RALEIGH, N.C. – North Carolina legislators are close to giving a Canadian paper company up to $10 million to help switch what it produces and retain hundreds of jobs in one of the state’s poorest regions.

A House budget-writing committee on Thursday approved allowing the state Commerce Department to use its funds to give Montreal-based Domtar Corp. up to $2 million a year for five years.

The Senate approved the spending on Wednesday, the same day lawmakers approved a budget that included a $1 billion tax increase and service cuts worth billions more.

Domtar plans to stop making white office paper at its mill near Plymouth, but says it can make money turning loblolly pine trees into the absorbent fluff used in diapers and napkins.