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Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby is looking further into the case of a wealthy Democratic campaign donor who helped pay the salary of a staff member of former Gov. Bev Perdue's 2008 campaign in violation of state election laws.

An SBI investigator went before the Wake County grand jury to provide a sketch of a case against Charles Michael Fulenwider, a Morganton resident who provided $32,000 to Tryon Capital Ventures in Chapel Hill, to help pay the salary of Julie Sitton, a fundraiser for Perdue's campaign who was paid off the books, investigators contend.

The grand jury issued a presentment, stating that there was probable cause to believe Fulenwider broke campaign laws. The presentment is a procedure used occasionally to give prosecutors an idea whether they have a case strong enough for a possible indictment. 

Fulenwider, according to Willoughby, has been cooperative with investigators and prosecutors during a longrunning investigation into Perdue's campaign activities. Sitton and Peter Reichard, Perdue's former campaign finance chief and an executive with Tryon Capital Ventures, have already pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in the case.

A bill that revokes Raleigh’s lease on the Dorothea Dix hospital property sailed through a Senate appropriations committee Thursday, with several legislators calling former Gov. Bev Perdue’s final major act “illegitimate.”

After a heated debate, the Republican-led committee approved the measure with a few Democrats dissenting. Supporters of the bill argue that the state signed away the property for less than it’s worth, and they want to craft a new lease with Raleigh that reserves some of the land for state offices.

“This was a lame-duck deal done by a lame-duck governor,” said Sen. Tommy Tucker, a Republican from Union County who co-sponsored the bill. “It was kind of an end run to the process. ... This is the point of the city taking property from state government – a power grab without question.” More here.

FLORIDA GOP GOV -- AN OBAMACARE HATER -- TAKES THE REP. INSKO APPROACH: That's right. Florida Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican who first entered politics to fight the federal health care law, is proposing to take the money for Medicaid expansion for the first three years when Washington will pay the full cost. State Rep. Verla Insko, a Chapel Hill Democrat, proposed the same thing in North Carolina, but Republican lawmakers shot it down repeatedly. "That's just completely nonsensical and doesn't work," Republican Rep. Nelson Dollar said of Inkso's idea.

TODAY AT THE STATEHOUSE: The House is taking it easy today. A skeletal session with no recorded votes -- none until Tuesday, in fact. The Senate will convene for action at noon. But most the action will take place in the Commerce Committee where the bill to speed up and incentivize fracking with get a hearing. Gov. Pat McCrory lists no public events on his schedule. He leaves this evening for Washington to attend the National Governors Association and Republican Governors Association winter meetings. Wonder if McCrory will talk to Scott and Ohio Gov. John Kasich about how their recent decisions to expand Medicaid?

***Good morning. Thanks for reading the Dome Morning Memo -- more N.C. political news below.***

The couple's Tibetan terrier died this week in New Bern, reports the New Bern Sun Journal.

Zipper was 7 1/2 and died after suffering a stroke, the paper reports. She had been suffering from lymphoma.

Eaves told the Sun Journal, Zipper enjoyed one final visit to the Trent River the evening before she died.

Zipper is survived by her mother, Dosie. Both dogs lived the high life in the Executive Mansion during Perdue's term.

Gov. Pat McCrory defended his wife's privacy Thursday, saying "she has no interest in the spotlight."

In an interview with a Raleigh radio station, the Republican talked about his wife's private role as First Lady for the first time. Earlier this month, he declined to talk about his wife for a profile on Ann McCrory. "She refuses to talk to (the press)," McCrory said, touting that she's never been interviewed. "She says, 'That's your gig, I'll do my own thing.'"

GOV. PAY RAISE: The salary hikes Gov. Pay McCrory gave to his cabinet are stricking a chord. From N&O columnist Barry Saunders: If you saw our new governor live or on television banging away on a drum set with a band at Raleigh’s Lincoln Theatre last week, you already know Ringo has nothing to worry about.

For further evidence that the governor is tone deaf, all you had to do was read the newspaper the next day and see that Gov. Pat, henceforth known as Gov. Pay Raise, McCrory bestowed sizable raises on the people closest to him while sprinkling a pittance upon those outside his inner circle – you know, the ones who do the actual work.

You are reading the Dome Morning Memo, an analysis of the day's political headlines. Read much more below. Thanks.

AHEAD THIS WEEK: The UNC system committee considering a new five-year plan meets Monday. The NAACP holds is own legislative briefing -- sure to be much different from the one Republicans will hold -- Tuesday to talk about poverty and economic justice.

Former Gov. Bev Perdue will give a lecture Jan. 17 at the UNC-Chapel Hill journalism school as part of the "Women in Media Leadership Series."

Perdue, the former Democratic governor who was no fan of the media, will give a brief talk and answer questions from students on stage. The 4 p.m. lecture will take place at the Nelson Mandela Auditorium in the FedEx Global Education Center on campus.

Just before she left office, former Gov. Bev Perdue issued a budget for the upcoming two-year cycle. It's a document that was required by law but was largely symbolic as she left office and handed control to Republican Pat McCrory.

How symbolic? The document itself is no longer available on the governor's Web site. Still, it did provide a preview about the shape of the state's finances approaching a new year, budgetwise, including that Perdue's team saw room for pay raises and other expansions that were off the table in the worst years. McCrory, in his first news conference as governor, also said the state is looking at a small surplus heading in to budget season.

A recent memo from one state budget guru, Dan Gerlach, who was former Gov. Mike Easley's budget czar, adds a similar view of the overall picture.

Dan Forest took office as the state's No. 2 in a private ceremony Monday at the Capitol.

In an interview after the event, the Republican lieutenant governor said he hopes to establish a better relationship with new Gov. Pat McCrory, noting that his predecessor wasn't too close to Bev Perdue.

Forest's main role is to preside over the N.C. Senate and serve on various boards and commissions. But the lieutenant governor is often delegated duties from the state's chief executive. McCrory told Dome that he expects Forest to play a role in drafting a 25-year transportation infrastructure plan, drawing upon his experience as an architect, and consult on education policy.

Gov. Pat McCrory issued his first executive orderMonday to repeal a nonpartisan judicial nominating commission put in place by his predecessor.

The Republican said the commission didn’t work, noting that even former Gov. Bev Perdue rescinded the order in the final weeks of her term to fill a vacancy on the N.C. Supreme Court.

Perdue created the commission in 2011 to take the politics out of the process of picking judges. But the Democrat appointed some of her closest aides and prominent Democrats to the 18-member panel.

McCrory said politics is still a concern but he will appoint judges with the “highest integrity.”