Senate bill filings are picking up. Here are some interesting ones:

S.B. 31: Bioptic Lenses / Drivers License Tests, Sen. John Snow

S.B. 32: Employers Must Use Federal E-Verify Program, Sen. Snow

S.B. 36: Expand Chem. Analysis Sites / Contr. Substance, Sen. James Forrester

S.B. 37: Motorsports Vehicle Combination Lengths, Sen. Jerry Tillman

S.B. 43: Require Boating Safety Education, Sen. Ed Jones

S.B. 47: Unauthorized Wireless Phone Use / $50 Limit, Sen. Steve Goss

A spokesman for U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole says a recent bill is too late.

Responding to a Dome item from this morning, Hogan Gidley said that Democratic nominee Kay Hagan's co-sponsorship of a bill to require companies check workers' immigration status is "common sense."

"However, it's almost comical to see Mrs. Hagan's desperate political opportunism in introducing an immigration enforcement bill after doing nothing about illegal immigration during her 10 years in Raleigh," he wrote in an e-mail to Dome. "Mrs. Hagan's do-nothing approach to illegal immigration is why North Carolina has been called a 'Mecca' for illegal immigration by her hometown paper."

Gidley was referring to a March 2, 2006, article in the Greensboro News-Record about a Brazilian man living in New Jersey who sold fraudulent N.C. driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.

"Critics say the incident shows North Carolina remains a mecca for illegal immigrants seeking licenses they can't get in states with more hard-nosed licensing systems," the article noted.

Immigration, energy efficiency, and soccer.

These are just a few of the topics taken up by state Sen. Kay Hagan in the current legislative short session. The Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate sponsored one and cosponsored 10 non-budget bills so far in 2008.

Two bills seem most likely to come up in her race against U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole. The first, which she cosponsored, would require employers use the federal E-Verify program to check that employees can legally work in the United States.

That program, you may recall, was touted by former Republican gubernatorial candidate Fred Smith, who used it at his road- and home-building businesses.

Another bill she cosponsored would create a state sales tax holiday for a week each April on energy-efficient light bulbs, home appliances, electronics and insulation. It would be similar to the popular back-to-school holiday already in effect.

On a lighter note, the bill she sponsored could also be used to remind political commentators of a popular swing vote constituency: Soccer moms. The bill would create a special "Support Soccer" license plate.

Other bills she cosponsored: Change the local requirements for recall petitions in the city of Greensboro. Increase the monthly pension for retired firefighters and paramedics. Limit or exempt baked goods from the state sales tax. Increase benefits from the State Health Plan. Allow the legislature to meet in Greensboro one day for its centennial. Honor Korean War Veterans. Commemorate Israel's 60th anniversary.

Fred Smith checks the immigration status of his employees online.

Two businesses run by the Republican gubernatorial candidate, the Fred Smith Co. and the C.C. Mangum Co., participate in E-Verify.

The voluntary program allows companies to check federal databases to see whether employees can legally work in the United States. Smith's businesses signed up in 2005 in part because of his impending gubernatorial bid.

"When you put yourself in the public square, when you put yourself under the microscope, we have to go to extra steps to ensure we're complying with the law," Smith told Dome. "It's our effort to comply with the law. It's just that simple."

A Republican-sponsored bill in 2007 would have required employers who receive incentives and public contracts in North Carolina to use E-Verify. It never made it out of committee.

More after the jump.

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