House Minority Leader Paul Stam gives the session a mixed report card.

The Apex Republican said he was satisfied with his party's ability to block objectionable bills, though he wishes that more of it's bills got a chance to be heard. His grades:

Stopping Bills: A. Stam was glad that minority Republicans were able to block a tax on small businesses to pay for a high-risk insurance pool and a bullying bill that included references to sexual orientation as well as several proposed tax rate increases.

"Basically, they were unwilling to pass any new taxes because we had the votes," he said.

Passing Bills: D. He was upset that Democrats didn't allow a constitutional amendment to limit eminent domain and a tax credit for special-needs children to attend private school or be home-schooled to be voted on.

"They just don't bring our bills up for a vote," he said.

Legislative Process: B+. Stam said that about seven times this session the Democratic leadership called for a vote on a bill or amendment without a debate, including major votes such as the 2007 state budget and bills on the death penalty.

"Under (disgraced former Speaker) Jim Black, that would have happened about 70 times," he said. "There's been a vast improvement but the majority is still using its ability to stifle debate."

Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated two pieces of legislation. 

Advertising was much in the news this week.

The most-read posts on Under the Dome from last Sunday to noon today included some serious spending on television advertising, and problems with ads already airing.

1. Six-Million-Dollar Woman? A national Democratic group reserves as much as $6 million in air time to target U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole in the fall. Time to buy a Tivo?

2. McCrory's Strip Stake. A Charlotte strip club owner gave Republican gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory a donation, which the campaign won't return. No word on whether it was in fistfuls of $20s.

3. Some Plane Talk. Dole's campaign mistakenly included footage of a French plane in a TV ad about saving U.S. military bases. At least they got the red, white and blue part right.

4. Postponing Payday. Gov. Mike Easley's delay in signing the state budget meant some state workers would not see their raises right away. Mary Easley's doing OK, though.

5. Bully for You. A Christian conservative group helps defeat an anti-bullying bill because it includes references to sexual orientation. Talk about the bully pulpit...

The anti-bullying bill, which would have listed gay students as potential harassment targets, is dead, said a state senator who worked on proposal.

The Senate had the bill on its list of issues to vote on today, but sent it back to committee.

Another controversial bill that appeared dead this week was twice given new life and passed, but Sen. Doug Berger, a Franklin County Democrat, said the bullying bill is really gone.

The bill was controversial because it listed "sexual orientation" and more than a dozen other characteristics as reasons school children might be bully targets. Groups interested in socially conservative issues such as the Christian Action League and the N.C. Family Policy Council did not want the term "sexual orientation" in state law, saying that gay-rights groups would use it to leverage other rights.

The bill would have required teachers, students and volunteers to report bullying and have local school boards establish anti-bullying policies.

Ironically, supporters said they had enough votes to pass it, but only if everyone showed up. As a courtesy, the Senate allows members who cannot be around for votes to "pair" with another senators who are going to vote the opposite way. When senators "pair," their votes cancel each other.

Berger said the bill's opponents pressured senators who were going to vote no not to accept pair requests from senators who would have voted for the bill.

Bullying is already against school policies, Berger said, but the only way it is going to be seriously addressed is if people talk frankly about who gets targeted.

"The failure of this bill to pass, I think, it sends a bad message," Berger said.

The state House will push to Thursday a vote on a anti-bullying bill that would include gay students in a list of potential harassment targets. It had been scheduled for yesterday, then today.

Rep. Rick Glazier, a Fayetteville Democrat, said the House is trying to coordinate its vote with the Senate, which has put off its vote to Thursday.

The anti-bullying bill would require local school sytems to develop policies to combat bullying. At issue is a description of bullying targets that includes "sexual orientation" as a reason school children might be targets.

Socially conservative groups oppose the bill, saying it is a way to get gays into state law as a protected class. Senators have reported receiving hundreds of cards and emails from opponents in the last few weeks. The Christian Action League this week asked people on its mailing list to keep up the pressure on senators.

The bill's supporters deny the claim that it would give certain groups special rights, saying that specific language guarantees that no new protected classes will be created.

Supporters say about two dozen state school systems that have adopted anti-bullying policies similar to the legislative proposal.

The Senate will not vote on a controversial anti-bullying proposal today that references sexual orientation, said a senator who worked on the bill.

Sen. Doug Berger, a Franklin County Democrat, said he expected the compromise that had been crafted to be dropped from today’s schedule.

"We just don’t have enough votes at this time," Berger said.

Socially conservative groups, including the N.C. Family Policy Council and the Christian Action League, were working hard to scuttle the proposal, which includes references to sexual orientation, masculinity and femininity.

Rep. Rick Glazier said before the House met that he was confident there were enough House votes to pass the bill, but heard that the Senate was not going to vote on it today.

The question, said Glazier, was whether the House and Senate should run the bill at the same time.

"People understand the bill very well over here," the Fayetteville Democrat said of the House.

He asked during the House session to push a vote on the proposal to the end of the meeting.

An anti-school bullying proposal that lists masculinity, femininity and sexual orientation as reasons students might be teased or beaten is unacceptable to the N.C. Family Policy Council.

The group that lobbies on behalf of socially conservative causes is asking legislators not to support a proposal that would require local school boards to set up anti-bullying policies because of some of the bully-target characteristics mentioned in it, reports Lynn Bonner.

Members of the House and Senate had worked on a compromise bill intended to dampen such controversy by removing a reference to "gender identity or expression" and replacing it with masculinity and femininity. The compromise is scheduled to go to votes today.

But Bill Brooks, Family Policy Council executive director, said significant problems remain.

Read more after the jump.

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House and Senate negotiators have reached an agreement on a proposed law aimed at protecting  students from bullying that includes provisions meant to satisfy conservatives.

The House and Senate are expected to vote on the compromise today that would require local school boards to adopt anti-bulling polices and require school employees, volunteers and students to report bullying to school officials, Lynn Bonner reports.

Organizations such as the Christian Action League fought a version of the bill that listed "gender identity or expression," and "sexual orientation" as reasons a student would be bullied.

In the compromise, "gender identity and expressiion" is removed, and replaced with "masculinity" and "femininity." All negotiators signed the compromise, except for one Republican senator.

Rep. Rick Glazier, the Fayetteville Democrat who sponsored the bill, said the change eliminated descriptions that were causing the most controversy but still recognized that effeminate boys and tomboys are bullying targets.

The compromise makes clear that the descriptions in bullying law would not expand the existing classifications of people who can claim discrimination, Glazier said.

Members of a House judiciary committee today narrowly rejected the Senate version of an anti-bullying bill, saying it does not go far enough to protect school children from abuse.

The party-line, 8-6 vote again reflected the debate about whether the legislation should specifically mention students who show homosexual or transgender characteristics as likely targets for bullies, Dan Kane reports.

Republicans have opposed the House version of the anti-bullying bill for that reason, saying it would make them a protected class.

The Senate version had left out any mention of characteristics. Rep. Rick Glazier, a Fayetteville Democrat who wrote the House version, said they need to remain so that teachers have clear guidance as to what constitutes bullying behavior. He said his bill does not create special protected classes.

House Minority Leader Paul Stam, an Apex Republican, asked the committee to give the Senate version a favorable vote. It also failed by an 8-6 vote.

The full House will vote on rejecting the Senate version. If that happens, negotiators from both chambers will be appointed to work out a compromise.

Everyone has their own definition of a "do-nothing legislature."

On The Progressive Pulse, liberal blogger Andrea Verykoukis notes her frustration about several bills that didn't make it through the legislature.

Those include suspending executions for two years, creating anti-bullying policies in schools, penalizing people who fail to report lost or stolen guns and requiring permission for minors on social networking sites like MySpace.

On the other hand, Verykoukis says she's glad the legislature did nothing on extending the boundaries for billboard owners to cut trees, cutting tuition breaks for graduates of the N.C. School of Science and Math and holding a referendum to ban gay marriage.

It seems the only worse thing than legislators doing nothing is doing something you don't like.

House Republicans learned what it's like to be a bullied minority today.

After failing in their efforts to stop an anti-bullying bill or amend it to remove a list of minority groups yesterday, they had some plans to try again today.

But after introducing the bill, sponsor Rep. Rick Glazier moved to vote on it immediately.

Typically, the House has some debate before a motion to vote.

Republican Minority Leader Paul Stam, an Apex Republican, quickly proposed a five-minute recess, which would take precedence over the call to vote on the bill.

But that motion failed, and the bill was approved 72-47, with no further comment.