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Legislators will return to the state capital on May 10 to begin what most believe will be a legislative session that runs no longer than two months.

Even-year sessions of the General Assembly are referred to as the “short session,” and with a delayed election primary looming on July 20, legislators have plenty of incentive to conclude their business quickly.

“I think most people are very interested in getting in and getting out. I think we will move, shall we say, with great dispatch,” Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand, D-Cumberland, said in a recent interview.

Fashioning revisions to the second year of the two-year budget will be lawmakers’ top priority.

But legislators also are likely to consider tax changes, industrial recruitment incentives and reforms to the Medicaid health care program for the poor.

Legislation to beef up enforcement of video poker restrictions is expected to be considered in the House, and death penalty opponents will again lobby House leaders to consider a bill placing a moratorium on executions in North Carolina. The Senate approved a moratorium last year, but the House failed to take up the legislation.

Lawmakers will also consider bills recommended by interim study committees to hire additional social workers in an effort to curb child abuse, toughen criminal penalties for domestic violence and put an additional tax on pet food to step up animal spay and neuter programs.

The session also will mark new beginnings for two veteran legislators. Former Rep. Martin Nesbitt, D-Buncombe, has moved to the Senate after being appointed to replace Steve Metcalf, who gave up his seat in February. After an 11-year absence, Durham Democrat Ralph Hunt returns to the Senate following the resignation of Sen. Wib Gulley in March.

House budget writers plan to hit the ground running, scheduling a series of meetings to begin hashing out a spending plan even before May 10. The House will have the first whack at shaping the $15 billion budget, with the Senate to follow with its proposal.

Rep. Wilma Sherrill, R-Buncombe, a co-chair of the House Appropriations Committee, said lawmakers will be looking for money for state employee pay raises, teacher bonuses, enrollment growth at the public schools and universities, and Medicaid cost increases.

Those big-ticket items alone could run the state more than $500 million.

But the spending isn’t likely to stop there. Legislators are almost certain to look again at ways to beef up industrial recruitment.

Already, Easley administration officials have been making noise about the dwindling amounts of money in the state’s two main industrial recruitment funds, the One North Carolina Fund and the Jobs Development Investment Grant program.

“We can’t slow down or let up. We’ve got to make sure we stay on our toes and keep everything we can devoted to job creation,’’ Rand said.

Senate leader Marc Basnight, D-Dare, is again expected to make a pitch for the creation of a new cancer hospital at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Basnight pushed for approval of the project last year, but the House adjourned before considering it.

“I know Basnight’s passion is the cancer hospital, and I agree with him ... but you’ve got to consider your debt service,’’ Sherrill said.

Sherrill predicted taxes would also be a part of the conversation this year, with lawmakers discussing a reduction in the state’s corporate income tax. The tax, at 6.9 percent, is among the highest in the Southeast.

But a debate about the tax could be long and divisive, not something legislative leaders want in a year when they hope to leave town before mid-July.

A reduction in the tax would also have to be offset, either with additional taxes or spending cuts. Basnight has proposed increases to so-called “sin taxes” on alcohol and cigarettes to make up for the lost revenue.

Legislators, though, are also discussing ways to save money. Medicaid, which cost state taxpayers more than $2 billion, will be a major target.

Rep. Edd Nye, D-Bladen, said lawmakers will put forward proposals to further reduce drug and medical equipment costs for Medicaid recipients, while likely retaining current eligibility and services.

“Eligibility and other things, I just don’t believe are politically doable,” he said.

Scott Mooneyham works for the Capitol Press Association.