We’re making North Carolina a great work environment, a great place to live, with low regulations, low taxes, all of those things together, North Carolina is a place where companies want to locate and do business,” said House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, after the vote.

Senate debate lasted only a few minutes. Minority Leader Dan Blue, D-Wake, objected to an $8 million cut from the attorney general’s budget. Blue said the General Fund spending had paid attorneys who argued cases in appellate court or who handled criminal cases in counties where the local prosecutor may have some real or perceived conflict. He urged Republican leaders to reconsider those cuts before the General Assembly adjourns.

The House is scheduled to convene Thursday at 1:30 p.m.