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Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin said Tuesday he plans to change a fundraising solicitation for his "Commissioners Club" that raised eyebrows for how it promised donors access to private dinners and a special newsletter.

The Democrat said any concerns about the email sent earlier this week to potential donors was "more a function of poor wording" than special favors for donors. "In looking at it, I can see how it would be interpreted," he said. "I have a lengthy history of supporting transparency and campaign finances that provide footing for all voters," he said.

GOODWIN ADVERTISES ACCESS FOR CAMPAIGN CASH: Democratic Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin is soliciting campaign donors to join his "Commissioner's Club," promising private dinners to high-level contributors and emailed "personal updates" on his agency's work. "Be ahead of your friends and colleagues with exclusive updates -- join the Commissioner's Club TODAY," a campaign email states. (Click below for more.)

TODAY IN POLITICS:The Council of State meets this morning at 9 a.m. to handle a number of property matters. Gov. Pat McCrory's office said he won't take questions, as is customary, after the meeting. House and Senate committees are full of action now that the deadline for the majority of bills has passed and the machinations begin. (See more below). The Legislative Black Caucus will hold a press conference at 11 a.m. to criticize "tea party Republicans" who want to change election laws. McCrory will meet privately with Canadian Ambassador Gary Doer later this morning.

***Welcome to the Dome Morning Memo. Read more on Goodwin's latest fundraising effort, get all the N.C. political headlines and more below. Send tips and news to dome@newsobserver.com.***

UPDATED: BLOOMBERG TO TARGET N.C. IN GUN DEBATE: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is preparing to launch a major TV ad campaign aimed at U.S. senators in swing states -- including Democrat Kay Hagan. From the NYT: "Determined to persuade Congress to act in response to that shooting, Mr. Bloomberg on Monday will begin bankrolling a $12 million national advertising campaign that focuses on senators who he believes might be persuaded to support a pending package of federal regulations to curb gun violence. The ads, in 13 states, will blanket those senators’ districts during an Easter Congressional recess that is to be followed by debate over the legislation."

TODAY AT THE STATEHOUSE: The Dix lease to the city of Raleigh hits the chopping block. The Senate convenes at 7 p.m. but won't consider the bill until Tuesday. The House convenes at 4 p.m. but no votes are expected. The Wake County delegation at 4 p.m. in room 643 of the legislative office building. (More on the meeting below.) Gov. Pat McCrory lists no public events on his schedule today.

***Good Monday morning. Thanks for reading the Dome Morning Memo -- a daily tipsheet for N.C. political news. Send tips and news to dome@newsobserver.com. Read more below.***

UPDATED: Democratic Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin broke his silence on the legislative debate surrounding the health insurance exchanges, arguing that a state-based exchange is better for the state's consumers.

"I believe that North Carolinians know what’s best for North Carolina," he said in a prepared statement released Tuesday. "State-based regulation best protects our consumers and promotes a healthy insurance marketplace."

Goodwin sat on the sidelines (at least publicly) for the past week as the Republicans pushed a bill to let the federal government run the online marketplace for insurance policies and require Goodwin to send back any federal money he received to help get a state-sponsored exchange.

State Treasurer Janet Cowell made Governing magazines's list of Democrats to watch at the state level.

The Governing writeup: "Cowell, the first woman to be elected North Carolina's treasurer, oversees more than $70 billion in pension fund investments for state employees. The daughter of a Methodist minister and public school teacher, Cowell earned an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and cut her teeth on Wall Street before moving to the (Tar Heel) State in 1997. She won election to the Raleigh city council in 2001, where she served two terms, then won a state Senate seat in 2004 before winning her first term as treasurer in 2008 against a respected GOP legislator. She was re-elected last fall, even as her fellow Democrats lost the governor's mansion and lost ground in both legislative chambers. North Carolina has been open to electing women to higher office in recent years, and Cowell could get more exposure than usual if the state legislature takes up tax reform this year -- an issue Cowell has emphasized during her tenure."

U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan is the target of a new TV ad campaign from an outside group seeking to block President Barack Obama's nomination of Chuck Hagel's for defense secretary.

The 30-second spot from Americans for a Strong Defense is targeting senators in five states, hoping to create political pressure on lawmakers to reject the former Nebraska senator's at his forthcoming confirmation hearing.

From AP: Outgoing Democratic Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton has a new job, although not the one he had hoped in November to land come January.

Dalton said Thursday he would teach a class on Southern politics starting next week at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, not far from his hometown of Rutherfordton. The attorney also said he would serve as special counsel for now to school president Frank Bonner.

Dalton was a state senator for 12 years before getting elected lieutenant governor in 2008. Dalton's successor – Republican Dan Forest – gets sworn in on Monday.

Raleigh Congressman Brad Miller, a Democrat, on his way out the door as a casaulty of the GOP redistricting, offered his thoughts about how bad the gridlock has become in a recent Slate piece.

Miller wrote: "When did I know that this current Congress would be rough? Election Night 2010. I thought in late November and December, in the lame duck after the 2010 election, I thought the Obama administration was wildly unrealistic about how it could get along with the new Congress. They’d been inside the Beltway bubble and had no idea how extreme the Tea Party folks were, and that part of the Tea Party ethic was: Never compromise. They felt betrayed by people like Bob Bennett, Dick Lugar, Lisa Murkowski, and even Orrin Hatch—though he’s changed that tendency—who compromise."

Read more about his disappointments with the Obama administration and his self-proclaimed Blue Dog status (despite his progressive reputation) here.

State Treasurer Janet Cowell sent an end-of-the-year note to supporters and friends Friday that details how she "changed (and) evolved" in her first term.

One anecdote she offered: "I am incredibly grateful for those of you who have believed in me, advised me, worked alongside of me, and made me laugh along the way. One friend even told me he was going to tell people he was a senior advisor to the State Treasurer. “On fiscal matters?” I asked.  “No,” he replied, “on wardrobe.""

On a more serious note, Cowell, who many consider a rising star in the state Democratic Party offered a broader vision outside the confines of her current duties -- the kind of statement the party is looking to crystalize as it figures out its new role in the minority and one that will let prognosticators suggest she may seek higher office in the future.

U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan said Wednesday negotiators from both parties need to get to work in Washington to reach a budget settlement that includes revenue increases and spending cuts.

The alternative -- the automatic spending cuts and tax increases known as sequestration -- would be "extremely damaging to North Carolina," Hagan said on a conference call with reporters.