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STUDENTS TO PROTEST ART POPE LECTURE: UNC-Chapel Hill students are plannning a "teach out" demonstration Tuesday outside a campus building where Art Pope, the governor's state budget director is a guest lecturer. Pope will speak to Faculty Chairwoman Jan Boxhill's 12:30 p.m. philosophy course, according to The Daily Tar Heel. Pope is a major donor to the university but also to ttea party groups and others that aim to elect Republican candidates. Students are upset about the proposed cuts to the university in tthe budget Pope drafted. Interestingly, Gov. Pat McCrory earlier this year questioned the use of state money for liberal arts courses such as gender students and philosophy.

TODAY AT THE STATEHOUSE: House and Senate lawmakers will consider a corporate income tax cut and school safety measure Tuesday with major legislation begins making progress as the legislalture nears crunch time. The House Education Committee will meet at 10 a.m. and the Senate  Finance Committee will meet at 1 p.m. Both chambers convene at 2 p.m. The House is still waiting to vote on a measure to background check many receiptients of public assitance and prohibit some from getting federal aid. Two major groups will hold rallies at the legislature to push back against the Republican majority.

McCrory hosted a breakfast this morning with advocates for the state's historically black universities and colleges -- the groups most fearing any potential study of consolidation of UNC system campuses. Later in the day, the governor will meet with the Legislative Black Caucus, a group that has been very critical of his agenda.

***Thanks for reading the Dome Morning Memo. Much more North Carolina politics below.***

House Republicans unveiled their long-awaited voter id bill Thursday, offering a less restrictive version than the measure that was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Bev. Perdue two years ago.

The measure would require all voters to show a government-issued photograph at the polls starting with the 2016 elections, in what supporters said was an effort to restore voter confidence in the electoral system.

But it would include several provisions that seem designed to address the concerns of critics who charged that it would disenfranchise older voters, students, and the poor. The bill would accept expired driver's licenses up to 10 years, student ID's from public universities, state employee Ids, and would allow persons older than 70 years to use old IDs. It would also require the state to provide free photo ID's to those who claim financial hardship.

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!

House Speaker Thom Tillis on Wednesday announced his choices to lead several key committees, elevating several second-term representatives to prominent positions.

Democrats often use the word "extreme" to describe the Republican legislative agenda. But now Republicans are throwing it back at them. 

In one of the most over-the-top mailers so far, state GOP sent attacking Democratic House candidate Jim Messina said he "supports an extreme agenda that rejects modern scientific fact and will ultimately kill economic expansion in North Carolina." The GOP put a colander on Messina's head to make him look like a crazy conspiracy theorist. (Click below for flyer.)

Pat McCrory is feeling so good about his race he's starting to throw his support behind legislative candidates that may benefit from his potential coattails.

The Republican candidates endorsed state Rep. Tom Murry's re-election Thursday.  "I'm supporting Tom Murry as part of the comeback team here in North Carolina," McCrory said in a statement, referencing his "comeback" campaign slogan.

Republican state House candidate Tom Murry, a pharmacist, debuted his second TV ad of the campaign season this week, saying he has the right "prescription" to help the state.

The 30-second spot lists a few Republican accomplishments from the prior session, including cutting the gas tax and a business tax cut. The incumbent's campaign spent $100,000 to target the TV ad to his Morrisville-area district through cable and YouTube channels.

Oh, frack!

That's the message of at least a couple campaign mailers gracing some mailboxes in Apex, Cary and Morrisville.

A bright green pamphlet, paid for by the North Carolina Democratic Party, accuses Republican state Rep. Tom Murry of supporting fracking in Wake County and District 42 just because "big oil likes it."

Murry said the ads are just another sign that "silly season" has arrived.

UPDATED: Tom Murry's mom stars in the Republican lawmaker's first television commercial, touting his education bonafides: smaller classes, merit pay raises, less bureaucracy. 

The 30-second spot debuted Monday and will appear on targeted cable TV stations for a month as Murry looks to distance himself from his Democratic rival in one of the hottest state legislative races in the state.

House Republicans have booked nearly a dozen banquet rooms in downtown Raleigh tonight in the Sheraton Hotel and the Capital City Club and invited some folks to come and talk.

There are no set prices for entry, but respondents are asked to RSVP to the GOP House caucus fund raiser. It's promoted as "A Special Evening" in three parts.

Nine House Republicans will be posted in banquet rooms between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.

House Speaker Thom Tillis will be at both the Sheraton and the Capital City Club for the individual events. He'll also have his own room at the Capital City Club from 6:30 p.m.  until 8 p.m.

Rep. Ruth Samuelson of Charlotte, the House majority whip, will be in Raleigh in mid-October. She'll be at the Cardinal Club on Oct. 11 with five other GOP House members, and with Rep. Tom Murry of Morrisville on Oct. 12 at The Pit.