RALEIGH — State Senate leader Phil Berger announced this week that his chamber will adjourn by the end of the month with or without a budget. But as the long legislative session continues on, Rep. Harry Warren, R-76, and Sen. Carl Ford, R-33, are taking advantage of the extra time.

The budget, which was vetoed by Gov. Roy Cooper in June, continues to be a source of division. Cooper and fellow Democrats want to see Medicaid expansion and larger raises for teachers included in the final budget. With a significant number of House Democrats absent for the Sept. 11 session, the chamber voted to override the veto in a surprise move, moving the issue to the Senate.

The rules are different in the Senate, Ford explained, because there has to be a 24-hour notice before a vote is taken, meaning the Senate can’t use a similar tactic as the House.

It’s a numbers game trying to get one Democrat to vote for the override or wait until numerous Democrats are absent, he said. In a news conference Tuesday, Berger offered the option of working out a deal with Senate Democrats.

Warren says he thinks the budget will be resolved faster in the Senate. The Senate’s make-up is more Republican than is the House’s.

“I expect that to be resolved much quicker than it was in the House,” Warren said. “At that point, our various state departments and agencies, our counties and our schools and municipalities can get on with their budgets.”

He called the veto by Cooper unconscionable because he said he is using the budget as a tool to pursue a political agenda.

Warren said the House is working on a “North Carolina version” of Medicaid. House Bill 655, called N.C. Health Care for Working Families, would provide health care for people who are employed and requires paying premium. Warren said there is a willingness among both Republicans and Democrats to work together to craft a favorable bill. The Republican bill has several Democratic sponsors signed on.

“They’re working on it to get to where there’s as much support as possible,” Warren said. “This is something that we could have been doing all along. There was no reason. Speaker Moore and President Berger offered this to the governor in lieu of holding up the entire state.”

The General Assembly has been passing “mini-budgets” on items that both sides agree on. Both Warren and Ford acknowledged the uncertainty of funding for local projects and increased appropriations for Rowan County, its municipalities and local schools.

Ford had a message: “Hang on. We’re working on it. Hopefully, soon it will be there.”

Local appropriations at issue include $2.25 million for the N.C. Transportation Museum, $50,000 for Bell Tower Green, $50,000 for the Community Care Clinic of Rowan County, and money for two fire departments for equipment.

Ford said one of the fire departments contacted him to ask when the budget would be passed because it has already ordered the equipment.

“I said, ‘It’s coming, guys,’” Ford said. “We figured it would be vetoed, but we didn’t figure it would be this long. We’re working on it.”

The governor’s proposed budget included $1 million for the Empire Hotel redevelopment project, but it was not in the final budget. Warren said he and other other legislators were not involved in any conversations about that. He compared the project to that at the Transportation Museum, which he talked with museum officials about and had them draft a business plan showing what they would do with the state funding.

Officials with the Bell Tower Park project reached out to him two years ago, he said.

On the Empire Hotel project, the communication lagged, he said.

“I got my first official notice or contact from Downtown Salisbury Inc. about three minutes before I got the email telling me the governor vetoed the budget,” Warren said. “That’s too late.”

The budget shows that local lawmakers were thinking of home projects that needed funding, he said, but that requires communication with the legislators.

“To get money for the Bell Tower, to get money for the Community Care Center, to get money for the Transportation Museum, two fire departments, it goes on and on. We got a lot more,” Warren said. “It’s not like we’re not looking back home to see where we can put money. People have got to speak up.”

The lack of a final budget has extended what is generally a six-month legislative session to nine months and counting. Warren and Ford said they have been able to take advantage of the opportunity.

Ford has presided over several skeletal sessions. He also has seen several local bills pushed forward.

Warren saw passage of his gaming bill, which sets up a N.C. Lottery Commission study on the creation of a gaming commission.

He also has been talking to Senate Republicans about his Managing Environmental Waste Act, which seeks to limit the amount of single-use plastics in landfills.

“It’s not a subject that is generally embraced by Republicans, so it’s given me time to work on that, building up support for the short session,” Warren said.

He is focused on talking to senators “who have an appreciation for being judicious in environmental waste.”

Warren said he sees himself as a problem solver. A significant amount of plastics are used once and thrown away, but they don’t disappear after that, he said.

“I try to look at things in a very pragmatic manner, and I don’t look at it as a political issue manner,” Warren said. “Here’s a problem. Here’s the best way to fix it.”

He is also working to get more support in the House for a bill to provide testing for lead in school water systems.