(RALEIGH) -- North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis is urging Gov. Bev Perdue to take action on the state budget. It has been sitting on her desk while lawmakers wait for her to sign it, veto it, or let it become law without her signature.

Tillis said the budget year is about to start for many local governments and school districts, and they need the certainty of knowing how much funding they'll receive. "The towns and the counties, the education systems in just a couple of days are going to begin a new fiscal year and they're going to have to make worst case assumptions about their budget that they are not able to come in with a budget that has a substantial increase in funding for this year," said Tillis.

Gov. Perdue urged legislators this week to rework their budget, but she did not indicate whether she intends to veto the $20-billion spending plan.  Perdue has until midnight Sunday to sign or veto the budget, or it will become law without her signature.