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RALEIGH - State leaders trying to decipher the federal fiscal stimulus bill Friday were a bit like parents confronted on Christmas Eve with a box of parts and more than 1,000 pages of instructions written in the most obtuse of all languages: that of the Washington bureaucrat.

North Carolina will have at least $6.1 billion to spend over the next two years, according to the best estimates available.

"I know that we're ready to put whatever money we get to work," said Chrissy Pearson, a spokeswoman for Gov. Bev Perdue. Staffers in Raleigh and Washington were in the process of combing through more than 1,000 pages of legislation and associated documents even as Congress delivered its final approvals.

The U.S. House voted 246-183 in favor of the $787.2 billion bill Friday afternoon. The Senate began voting at 5:30 p.m. Friday but was not expected to finish until late.

In addition to aid for states, the bill also includes tax breaks for businesses and individuals, including a $400 credit for working individuals.

As for the state aid, state and federal officials were able to draw some broad outlines Friday. For example, North Carolina should receive about $716.9 million for "general purpose" fiscal stabilization.

"The hope was we'd have that money to put to use in the areas of greatest need as the governor sees it," Pearson said.

But state officials are still sorting through various regulations that govern the spending and aren't sure exactly what they'll be able to do with the money.

Again and again, officials cautioned that they were unsure exactly how they'll be able to use the money. In part, that's because the federal legislation was written to pump money into the economy. Congress members did not simply want states replacing their own tax dollars with the federal aid.

"Right now, it appears that Medicaid funds will have the most direct impact on the state budget," said Schorr Johnson, a spokesman for Senate leader Marc Basnight.

Medicaid is the health insurance program for the poor and disabled and is jointly funded by the state and federal government. Under the stimulus bill, the federal government would boost its spending in North Carolina by $2.35 billion over the next 27 months.

Funding for various education programs is among the biggest pots of money that state officials say they will receive, including $1.81 billion in educational stabilization funds.

"What that's really being touted for is keeping from laying off teachers," said Paul LeFieur, director of school business services for the N.C. Department of Public Instruction.

Other education funds included in the stimulus package would help schools get access to broadband Internet and bolster funding for students with special needs.

Left out of the stimulus bill was grant funding for school construction. North Carolina would have gotten $363.7 million to build and renovate schools under the House version of the stimulus bill, but senators did not include that funding in their version and it did not make the final compromise between the two chambers.

"There are many local (school systems) that have overcrowded classrooms," said Rep. Maggie Jeffus, one of the chief budget writers in the state House.

Instead, the stimulus bill creates a $25 billion zero-interest bond program for school construction. States would repay only principal while investors would earn the money they normally get from interest through tax credits associated with the bonds.

"We appreciate anything we can get that can help our economy in North Carolina," Jeffus said.

What's clear is that the stimulus bill will not completely heal what ails North Carolina's budget. For the year that ends June 30, budget officials say the state needs to find $2 billion in cuts and savings. For the next year, Jeffus and her colleagues in the legislature are facing needs that outpace tax collections by $3 billion, according to some estimates.

"It doesn't sound like we're getting anywhere near as much as what we counted on to help with the state budget," said Rep. Jim Crawford, a Granville Democrat and another one of the leading budget-writers in the state House, told The Associated Press.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact Mark Binker at (919) 832-5549 or mark.binker@news-record.com