State auditor Les Merritt said today that the State Board of Elections had an apparent conflict of interest when it hired the spouse of a top official.

Merritt's report concerns Johnnie McLean, chief deputy director of the State Board of Elections, and her husband, who was hired in March as a temporary voting equipment employee. Merritt found that McLean was not supervising her husband, Robert McLean, and that since he was a temporary employee, state law did not specifically bar the board from hiring him.

However, the state personnel office "recommends that state agencies also attempt to avoid nepotism when hiring temporary employees," Merritt wrote. "We recommend that the Board of Elections avoid hiring related temporary employees in the future to prevent the appearance of a conflict of interest."

On April 21, Robert McLean's assignment with the board ended, Gary Bartlett, executive director of the elections board, wrote in his response to Merritt's report. Bartlett wrote that the state's temporary employment agency twice told Robert McLean that he could work for the board if he didn't report to his wife.

More after the jump.

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Gov. Mike Easley may be courting the legislature.

On the heels of state legislators talking skeptically about his proposed increases in "sin taxes" on alcohol and cigarettes, Easley will reportedly be making a personal visit this afternoon.

It is unusual for Easley — or any other governor — to make their budget pitch directly. They usually leave that to the designated number cruncher — in Easley's case, Dan Gerlach.

This could be a sign that Easley is concerned his budget may not pass. Or he's feeling more gregarious after spending all that time campaigning for Hillary Clinton.

Or he's not coming after all, and this is all a ruse to get us to pay more attention to Gerlach. 

The state Senate is wading into a battle between the State Ethics Commission and the auditor's office.

In recent weeks, state Auditor Les Merritt has said that the commission is prohibited by law form investigating anonymous complaints, saying that is his job.

The commission has said that it has sole responsibility to enforce the state's ethics law.

In today's brief session, Sen. Dan Clodfelter said the Joint Legislative Ethics Commission will meet at 7:30 a.m. in Room 421 tomorrow to discuss the conflict.

He made it clear how the Democrat-controlled Senate feels about the Republican auditor's take on the issue.

"The meeting will be to consider authorizing the introduction of a bill to clarify the authority of the State ethics Commission and the lack of authority of the state auditor's office," he told his fellow senators.

The races for open seats for lieutenant governor and state treasurer could be close contests, according to the latest results from Public Policy Polling.

But while most incumbents for Council of State offices enjoy "solid leads" in the latest survey, State Auditor Les Merritt, a Republican, trails Democratic challenger Beth Wood.

PPP surveyed 616 likely voters on May 8-9. The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.

The full results in the various Council of State races after the jump:

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The House opened with a prayer from Chaplain Jim Harry to "fill us with your grace and endow us with the dignity and resolve necessary for us to fulfill our responsibilities."

Shortly after, House Speaker Joe Hackney announced that Rep. Saundra Spaulding Hughes, a Wilmington Democrat, had been appointed to replace disgraced Rep. Thomas Wright, who had been convicted of fraud in state court, Dan Kane reports. Hughes is running for the seat and won last week's primary.

Wright, also a Wilmington Democrat, had represented the district for nearly eight terms.

Little business was conducted in the 20-minute opening session. Reps. Bob England and Carolyn Justice were recognized for having birthdays, and lawmakers were invited to watch a NASCAR-style tire-changing competition between the House and Senate.

North Carolina's community college system will no longer admit illegal immigrants to degree programs based on an advisory letter from the Office of the Attorney General, the system announced today.

Community college officials made the decision based on a May 6 letter from Attorney General Roy Cooper's office and a subsequent meeting with officials in the office, reports Jane Stancill.

"We asked the Attorney General’s Office for clarification of our present policy and will abide by their advice,” said System President R. Scott Ralls. “We will continue to be a primary source of economic advancement for the state by providing world-class education and workforce training to every student eligible to enroll.”

Cooper's office had advised the 58 community colleges to return to a 2001 policy that prohibited illegal immigrants from degree classes. Late last year, the system's attorney had directed colleges that they could not bar such students.

The system's decision is counter to federal officials, who said last week that North Carolina schools are free to decide whether or not to enroll illegal immigrants. That came in a statement by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Gov. Mike Easley had also challenged the advisory letter from the Attorney General's office.

The House and the Senate gaveled in the short session just after noon.

Along with the state budget, they will consider bills that passed at least one chamber during the 2007 session as well as some new legislation, Dan Kane reports.

One bill was introduced in the House, to provide $660,624 for Juvenile Crime Prevention Councils serving Franklin, Granville, Person, and Vance counties.

Other bills filed on opening day included a $44.7 million request for the Smart Start child care program and legislation limiting ski resorts' liability for injuries that typically occur in skiing.

Lawmakers can also expect another visit from Appalachian State University's football team, which won its third straight NCAA Division I championship in December. Resolutions filed in both chambers would honor the team's accomplishments, which include beating football powerhouse the University of Michigan.

Pat McCrory will lobby for an anti-gang bill.

The Republican gubernatorial nominee said at a press conference this morning that he will work with the legislature to pass legislation this session fighting gangs.

"I will be back to try to get some gang legislation passed that both Republicans and Democrats have been working to get for now over three years," he said. "It's time to get that heard on the Senate floor and to make a strong bill that gangs will not be tolerated."

The longtime Charlotte mayor has made gangs and crime one of the central planks of his platform. A Durham District Court judge recently chided the legislature for not passing gang legislation.

There are three gang bills that could be considered in the short session: House Bill 274, House Bill 902 and Senate Bill 1358, but McCrory will likely focus on the first bill.

The starting line will be the same for the two candidates in the governor's race, according to the latest survey by Public Policy Polling.

PPP says a survey on May 8-9 of 616 likely voters found that Republican nominee Pat McCrory and Democratic nominee Beverly Perdue were both the choice of 45 percent of those surveyed. The margin of error was plus or minus four percentage points.

The survey also found, though, that McCrory is getting more crossover support than Perdue. McCrory was the choice of 20 percent of self-identified Democrats, while Perdue was the favorite of 14 percent of self-identified Republicans.