It's not only possible to become a state legislator without getting elected, but 31 of the 170 members of the legislature have done it.

Those lawmakers first took office after being selected by a small group of their party's leaders and then being appointed by the governor.

Since the current legislative term began in January, six lawmakers have taken office after their predecessor resigned or, in one case, died. A seventh new legislator will be selected soon to replace Sen. David Weinstein, D-Lumberton, who resigned in September. When a lawmaker leaves office early, his or her party leaders select a replacement who is appointed by the governor.

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The expected Democratic illuminati are at the Obama town hall event.

Conspicuously not here: Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan, one of the swing votes that brought President Barack Obama to Raleigh today. Her office cited a conflict, namely that the U.S. Senate is in session.

Here are some of the folks who are here (apologies to those we didn't recognize or spot).

* N.C. House: Reps. Deborah Ross, Pricey Harrison, Verla Insko.

* N.C. Senate: Sens. R.C. Soles, Bill Purcell, Dan Blue, Tony Rand, Charlie Albertson.

* Governors: Jim Hunt (a spokeswoman said Beverly Perdue will be here as well).

* Wake County Commission chairman Harold Webb.

* Democratic Party chairman David Young and John Crumpler, a Raleigh businessman and Obama fundraiser.

* Possible candidates for U.S. Senate against Sen. Richard Burr: N.C. Secretary of State Elaine Marshall and lawyer Cal Cunningham.

Update: Post now reflects that Hagan was not in Raleigh because she was working in Washington. 

Last week House Speaker Joe Hackney defended his plans to spend some of the week at the National Conference of State Legislatures summit in Philadelphia.

Hackney was one of 10 lawmakers, all Democrats, from the state to register for the summit. Four legislative staff members were registered to go, according to the legislature's controller's office. The state would pay registration, $499 to $625, depending on when the attendee registered. Members were to pay their other expenses.

But on Monday, many on the list to go were not in Philadelphia. Like Hackney, members may move back and forth or just go later in the week, officials said.

The members signed up to go are:

Senate: Dan Blue (D-Raleigh), Charlie Dannelly (D-Charlotte), Katie Dorsett (D-Greensboro), Tony Foriest (D-Graham), Ed Jones (D-Halifax County).

House: Rick Glazier (D-Fayetteville), Hackney (D-Orange County), Phillip Haire (D-Sylva), Larry Hall (D-Durham), Bill Owens (D-Elizabeth City) 

Previously: Expenses minimal for NCSL trip to New Orleans. 

The Senate approved Thursday a bill designed to keep people with high debts from losing their homes.

The bill would double the state's homestead exemption, which protects property from being taken by certain creditors, such as credit card companies. The bill raises the exemption for individuals from $18,500 to $36,000 and for married couples from $37,000 to $60,000.

The exemption applies to judgements arising from unsecured debts such as credit card bills. In secured debts, such as a second mortgage, the borrower agreed to put his or her home up as collateral.  

Sen. Dan Blue, a Raleigh Democrat sponsored the bill earlier this session when he was in the House and is now pushing it in the Senate. His original idea was to raise the exemption to as much as $300,000 but knocked the number down after negotiating with interest groups.

The exemption does not allow anyone to avoid paying a debt. It just makes it tougher to put people on the street. The bill fits in with other laws the state has adopted meant to curb predatory lending.

"You still owe the debt," Blue said. "This is consistent with what we've been trying to do in protecting homeowners."

Both Democratic and Republican senators shed tears and shared memories Thursday of Sen. Vernon Malone, a Raleigh Democrat who died April 18.

They described a man who endured segregation in his youth and, as an adult, led the unification of the Raleigh and Wake County school systems, which helped build the system's consistently strong reputation and fuel the county's rapid growth.

"Vernon had a vision and the courage to implement that vision," said Sen. Dan Blue, the Raleigh Democrat who took Malone's seat.

They remembered his attractive handwriting on the notes he passed, the holiday party held by Malone and his late wife, Susan, his sage advice, his soft voice and his warmth.

"A steely gentleman," said Sen. Josh Stein, a Raleigh Democrat.

The normally boisterous Sen. Tony Rand, a Fayetteville Democrat and one of the legislature's most influential figures, broke down in the midst of his remarks.

Sen. Tom Apodaca, a Hendersonville Republican, said he spent part of the morning on his porch contemplating what to say: "All I could hear was Vernon saying, 'Please don't say much. Get on with the business of the state.'"

Habitual drunk drivers who permanently lost their license could apply to get it back after ten years of a clean record under a bill passed by the Senate Wednesday.

The issue divided the Senate, as debate ran for several minutes before senators approved the legislation 25 to 20. It now goes back to the House.

The bill would allow the convicted habitual drunk drivers to apply to the Division of Motor Vehicles for their license if they have not violated any traffic laws or alcoholic beverage laws and have not committed any other criminal offense for ten years. 

Opponents questioned whether habitual drunk drivers could truly ever be free enough of alcohol to be trusted to drive. Sen. Tony Rand, a Fayetteville Democrat and a lawyer, recalled representing a friend who would stop drinking after being charged with DWI and started again when he got his license back. 

"I knew business would be good within 90 days," said Rand, who opposed the bill.

Sen. Dan Blue, a Raleigh Democrat and lawyer, said the bill gave someone with a decade-long clean record "an opportunity to earn a living for himself and his family, to be productive."

Rosa Gill, the soon-to-be newest member of the General Assembly, says she'll be a strong advocate for education.

Gill doesn't expect she'll be seated in time for next week's budget discussions in the state House. But she plans to make her voice heard when the final votes are taken later this session on the budget.

"Maybe I can persuade them not to cut as much from schools," said Gill, who is currently chairwoman of the Wake County school board. "I'm going to be an advocate for education when I get there."

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The executive committee of the Wake County Democratic Party has named Wake school board chairwoman Rosa Gill to fill the state House seat being vacated by Dan Blue.

Gill narrowly defeated Bernard Allen Jr. this evening, picking up 21 votes, one more than needed for the District 33 seat. Gov. Bev Perdue still needs to appoint Gill but under state law she has to take the Democratic Party's choice because Blue is from that party.

The school board will now have to pick a replacement for Gill's District 4 seat, which covers Southeast Raleigh. The other eight members will appoint a replacement to finish out Gill's term, which expires November 2011.

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It's time to refresh the old cup of Senate tea leaves.

The Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in 2010 continues to be completely wide open, though it's increasingly clear that most of the major state officials will pass on it.

Here's the latest conventional wisdom:

THE LAST BIG HOPE: Washington Democrats and national political pundits continue to search for a brand name. U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre is still toying with a run, and Secretary of State Elaine Marshall has lately dipped her toe in the water. A definitive "no" has not come from state Sen. Dan Blue yet.

DARK HORSES: Former state Sen. Cal Cunningham leads the pack of dark horses, though former Obama fundraiser Kenneth Lewis can't be counted out. Marshall's legislative liaison, Robert Wilson, told the Insider he was flirting with the idea, but he never returned Dome's calls and he would not likely run against his boss.

WHO'S NOT RUNNING: U.S. Reps. Heath Shuler, Bob Etheridge and Brad Miller, Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, Attorney General Roy Cooper, state Sen. Malcolm Graham, state Reps. Grier Martin and Tricia Cotham, Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker, and Elizabeth Edwards have all said no. Of course, so did Kay Hagan in 2008.

In Dome's view, Marshall may actually make a run for it: 1) She's interested, since she ran for Senate in 2002; 2) she wouldn't lose her day job (unlike McIntyre or Blue); and 3) at 63, this is probably her last chance to do it. 

That said, Cunningham has a good biography and seems to be exciting the netroots. 

Secretary of State Elaine Marshall's name has not been on any Democratic U.S. Senate lists, but maybe she should be.

Marshall said running against Republican Sen. Richard Burr next year is something she might consider, although she is not actively testing the waters  now.

"It's on my radar screen," Marshall said. "I have not excluded myself from that. Right now we have a world of hurt down at the General Assembly."

Marshall, a 63-year old Lillington attorney and former state senator, became the first woman, to win a state-wide executive office in 1996, when she defeated NASCAR legend Richard Petty. She has been easily re-elected since then.

But her one effort to move up fell far short, when she finished third in the 2002 Senate primary behind Erskine Bowles, now the University of North Carolina president, and former House Speaker Dan Blue, now a state senator.

Bowles won 43 percent, Blue 29 percent and Marshall 15 percent.

More after the jump.

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