A Yadkin County lawmaker says he expects to pay more than $77,000 in back taxes in the next couple weeks.

Rep. Darrell McCormick, a Republican, told the Winston-Salem Journal that a bookkeeping error in his commercial real estate and investment company in Winston-Salem led to the unpaid taxes.

Federal and state revenue officials say he owes as much as $88,000, but McCormick said the final bill will be lower.

The taxes cover 2004 and 2007.

Correction: Post now correctly identifies where McCormick lives. 

Rep. Darrell McCormick, a freshman Republican from Yadkinville, has failed to fulfill his promise to pay his back taxes and local Republicans are grumbling, the Surry Messenger reports.

McCormick owed about $88,000 in delinquent federal and state taxes, some dating back to 2004, when the issue arose in January.

Here's the full story, on page two.

The House passed a bill to allow habitual drunk drivers to get their licenses restored if they had a clean record after 10 years.

State Rep. Ronnie Sutton, a Robeson County Democrat, said he filed House Bill 1185 to help people who "screwed up their life early" if they can show they have reformed.

Currently, North Carolinians convicted of being habitual drunk drivers have their licenses revoked for life.

The bill would allow people to petition to get their licenses restored after a decade if they had not had a drinking- or driving-related offenses since. It would allow the state Division of Motor Vehicles to put conditions on their license.

"This is something to allow a person who has had a real problem to straighten their lives out and hopefully find themselves on the straight and narrow," he said.

Rep. Edgar Starnes, a Caldwell County Republican, said the bill sends the "wrong message."

"Drunk driving is still a serious problem," he said. "This statute was enacted beccause we have to recognize that there are some people in this state who have no business with a license. A driving license is a privilege."

More after the jump.

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Some recent House bills:

H.B. 512: Incentives for Energy Conservation, Reps. Hugh Holliman, Pricey Harrison and Paul Luebke

H.B. 516: Increase Revenues Without Raising Taxes, Rep. Paul Stam

H.B. 518: Lottery Name Changed, Reps. John Blust, Thom Tillis, Ruth Samuelson and Darrell McCormick

H.B. 539: Merge Smart Start/More at Four, Reps. Ray Rapp, Rick Glazier, Bob England and Marvin Lucas

H.B. 586: Expand Voter-Owned Elections, Reps. Glazier, Deborah Ross, Rapp and Grier Martin

A state representative may owe as much as $88,874 in back taxes.

Newly elected Rep. Darrell McCormick, a Yadkin County Republican, owes unpaid state and federal taxes for 2004 and 2007, according to court records. 

North Carolina filed a certificate of tax liability against him in October for $17,850. A federal tax lien filed in November shows that he owes $71,024.

McCormick, who is self-employed, blamed the problem on a clerical error involving his gross pay and his take-home pay. He said he reported the problem to tax officials last August, around the time he was running for the House.

House Minority Leader Paul Stam said there's no evidence McCormick did anything criminal or unethical. (W-SJ)

State representatives are off to a brisk start.

Aside from Rep. Hugh Holliman's smoking ban legislation, a handful of other bills have been filed already in the House.

The actual bills are not available yet, but the titles give some hints that they are either local bills or housekeeping legislation:

H.B. 3: Disapprove Lake Jordan Rules, Reps. Cary Allred and Darrell McCormick

H.B. 4: Good Faith Exception/Exclusionary Rule, Rep. Paul Stam

H.B. 5: Increase Fire and Rescue Benefits, Rep. Julia Howard

H.B. 6: Davie's Law/Humane Euthanasia in Shelters, Reps. Allred, Rick Glazier, Ty Harrell and Pat McElraft

The watchword for the House class of 2008 is scandal.

At least four representatives-elect won seats formerly held by legislators who were either retired or defeated because of scandals involving speeding tickets, drunk driving, sexual harassment or campaign donations.

Depending on your definition, the House has 15 or 20 new members. Some of the five who were appointed prior to the election also took the seats of troubled legislators, including disgraced former Speaker Jim Black and Rep. Thomas Wright, the first member expelled since 1880.

Here's a quick look at the representatives-elect:

Hugh Blackwell (R): The Valdese lawyer defeated longtime Rep. Walt Church Sr. after the legislator got a speeding ticket dismissed by the district attorney.

Elmer Floyd (D): The longtime city of Fayetteville human relations director won the former seat of Rep. Mary McAllister, who got in trouble over campaign finance reports.

Nick Mackey (D): A controversial figure in Charlotte, Mackey resigned from the police department while under investigation, then ran for sheriff, but had his election thrown out.

Shirley Randleman (R): The retired longtime Wilkes County clerk of court won the seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Tracy Walker.

Sarah Stevens (R): The Mount Airy lawyer defeated three-term Democrat Rep. Jim Harrell III after a campaign that ridiculed his support of a teapot museum.

James Boles (R): The Southern Pines resident won the seat of retiring Republican Rep. Joe Boylan, who admitted to an alcohol problem after a drunk driving arrest.

Pearl Burris Floyd (R): The Gaston County commissioner will be the first elected black Republican woman in the legislature.

Darrell McCormick (R): The Yadkinville owner of a real estate company fended off a Democratic challenger for the seat of Rep. George Holmes.

Johnathan Rhyne (R): The Lincolnton lawyer had no Democratic opposition in his race for the seat of retiring Republican Rep. Joe Kiser.

Randy Stewart (D): The Rocky Mount resident won a much-contested race for the seat of Republican Rep. Bill Daughtridge, who ran unsuccessfully for state treasurer.

Justin Burr (R): Albemarle defeated Rep. Ken Furr in the primary, who had been appointed to the seat after Rep. David Almond resigned over a personnel complaint.

W. David Guice (R): The Transylvania County commissioner was outspent by a Democratic opponent in the race for the seat of retiring Rep. Trudi Walend.

Grey Mills (R): The Iredell County business owner handily beat a Libertarian opponent for the seat after narrowly edging Republican Rep. Karen Ray in the primary.

Efton Sager (R): The Wayne County commissioner and retired Air Force member won the seat of retiring Republican Rep. Louis Pate.

Jane Whilden (D): The former director of Gov. Mike Easley's Western office, an Asheville resident, won with the help of the state Democratic Party.

In addition, previously appointed Reps. Kelly Alexander Jr. of Charlotte, Angela Bryant of Rocky Mount, Annie Mobley of Ahoskie, Tricia Cotham of Charlotte and Sandra Spaulding Hughes of Wilmington were also elected for the first time in November.

Related: The Senate Class of 2008

Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated details of Mills' win.