RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina legislators agreed Wednesday to cut payments to future jobless workers and raise business taxes to hasten repayment of $2.5 billion owed to the federal government because the state couldn't keep up with benefit requests during the recession.

The Republican-controlled Senate's 36-12 vote in favor of the state unemployment system overhaul sends the changes to Gov. Pat McCrory for his signature. Several liberal-leaning groups have urged McCrory to veto the bill, but he has said he supports the plan.

"We're going to pay down that debt, make the system solvent and provide an economic climate that allows businesses, large and small, to put people back to work," McCrory said in a statement after the final vote.

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