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The number lawmakers who attended Monday's legislative mini-session barely outnumbered the protesters who came to chat slogans and decry the Republican agenda.

The roughly 30 demonstrators rallied outside about an assortment of issues, from fracking to high college tuition, before marching inside to meet with House Speaker Thom Tillis -- repeating a scene from February when Capitol Police cited an obscure rule invoked by Tillis' staff to remove visitors from the second floor of the statehouse.

Tillis did not attend the legislative session. His staff promised demonstrators a meeting within a month and they left a hefty stack of letters protesting the GOP's tenure.

"He won't even come to his own special session," said Gerrick Brenner, who leads Progress NC, a liberal advocacy group. "Just garbage. Just garbage."

A prominent anti-illegal immigration advocate is soliciting support from state lawmakers to remove House Speaker Thom Tillis and Senate leader Phil Berger from power.

"I am getting more traction than I thought I would," said William Gheen, president of Americans for Legal Immigration's political action committee. "Many of the Republican lawmakers are dissappointed to see them imitate their predecessors."

Gheen's problem with the top Republican legislative leaders came after a special House immigration committee delayed any action until the next legislative session.

"Speaker Thom Tillis and President (Pro Tem) Phil Berger are protecting illegal immigrants and those that employ them," Gheen said in a recent interview. "Immigration legislation is one of the issues that led to Democrats' overthrow."

House Speaker Thom Tillis sent an email Monday urging lawmakers not to travel to Raleigh for this month's legislative mini-session. After consultation with Senate leader Phil Berger, Tillis promised no votes when the state legislature convenes for a three-day term April 23.

"There will be no recorded votes and only a limited number of members will attend.  Unless you have other business in Raleigh, we encourage you to defer per diem and session compensation for the time the legislature is technically in session," Tilis wrote.

A trio of controversial issues dominated the discussion Wednesday -- fracking, immigration and gay marriage -- but education is today's topic.

The N.C. Association of School Administrators will hold its annual conference in Raleigh today. Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue will speak at 9 a.m., continuing her push for better education funding. And the Democratic candidates who want to replace her -- Bob Etheridge, Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton and Rep. Bill Faison -- will speak at a 5 p.m. forum, along with those seeking the state superintendent post.

Republican Pat McCrory released his education plan Wednesday, getting a day -- and a story -- all to himself on the topic. He outlined a series of proposals including merit pay for teachers, more accountability, faster expansion of charter schools and more e-learning.

For other headlines, see below.

A new report suggests campaign contributions from the telecommunications industry helped pave the way for a bill to restrict public broadband networks.

An industry association and state's the two biggest cable providers, Time Warner Cable and CenturyLink, gave $1.6 million to state candidates since 2006, particularly lining the campaign pockets of four key leaders, according to a study by the National Institute on State Politics.

A N.C. watchdog group Tuesday accused House Speaker Thom Tillis of “muscling through legislation” for a campaign donor last year over the objections of several consumer groups and even the Pentagon.

A spokesman for the Cornelius Republican dismissed the accusations by Democracy North Carolina as a partisan attack from “a liberal blog post.”

At issue is House passage of a bill last year that would hike interest rates on many consumer loans. Supporters say the measure -- co-sponsored by two Charlotte Democrats -- would help lenders who haven’t been able to raise rates in nearly three decades, and offer credit to those who otherwise might not get it.

House Speaker Thom Tillis announced Tuesday he is forming a task force to examine unemployment fraud after hearing anecdotal concerns about waste.

Tillis called it a "broad-based problem" but acknowledged that lawmakers need more information to catalog abuse in the system and develop solutions. He named Reps. Marilyn Avila and G.L. Pridgen to head the task force, which will report findings by May 15. 

So far, 113 of 170 state lawmakers declined pay for all or part of the legislative mini-session last week, making the no-vote lawmaking session cheaper but not cost-free.

The legislature returned Thursday to Raleigh for a three-day session --scheduled back in November -- to deal with redistricting matters. With no action to consider, House Speaker Thom Tillis urged lawmakers not to attend -- and defer compensation. 

But more than 80 House lawmakers and two dozen Senators came to Raleigh, including many Democrats who didn't believe Tillis' promise not to take any action, given how the speaker engineered a special session after midnight in January. 

Here's a special weekend edition of the Dome political news roundup:

The Democratic governor's race will begin to take better shape this week. Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton will file his candidate papers Tuesday and Congressman Bob Etheridge met with his staff today to formulate a game plan for next week. If you missed Saturday's paper, the announced candidates made their first joint appearance in Wake County.

In Charlotte, Jim Morrill sheds light on why three prime downtown hotels weren't among those hosting delegates in last week's announcement and how Charlotte, S.C. is apparently the same as Charlotte, N.C. Also, city officials shared some details about security spending.

On Jones Street, the legislature adjourned until April's mini-session without incident Saturday. And if you didn't see it, the liberal N.C. Policy Watch dug up footage of House Speaker Thom Tillis talking to a crowd of tea partiers outside his second floor office -- the same place where protesters were removed last week.

And columnist Rob Christensen remembers Bill Snider, one of the state's great newsmen.

At the statehouse, North Carolina's people are prohibited from visiting the second floor - the floor where lobbyists lobby and lawmakers make laws. The rule is posted on a concrete wall in the lobby, written in roughly 12-point font, behind glass and a black frame, tucked in a corner behind a leafy potted tree.

The language is nearly 25 years old, and few lawmakers knew it even existed until Thursday, when House Speaker Thom Tillis' office invoked it - for first time in anyone's memory - to clear a group of demonstrators from the hall outside his office. Read more here.

In other news:

-- Democrat Brad Miller says he won't run for governor and Republican Pat McCrory declared in a Raleigh event he's halfway to his goal. And Republicans rallied against President Barack Obama in Charlotte.