After wrangling over hair-braiding, some spending corrections and a handful of last-minute bills, the Senate adjourned Friday afternoon about 4 p.m.

The Senate won't technically be done until Tuesday, but the chamber plans no business as the House winds down its work early next week.

"I will say to the members of the Senate, a job was done. How well, you be the judge," Senate leader Marc Basnight said as he brought the seven-month session to a close.

Basnight said he expects the Senate to take up an annexation reform bill next year as well as a plan to change the state's tax structure. Basnight said the tax reform could be dealt with in a special session this fall, although the House and Gov. Beverly Perdue would have to agree to that.

Update: Perdue was not enthusiastic about a special session. "After this session, I'm just ready for them to go home," she said today.

A bill meant to reform annexation got its final vote in the House on Thursday.

The bill would place a greater burden on cities and towns that want to annex land against the property owner's will. It would require municipalities to prove they can afford to provide services to the newly annexed area and require officials to only annex what they have the money to support.

The bill allows property owners who are being annexed against their will to force a referendum if they collect enough signatures.

So called "involuntary" or "forced annexations" allow municpalities to manage growth. Supporters say those who live just outisde a city should have to pay for the benefits they enjoy.

Opponents say forced annexation gives the government power to tax citizens who have no say or vote in the process.

The bill, which offers something for everyone in the debate to dislike, now heads to the Senate where there is less enthusiasm for moving on the bill this session.

A bill meant to change the way cities and towns annex property owners is headed back to committee.

The bill was drafted in response to long-festering anger over municipalities' ability to annex property owners against their will.

The proposed bill leaves neither municipalities nor annexation opponents happy.

"It must be a pretty good bill if everybody is upset," said Rep. Bruce Goforth, an Ashville Democrat and co-sponsor of the bill.

Good bill or not, Rep. Mickey Michaux, a Durham Democrat and senior budget writer in the House was afraid it would be an expensive bill.

More after the jump.

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* The SBI says that 11 witnesses watched guards at a Greene County prison beat a shackled and helpless inmate. Three guards have been charged with felony assault.

* A bill meant to reform annexation now includes a provision that would allow a referendum under certain conditions. The current proposal leaves all sides of the contentious debate unhappy.

* Officials are keeping quiet, but the signs are pointing to the Catawba County town of Maiden as the site of Apple's new $1 billion data center.

Correction: Post now includes a better description of what the annexation changes would do.

A fuss over bill titles is festering in the House.

In recent weeks House Democrats have changed the title of three high-profile bills to long, precise descriptions of what the bills would do.

The title change made it nearly impossible for House Republicans to make any substantive changes to the budget or to a bill outlawing school bullying. A proposal to change the state's annexation laws now also features a lengthy title.

The title matters because House rules say amendments from the floor must be "germane." The more detail included in the title, the less a House member can do with an amendment.

House Republicans say the practice violates the spirit of openness promised by House Speaker Joe Hackney. 

"The Speaker has done a good job being fair, but recently the process has become heavy handed," said Rep. Johnathan Rhyne, a Lincolnton Republican. 

The place to change the substance of a bill is in committee, said Rep. Bill Owens, an Elizabeth City Democrat and the House rules chairman. Any bill can be sent back to committee with a simple majority vote.  

"Time for debate on the floor needs to be the principle reason for the bill, not amending the titles to put in things that there's not majority support for," Owens said. 

More after the jump.

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A House committee is tangling over the contentious annexation issue today.

More than 50 bills have been filed on the issue in both chambers this session. On Thursday, more than 100 people packed into a small committee room to see the blended bill before the House committee.

The proposal is actually a combination of three House bills.

North Carolina allows involuntary or forced annexation in which property owners can be annexed into a city or town against their will. The idea is to allow cities to regulate growth.

The effect is that plenty of people are mad as heck about being told they will have to pay thousands of dollars in taxes and fees for municipal services they didn't want in the first place.

Annexation opponents, wearing the signature red shirts packed the committee room Thursday morning. Debate on the bill is expected this afternoon. 

More after the jump.

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What does North Carolina think?

The latest Elon University Poll shows significant agreement on a number of issues that are before the legislature.

Below, the percentage who agreed with a sentiment:

77: The state should make commuter rail available in urban areas.

74: The state should not charge a fee based on miles driven each year.

67: The state should ban smoking in public places, such as restaurants and bars.

— Support a $2 billion bond referendum for bridges and roads.

66: Offshore drilling should be allowed off the coast of North Carolina.

— Except in emergencies, it should be illegal to use a cell phone while driving.

The live phone poll of 758 residents was conducted Feb. 22-26. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

After the jump, the rest of the results.

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State legislators say they may change the rules on annexation.

After years of controversy over involuntary annexation, lawmakers say they want to give property owners more rights.

"You're talking about doing something to someone's home, which is probably the second most near and dear thing to them beside their family," said Rep. Nelson Dollar, a Cary Republican.

Still, proponents of the practice say that it helps cities such as Greensboro, Charlotte and Raleigh remain strong, since prosperous suburbs remain part of the central tax base.

The legislature is looking at three possibilities: 1) A moratorium on annexation in specific counties; 2) a referendum to allow people who might be annexed to vote on it; and 3) revising annexation laws to give property owners more time and tools to fight annexation. (N&O)

The legislature opens today with a grim outlook.

Lawmakers will be trying to figure out how to trim the state budget by as much as $2 billion, or 10 percent.

"It may be the most serious recession, the most serious problem in state revenues in my time in the General Assembly," said House Speaker Joe Hackney, an Orange County Democrat who has been a House member for 30 years.

Legislators will do without expensive new programs and struggle to fix existing problems with roads, mental health services and the probation system. (N&O)

They are also expected to deal with issues ranging from the death penalty to annexation. (N&O)

Mike Munger is hitting involuntary annexation in a new radio ad.

The Libertarian gubernatorial candidate's minute-long ad argues that North Carolina's law allowing cities to annex nearby properties is wrong.

"Our state is one of only four that let cities invade like a foreign army," a female announcer says. "And you have no legal defense against that invasion."

In the ad, Munger argues that cities skip over land owned by poor people to involuntarily annex people who "just want to be left alone."

If successful, the ad campaign may end up drawing votes away from the Republican ticket.

Repealing or suspending the state's involuntary annexation laws has been a cause for state Republicans in recent years. Anti-annexation voters protested at the legislature in June.

And Munger is running against one of those "big city mayors" mentioned in the ad: Charlotte Republican Pat McCrory.

After the jump, the script.

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