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UPDATED: The House and Senate are at odds again.

The two legislative chambers -- both controlled by Republicans -- blew up earlier this session with disagreements about Senate Bill 10, a bill that sweeps clean many state boards and commissions. That is, until the House and Senate conference committee agreed on a version Wednesday.

But now that compromise is off. The Senate approved the conference report Thursday but the House unanimously rejected it. (See more about the changes below.) Sen. Tom Apodaca, the lead Senate sponsor, appeared frustrated. He suggested the bill is done in its current form. "We are not going back to the table on Senate bill 10," he said. "I guess it’s dead."

The bill could be revived with parliamentary moves, or folded into a different bill.

Two new bills filed Thursday would change the way North Carolinians vote.

The state's early voting period would be shortened and Sunday voting eliminated under one bill. The bill from House Majority Leader Edgar Starnes of Caldwell County also would eliminate straight-ticket voting and same-day registration. And it would make non-partisan judicial elections partisan.

The bill could help Republicans.

It would lop a week off the early voting period, which Democrats have used more successfully than Republicans. It would also stop straight-ticket voting. Democrats cast 300,000 more straight tickets than Republicans in 2012. And by ending Sunday voting, it would stop the heavily Democratic "Souls to the Polls" efforts to get voters out after Sunday church services.

A bill introduced by Senate Rules Chairman Tom Apodaca of Hendersonville would eliminate public financing of judicial and other statewide races now eligible for it. --Jim Morrill, Observer staff writer

BIG JOBS DEAL PUTS McCRORY IN THE SPOTLIGHT: The Charlotte law firm Moore & Van Allen, where Gov. Pat McCrory was employed until just days before taking office, helped the New York-based insurance company negotiate with state and local governments to receive more than $94 million in taxpayer-funded incentives in return for the promise to add more than 2,600 jobs in the next three years. The connection raises questions in the minds of Democrats about McCrory’s role in the deal and again shines light on his employment at the law firm, which also runs a lobbying practice in Raleigh. Republicans used similar concerns to reject a major economic development project under Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue, citing how the company hired a Raleigh law firm that employed her son.

TODAY IN POLITICS: McCrory will tout the MetLife deal at another event in Charlotte Friday. The U.S. Labor Department reports the national unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent, a four year low. The full N.C. Mining and Energy Commission meets Friday as the debate about what to do with fracking waste remains unresolved and lawmakers are getting involved.

Thanks for reading the Dome Morning Memo. Much more on the MetLife deal and the political implications below. Send news and tips to dome@newsobserver.com. Have a good weekend and Go Heels!

Action NC is fighting a proposal to bring payday lending back to the state, asking its supporters to call and write state senators in opposition to a new bill.

The Action NC email uses the example of a Raleigh man who ended up paying $5,000 interest over five years on a $300 loan as a reason the loans should not be legalized.

Payday loans are short-term, high-interest loans that borrowers secure with post-dated checks. The loans get their name because borrowers are supposedly using the money to tide them over until their next payday. Critics say the loans trap borrowers in debt they can't escape as borrowers repeatedly roll them over. The payday industry says the loans can be a vital source of emergency cash.

The state outlawed payday lending about a decade ago, but a new bill backed by a powerful senator, Rules Chairman Tom Apodaca, and influential lobbyists aims to make it legal again.

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.

Senators Tom Apodaca of Henderson and Ralph Hise of Mitchell have been named co-chairs of the Senate Committee on Pensions & Retirement and Aging.

In naming the two, Senate leader Phil Berger said their assignment was “to ensure North Carolina's pension system protects taxpayers from enormous unfunded liabilities and remains sustainable for current and future retirees.''

Apodaca and Sen. Wesley Meredith co-chaired the committee during the past session.

Sen. Tom Apodaca will control the powerful Senate Rules Committee for another two years.

Senate President Phil Berger announced Tuesday he is re-appointing Apodaca, R-Henderson, chairman of the committee for a second consecutive term.

"Everyone was pleased with the results," Apodaca said. "We'll be pretty much the same as we were the last two years."

The committee is important because, among other responsibilities, it decides where to assign bills and whether amendments are proper and need to be voted on. This allows control of the flow of legislation and governance of how the chamber conducts business.

Berger called Apodaca "instrumental in keeping the Senate focused on our key priorities" over the past couple years.

"He continues to be one of my most trusted advisors, and I thank him for his service," said Berger, a Republican from Rockingham.

A lot has been made of a geographical power-shift to Charlotte with Gov.-elect Pat McCrory and House Speaker Thom Tillis hailing from the state's largest city, and Berger also from the Piedmont

Apodaca's continued presence on the Rules Committee, however, Berger said in a release, will ensure that Western North Carolina "continues to have a powerful and influential voice in the legislature."

Sen. Tom Apodaca of Henderson had successful heart surgery Thursday at Mission Hospital in Asheville, he said in a statement. 

Apodaca, the Senate Rules chairman and one of Senate leader Phil Berger's top lieutenants, wrote a classically Apodacian tongue-in-cheek statement ("I could stand to lose a few pounds") with eyebrow-raising promises and wisecracks ("In a few months, I'll be back, looking like George Clooney"). 

Here's the statement: 

“Last Thursday, I underwent successful open heart surgery at Mission Hospital in Asheville. I’m incredibly grateful to the talented group of doctors and nurses here who have taken such good care of me. For months and months leading up to this, I endured unusually bad acid reflux – a condition I thought was brought on by spending too much time in Raleigh. Doctors at UNC Health Care were able to determine it was caused by blockages in my arteries.

Legislators have talked for years about changing the way car insurance rates are set. A legislative committee vote Tuesday guarantees they'll keep talking about it for at least another year.

A committee on auto insurance voted Tuesday to tell the 2013 General Assembly to deal with it.

The Issue:  The state Insurance Commissioner approves auto insurance rates  that are recommended by the Rate Bureau. The state has a large residual market that includes "clean risk" drivers, which means they're in the high risk pool for reasons other than a bad driving record.

Sen. Tom Apodaca, Hendersonville Republican and Senate Rules committee chairman, won the Legislator of the Year award from the State Employees Association of North Carolina's political action committee.

The group cited Apodaca's work on the changes to the state employee health plan as one of the reasons he won the Lisa B. Mitchell Award.

"During this legislative session, Sen. Apodaca's door was open and we always had a seat at his table," SEANC executive director Dana Cope said in a statement.

The N.C. Association of Educators and retirees didn't like the first versions of the health plan changes. Gov. Bev Perdue vetoed the first health plan bill legislators passed.

The award is named for a former SEANC member who worked to build its PAC.