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HOUSE TO UNVEIL TAX PLAN OUTLINE:House Republicans plan to offer their own North Carolina tax overhaul plan Thursday that would reduce personal and corporate income tax rates and expand the sales tax to cover more services. The proposal's scope is much narrower than what Senate counterparts offered as GOP legislators try to fulfill a commitment to carry out tax reform this year.

The plan attempts to simplify income taxes and reduces the number of income tax brackets from three to one, according to the proposed legislation obtained by The Associated Press. House Republican leaders want to reduce slightly the combined state and local sales tax consumers in most counties pay from 6.75 percent to 6.65 percent. They also would subject the sales tax to a handful of new services such as automobile repairs and installations for personal property and warranty and service contracts, the bill says. In contrast, the Senate proposal unveiled last week would make the sales tax base one of the broadest in the country. More here.

NORQUIST TO BLESS SENATE TAX EFFORT: Americans for Tax Reform leader Grover Norquist will stand with Senate leader Phil Berger at a 9:30 a.m. press conference Thursday to talk about the Senate's tax rewrite. The visit is being coordinated by Americans for Prosperity, an advocacy group that pushing hard for a major tax overhaul measure this session. Opposition groups already are framing the visit, saying Norquist will support a bill that could raise taxes on a majority of people in the long-term. A luncheon with tax activists outside the legislature will follow later in the day.

Good Morning! This Dome Morning Memo is (unofficially) brought to you by Krispy Kreme donuts and coffee -- which is much needed after the House worked near midnight to beat the crossover deadline on a bevy of controversial bills in a 10-hour session. If you went to bed early, click below for all the North Carolina political news and analysis.***

North Carolina's U.S. Senate race is trending more safely in Kay Hagan's direction compared to the other competitive contests in 2014, according to one pundit.

The Washington Post's Fix blog now ranks the race No. 6 in a list of those most likely to switch parties. (No. 1 is the most likely.)

The N.C. race ranked No. 4 in March. And Hagan, a freshman who rode into office on the 2008 Obama ticket, isn't looking like the most vulnerable incumbent, either. Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas earns that designation, Fix says, ranking the race No. 3. The top two races are open seats.

Rev. Mark Harris, the pastor of Charlotte’s First Baptist Church, said Monday he’s listening to those who want him to run for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination next year.

Harris met in Charlotte last week with about 70 people from around 20 North Carolina counties who are trying to draft him to run, the Observer's Jim Morrill reports. “I’m certainly humbled and flattered by the confidence that these folks have expressed,” he said. “It’s a little bit overwhelming to be honest. Right now we’re doing two things. One … doing a lot of listening to people and the second and most importantly to me is just to pray and seek God’s leadership … and see if that’s his plan for me.”

Harris announced that to his congregation at the end of Sunday’s church service, and walked off to a standing ovation. More here.

House Speaker Thom Tillis is a lame-duck lawmaker but he's busy raising money, which surely fuels speculation that he is getting closer to a possible U.S. Senate run.

Tillis, a Republican, is holding a fundraiser May 6 at the Cardinal Club in Raleigh. Lt. Gov. Dan Forest is the special guest for the lunch-time event. Hosts are asked to donate $2,000 with individual tickets at $250, according to a copy of the invite. The money goes to the Committee to Elect Thom Tillis.

Hosts include John Kane, J. Patrick Gavaghan, Gene Minton and Harry Smith. Sponsors (at the $1,000 level) are Elbert Boyd, Dean Proctor and John Stone.

Gov. Pat McCrory helped the speaker raise money earlier this year. Tillis, whose self-imposed term limits make this his final two-year session, said he is considering a bid against Democrat Kay Hagan in 2014.

State lawmakers can raise money during session but can't accept contributions from political action committees.

Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr congratulated Anthony Foxx on becoming the latest Obama cabinet appointee.

The president announced Foxx, the Democratic Charlotte mayor, as transportation secretary Monday afternoon.

“I am pleased to see the president look to North Carolina to fill this important cabinet position, and I congratulate Mayor Foxx on this honor," Burr said in a statement. "I look forward to introducing Mayor Foxx to my colleagues and working with him as his nomination moves through the Senate. I believe he will ably serve North Carolina and our nation as the next Secretary of Transportation.”

Democratic U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan echoed the sentiment: "This is great news for North Carolina and our country, and I look forward to a swift confirmation for Anthony," she said in a statement.

STATE ELECTION OFFICIALS TO INVESTIGATE GAMBLING DONATIONS: State elections officials are calling for an investigation of $235,000 in political donations to dozens of North Carolina candidates from an Oklahoma sweepstakes operator, contributions that they say may have violated state campaign finance laws, AP reported. Gov. Pat McCrory, state House Speaker Thom Tillis and Senate leader Phil Berger are among those who received the checks, many of them mailed from a Charlotte lobbying firm where McCrory worked until just before he took office.

TODAY AT THE STATEHOUSE: The House will consider three highly contentious measures Tuesday: first, a sweeping immigration bill at 10 a.m. in House Judiciary Subcommittee B and a gun bill at the same time in House Judiciary Subcommittee A, and then, at 2 p.m., the full House convenes to hear a voter ID measure. Immigration advocates are expected to appear in full force at the legislative building today to lobby. Also today: a House panel will also consider a bill to adopt a state marsupial, among other state symbols, and a Senate committee will hear a bill to make hospitals more transparent in their billing.

Gov. Pat McCrory -- and legislative leaders -- will attend the NFIB meeting in Raleigh at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday. Later in the day, the governor will sign Kilah's Law (HB75) at a 4:30 p.m. ceremony at the Capitol.

Thanks for reading the Dome Morning Memo -- our thoughts are with Jamie and Nation Hahn's family and friends today. More North Carolina political news and analysis below.

N.C. Democrats are reveling is the Republican disorder for the 2014 U.S. Senate race.

In a memo Tuesday, N.C. Democratic Party operative Ben Ray argued that Kay Hagan "finds herself in an increasingly strong position" as the GOP struggles to identify a front-runner for the primetime race. "Just over one year from the Republican primary, two things are clear:  Republicans aren’t going to get their strongest potential candidates, and whoever emerges from their primary field to face Senator Hagan will be battered and broke," writes Ray, the party's new rapid response director. "The GOP field has already suffered several setbacks, with Congressmen George Holding and Patrick McHenry each announcing that they would pass on the race.  Holding has substantial personal wealth, and McHenry consistently performed well in public polling.  With the failure of a top-tier candidate to materialize, the NRSC is left facing a cavalry charge of candidates unprepared for the challenges ahead."

Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, gives a shout-out to North Carolina state Senate leader Phil Berger in an op-ed piece in The Washington Times calling for an end to income taxes.

Norquist notes it’s the 100th anniversary of the tax authorized by the 16th Amendment, and says the country did just fine without it for 137 years. He adds that there are nine states without state income taxes, and they also “run well.”

Norquist adds that North Carolina under Berger, along with Kansas and Louisiana, have plans to phase out income taxes.

The mention in the national press doesn’t hurt Berger’s potential candidacy for U.S. Senate.

With the U.S. Senate allowing a gun bill to hit the floor, the group leading the grassroots advocacy campaign is making another push in North Carolina to rally support.

Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a group led by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, will hold three events across the state Saturday. Click below for the details about the Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh events.

UNC-CHAPEL HILL TO GET FIRST WOMAN CHANCELLOR: As first reported by The News & Observer, UNC system officials will name Carol Folt, the interim president of Dartmouth College, as the next chancellor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Folt, 61, would be the first woman to lead the campus in Chapel Hill, where the 29,000-member student body is 58 percent female. She will succeed Holden Thorp, who is stepping down by July 1 to become provost at Washington University in St. Louis. Full story.

McHENRY WON'T CHALLENGE HAGAN: N.C. Congressman Patrick McHenry took his name out of the crowded field of potential challengers to Democratic U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, who faces re-election in 2014. Polls put McHenry in the top half of Republicans. "I'm grateful for the good numbers, but I think I've got a better opportunity to make a difference here in the House," McHenry told the Mountain Xpress in Asheville. "I want to end the distraction about this potential Senate run so I can get back and focus on the work that I need to be doing to help get this economy going."

***Good morning. Thanks for reading the Friday edition of the Dome Morning Memo. Much more N.C political news and analysis below.***