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Rep. George Holding of Raleigh has been named to the newly created Overcriminalization Task Force of 2013, which will examine federal criminal laws.

The task force is part of the House Judiciary Committee. According to the news release, there are 4,500 federal crimes on the U.S. Criminal code. The task force “will assess how to reduce federal overreach and ensure that lawbreakers are held responsible while also protecting constitutional rights and civil liberties.''

“I'm excited to be joining the Overcriminalization Task Force,” Holding said in a statement. “As a former U.S. Attorney, I look forward to contributing to the conversation about how we can improve our federal laws. As new federal criminal laws are created, so are burdensome federal regulations – we must look at whether federal criminal laws are efficient, relevant, and protect personal freedom.''

THE NAKED REALITY OF POLITICS: Much of politics is about money. But it's rare to see it so plainly stated in black and white: "We didn't give them money because we liked them," sweepstakes operator William George told the Associated Press. "We just knew they were powerful people up in Raleigh and they could get done what we wanted to get done. You give them your money and they're supposed to do what they say they're going to do." (More on the story below.)

TODAY IN POLITICS: The current State Board of Elections meets for the final time at 9 a.m. today before Gov. Pat McCrory's new appointees take office Wednesday. The board had planned to launch a formal investigation into the gambling money -- received by the governor, top GOP legislative leaders and some Democrats. But board members backed off the idea now that they are lame ducks.

AT THE STATEHOUSE: A House committee will consider a bill to limit pre-K programs, in part to children under the federal poverty line. The full House meets at 2 p.m. and will consider a controversial firearms bill to allow guns in restaurants and bars that serve alcohol. The UNC system is also opposed because it allows guns in cars on college campuses. The Senate will meet at 2 p.m. On its calendar is a measure to require a parent to report a child missing after 24 hours -- it is named after Caylee Anthony. Gov. Pat McCrory is attending two feel-good events Tuesday in Charlotte, first a YMCA prayer breakfast and then a Wells Fargo "Reading Above Par" event.

***More on the sweepstakes money, arrests at the legislature and Jamie Hahn death investigation below in today's Dome Morning Memo -- the place for North Carolina political news and analysis.***

U.S. Rep. Renee Ellmers of Dunn, a potential U.S. Senate candidate next year, has not yet begun cranking up her money-raising operation.

She raised $97,797 in political contributions during the first quarter of the year, according to federal campaign reports. She had $133,586 on hand at the end of March. That is fine for a congresswoman seeking re-election, but not the kind of money associated with a Senate race.

Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan raised $1.6 million during the first quarter and had $2.7 million on hand at the end of the reporting period.

Democratic Rep. Mike McIntyre of Lumberton, who will likely face another tough re-election effort again next year, raised $118,779 in the first quarter and had $181,672 cash on hand.

Holding was chosen by House Speaker John Boehner. He'll be joined by Reps. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Michele Bachmann, R-Minn. They are traveling to London Tuesday morning.

Sen. Richard Burr recently had a major D.C fund raiser, perhaps punching a hole in rumors that he will not seek a third term in 2016.

There had been some speculation that this would be the Winston-Salem Republican's last term and that U.S. Rep. George Holding would run for his seat in 2016.

But Burr likely will cool that talk for a while. He recently held a major fund raiser at the D.C. Home of lobbyist John Milne, with the cost ranging from $2,000 to $500.

A confluence of big-name players will converge in Raleigh on Friday and Saturday for the Civitas Institute’s Conservative Leadership Conference.

Among the speakers: Jim DeMint, former U.S. Senator from South Carolina and now head of the Heritage Foundation; Michelle Malkin, author and Fox News contributor; and James O’Keefe, self-described “video muckracker.”

Local luminaries include state Supreme Court Justice Paul Newby, U.S. Rep. George Holding, U.S. Rep. Renee Ellmers, state Senate leader Phil Berger, state House Speaker Thom Tillis, and Lt. Gov. Dan Forest.

The two-day event is at the Crabtree Marriott in Raleigh.

New Rep. George Holding of Raleigh has been named to the House Judiciary and Foreign Relations Committees.

Holding, a Republican who is representing the 13th district, will sit on three judiciary subcommittees: Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet; Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law; and Immigration and Border Security.

He will also sit on the foreign affairs subcommittees on Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats and and the one on Asia and the Pacific.

"My background as a former U.S. Attorney will guide my work on the Judiciary Committee -- a committee which safeguards our Constitution, strengthens our borders by enforcing our immigration laws, and furthers innovation by protecting copyrights and patents from infringement," Holding said in a statement.

North Carolina voters are divided about Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan, but she leads any of prospective Republican opponents, according to a new poll.

Only 34 percent of voters approve of the job that Hagan is doing, while 36 percent disapprove, and 31 percent have no opinion, according to a survey by Public Policy Polling, a Democratic leaning firm based in Raleigh.

But Hagan leads all potential opponents. She leads GOP Congresswoman Renee Ellmers by a 46-40 percent margin, Congressman Patrick McHenry by a 45-39 percent margin, and Congresswoman Virginia Foxx by a 47-40 percent margin.

She also leads Congressman George Holding by a 45-37 percent margin, Congressman Robert Pittenger by a 46-38 percent margin, state Senate leader Phil Berger by a 47-38 percent margin, and state House Speaker Thom Tillis by a 47-37 percent margin.

UPDATED:Four N.C. Republicans in Congress voted against providing $9.7 billion in aid to victims of Superstorm Sandy, including two new freshmen.

The lawmakers who voted against: Virginia Foxx of Banner Elk, Mark Meadows of Hendersonville, George Holding of Raleigh and Richard Hudson of Charlotte.

The three GOPers didn't immediately explain their votes -- part of a group of 67 Republicans who voted against the aid requested by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican Party star. The vote: 354-67.

In today's paper, Holding describes his main priority is to limit spending. Meadows is already being attacked by Democrats as a card-carrying tea partier. And Foxx is known for her uber-conservative stances.

A North Carolina furniture company closed abruptly Thursday just one year after it was hailed by President Barack Obama as an example of the recovering U.S. economy. Lincolnton Furniture Company operations stopped indefinitely and only a few people will remain employed moving forward, company financial officer Ben Causey said. Full story here.

More political headlines:

--North Carolina's congressional delegation is now firmly Republican after GOP redistricting redrew the political favor. Here's a look at Raleigh Republican George Holding's outlook as a freshman. He has one priority: cutting spending.

--For Raleigh-based state government workers who endured four years without a pay raise, the free bus pass was a nice benefit while it lasted. The state ended its funding.