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CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE AT LEGISLATURE: Clergy and students will participate in an act of civil disobedience Monday at the Legislative Building "in response to the collective acts of the legislature," said the Rev. William Barber, president of the state NAACP. The action, from 5 p.m.- 6 p.m., will be a "form of a pray-in," Barber said. The House convenes at 4 p.m., the Senate at 7 p.m. The NAACP has opposed the legislative actions reducing unemployment benefits, state House approval of photo voter ID, and other legislative measures.

FOXX TO TAKE OBAMA POST: President Barack Obama on Monday will nominate Mayor Anthony Foxx to be secretary of transportation, a White House official said Sunday on the condition of anonymity. The nomination of Foxx, whose city hosted last year’s Democratic National Convention, would make him the only African-American selected for a Cabinet opening in Obama’s second term. (More below.)

***Good morning. Welcome to the Dome Morning Memo -- a full roundup of North Carolina political news and analysis below. ***

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.***

This doesn't strike us as exactly as in keeping with the Christmas spirit. But a liberal group plans to deliver a Christmas Card and sing Christmas carols with a a message at the office of Republican U.S. Rep. Renee Ellmers's office in Dunn at noon today.

The group, including Progress N.C. is lobbying Ellmers to support a deal to end the Bush tax cuts for the top 2 percent to avoid the fiscal cliff.
 

A Washington-based coalition called Fix the Debt – which advocates lower taxes alongside a more obvious goal of putting a dent in the $16.2 trillion-plus national debt – is launching a state-level organization on Tuesday in Raleigh.

The group has been something of a lightning rod for criticism from liberal advocates, and local groups have taken notice and responded by planning a protest and slamming the group's ties to corporate and wealthy donors.

Democratic Rep. Jim Crawford said at a public forum he will vote against the constitutional amendment on same-sex marriage he voted to put on the ballot because "it goes too far."

Crawford, who lives in Granville County, was criticized for his vote to put the amendment on the May 8 ballot at a candidate forum last month.

He's under fire from liberal groups for his amendment and budget votes. Progress NC Action is holding a demonstration outside the Oxford Courthouse tomorrow to call attention to what they called Crawford's "flip-flopping."

Crawford is in a primary with incumbent Rep. Winkie Wilkins.

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."

Americans for Prosperity isn't the only group touring the state this week talking about the Republican-drawn budget, as the educating funding battle hits the streets.

A "Truth Squad" car sponsored by Progress NC, a liberal advocacy group, is following AFP's billboard truck around the state shouting "Real Solutions or Real Distortions?" along with numbers about the cuts to education. (The video above was shot Tuesday in downtown Winston-Salem).

A state agriculture department regulator regrets tipping off Butterball officials about a law enforcement raid.

The Fayetteville Observer reports that Dr. Sarah Jean Mason, the director of animal health programs in the department's poultry division, issued a notarized statement through her lawyer saying her actions "reflected poorly" on the agency. She said her motive in telling the veterinarian working for Butterball's Shannon facility was to "curtail avain abuse."

Mason said no one at the department told her to contact the company's veterinarian -- but that isn't stopping Progress NC, a liberal advocacy group, from taking aim at Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler, a Republican.

About two-thirds of North Carolina voters believe that taking legislative votes in the middle of the night is inappropriate, according to a poll released Monday by a liberal advocacy group.

The survey -- conducted days after Republican leaders held a 12:45 a.m. special session Thursday that scored political points against the state's teachers lobby -- found the General Assembly's approval rating at 16 percent, far below a similar December survey. More than 50 percent disapprove of the GOP-led legislature.

"North Carolina voters are not happy with lawmakers who are out of control," said Gerrick Brenner, the executive director of Progress NC, which is critical of the Republican legislative leadership, particularly on the topic of education funding.

State superintendent June Atkinson fired back at a liberal advocacy group that questioned her commitment to fight school budget cuts.

In an email to the executive director, Gerrick Brenner, Atkinson rejects the premise, saying she has been "very vocal" about the $400 million cut to education implemented by the Republican leaders in the General Assembly.

She also suggests the group stop whining. "At the same time, we don’t have the luxury of spending all of our time talking about what could have been," she wrote. "We must roll up our sleeves and decide to move forward and to improve opportunities for girls and boys in North Carolina."

The full statement is below.