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RALEIGH (AP) — North Carolina lawmakers said Thursday they are closer to the governor's suggestion of adding more than $1 billion in new taxes to the state budget, which she says would prevent public school teachers from being laid off.

Democratic leaders are assembling a two-year budget that would increase revenues by $900 million for the year starting July 1 and $1.3 billion the following year. Details on how to raise the extra money are still being worked out.

That's still short of the $1 billion to $1.5 billion extra that lawmakers said Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue asked them to raise next year to block spending cuts in education and other departments. The updated amount is still more than the $784 million approved by the House in its spending proposal last week and the $525 million rolled out in a Senate tax plan in April.

"We're trying to do our best to reach it," said Rep. Mickey Michaux, D-Durham, one of the chief House negotiators. He said it will be difficult to go much higher because fewer Democrats, who are the majority in both chambers, may be willing to pass it.

Added Sen. Linda Garrou, D-Forsyth, a top Senate negotiator: "These are the numbers that we can do."

Negotiators trying to narrow differences between House and Senate spending plans in education, health care and other areas met late Thursday in subcommittees. They were told to turn in compromises to top negotiators by Monday.

They are aiming to get a final plan to Perdue before the fiscal year begins July 1, but they will be hard pressed to meet it. History has shown that the top negotiators must resolve dozens of differences that can't be worked out in the subcommittees.

Some of the cuts Perdue is trying to restore save more than $310 million by eliminating funding for some 3,400 teachers in grades four through 12 and for all teacher assistants in third grade.

On the tax side, the focus has shifted to a Senate proposal that would raise more than $900 million by expanding the number of services that would subject to sales tax and eliminating personal deductions and corporate breaks for income tax.

At the same time, sales taxes consumers pay would be lowered from the current 6.75 percent to 6 percent, the corporate income tax rate decreased from 6.9 percent to 5.5 percent and marginal individual income tax rates reduced, according to a copy of the plan obtained by The Associated Press.

The tax plan adds a new provision that would raise $274 million by taxing electricity at the full sales tax rate, not the current 3 percent, the document said. Another $59 million would be collected by raising the gross premium tax paid by insurance companies.

The House package expanded the sales tax to fewer services than the Senate, raised the sales tax to 7 percent, created two new individual income tax rates for the highest wage earners and raised liquor taxes.

The Senate plan would raise taxes on alcoholic beverages and the cigarette tax from 35 cents a pack to 50 cents.