Online retailer Overstock.com has followed Amazon.com's decision to cut off a commission program to North Carolina-based Web sites.

The move would allow the companies to avoid having to collect sales tax on sales to customers in the state. Under the commission programs, the .coms pay a percentage to Web sites that steer buyers to the online product. 

The proposal would use the commission arrangement to justify levying sales tax on Internet purchases. Current state law already requires North Carolinians to pay such a tax, but taxpayers have to report themselves. Few do.

The tax proposal would treat online retailers as if they operated a brick-and-mortar store in the state.

Overstock has also cancelled its affiliate programs in Hawaii and Rhode Island, which are considering similar programs. It reinstated the program in California after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a similar proposal. 

"It's painful to have to terminate these relationships with affiliates, simply because they live in states where counterproductive (and likely unconstitutional) laws are being passed," said Patrick Byrne, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Overstock.com in a news release. "However, politicians have to remember that a tax is a price that government charges for a service, and when they raise their prices, we're going to buy less of their services."

The commissions can prove lucrative for Web site owners, some of whom live off the money.

Lawmakers who support the proposal say it's only fair to require online retailers who makes sales in the state to collect sales tax.

Hat tip: Dzone 

* Charlotte Observer editorialist Taylor Batten on legislative redistricting: "The referees are the very players whose future is at stake."

* Bowhunters excited to sling bows and arrows on Sunday, but not everyone is keen about allowing rifle hunting on the Sabbath. 

* Observers say Gov. Beverly Perdue is off to a strong start, energetic, centrist with "almost a Schwarzenegger-style self confidence." 

* Bill would require contractors eligible for federal stimulus money in North Caorlina to verify their employees' immigration status.

Gov. Beverly Perdue does not plan to attend the inauguration.

Perdue will be in Washington, D.C., on Sunday for an EMILY's List luncheon, but she does not currently plan to stick around for Tuesday's swearing-in ceremony for President-elect Barack Obama.

Spokesman Tim Crowley said he did not know what Perdue would do instead that day.

"I haven't seen the calendar," he said.

The National Governors Association invited its members to attend the inauguration.

Some are; some are not. Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California and Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire of Washington will attend, while embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is not.

Gov. Beverly Perdue should get an invitation soon.

Although the new governor said at her inaugural ball that the time for partying would soon end, she will get an invitation soon from the McClatchy Co. to the annual Gridiron Club dinner in Washington, D.C.

Founded in 1885, it is the oldest and most prestigious journalism group in the nation's capital, and the annual white-tie dinner has featured speeches by every U.S. president since then except Grover Cleveland.

The newspaper chain, which owns the Charlotte Observer and the Raleigh News & Observer, has also sent invitations to Bono, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and nine other notables.

Speaking for Sen. John McCain's campaign, Sen. Richard Burr today called Democrat Barack Obama's energy proposals "ludicrous."

"I'm not sure he's done anything but mirror the inaction of the Democratic leadership in Congress," said Burr, a Winston-Salem Republican.

Burr joined McCain's energy adviser in an afternoon conference call with reporters. They spoke as McCain, campaigning in California, called for higher energy efficiency. The candidate appeared with Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who opposes offshore oil drilling, which McCain supports.

Burr said he supports McCain's call to end a federal moratorium on such drilling and let states decide whether to allow it off their coasts.

"I leave it up to the people of North Carolina, to the leadership of North Carolina," Burr said. "I hope they feel a responsibility to do what I think technologically can be done with very little risk."

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole plans to spend a half-million dollars advertising.

The Salisbury Republican, faced by three recent polls showing her with lower-than-expected approval ratings, will spend the money over the next two weeks airing an ad on illegal immigration, Rob Christensen reports.

The ad was produced by Fred Davis, a Los Angeles media consultant who handled Dole's TV ads during her 2002 Senate campaign as well as George W. Bush's 2004 re-election campaign and the campaigns of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue and Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker.

Her Democratic opponent, state Sen. Kay Hagan, does not have the funding to run her own ad now. While Dole reported having $3.1 million on hand in mid-April, Hagan had spent much of her money on the contested primary, leaving her with just $317,311.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has sent out two fundraising letters on Hagan's behalf, according to Jennifer Duffy, an analyst with the Cook Political Report. 

Public Policy Polling recently found that Dole is ahead overall because of her strength with voters on the issue of illegal immigration. 

Gov. Mike Easley makes slightly more than some of his 49 peers.

The governor's annual salary of $130,629 is just above the national average of $124,398 for the heads of other states, according to political Web site Stateline.org.

The biggest paycheck goes to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who returns all of his $206,500 salary back to the state.

The lowest-paid head of state is Maine Gov. John Baldacci, who earns just $70,000 annually.

Easley at least gets free lodging at the Executive Mansion in downtown Raleigh. Six states don't.