Sen. Jim Jacumin, a three-term Republican from Burke County, won't run for reelection next year.

Jacumin decided not to run again because of concerns over his wife's health, according to a report in the Lenoir News-Topic.

"I've always tried to put God first, family second and country third," Jacumin said in the story. "We celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary a year ago. Everything I've been able to do, she has been a part of it. I told her, 'We've got to put you first now.'"

Rep. Edgar Starnes, a Hickory Republican in his eighth term, will make a decision about running for the seat before Thanksgiving.

A bill that would all but guarantee attorneys fees for those who sue over public records cleared a key committee Wednesday morning.

The bill's supporters narrowly escaped an amendment that would have also guaranteed attorneys fees if a government agency wins a records lawsuit. The amendment failed on a tie vote.

The amendment's sponsor, Rep. Bill Owens, an Elizabeth City Democrat, was necessary to ensure that news organizations and state residents don't flood government with frivolous lawsuits.

"It's said we need to look out for the people's information," Owens said. "We need to look out for the people's money as well."

Supporters of the original bill said that government agencies, cities, counties and towns are not above using their staff attorneys to stonewall citizens.

"Since when has fighting city hall been described as a level playing field?" said Rep. Edgar Starnes, a Hickory Republican.

Owens amendment, or one like it, seems likely to resurface when the bill hits the House floor, possibly next week.

More after the jump.

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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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House Democrats have five seats in their sights.

House Majority Leader Hugh Holliman told Dome that he hopes to expand the 68-seat majority to as many as 75 seats in the fall elections. Here are his top five districts:

25th: In a double primary, Democrats Randy Stewart and Carnell Taylor face off against either Republican W.B. Bullock or Robert A. Coats for the seat of Republican Rep. Bill Daughtridge.

36th: Recently retired IBM executive Al Swanstrom of Cary, a Democrat, will challenge second-term Republican Rep. Nelson Dollar.

53rd: Dunn attorney and political newcomer Joseph Lindsey (Joe) Tart, a Democrat, faces off against Rep. David Lewis.

87th: Banker and former State Board of Community Colleges chairman John Forlines, a Democrat, will challenge incumbent Republican Rep. Edgar Starnes.

116th: Jane Whilden, an Asheville Democrat who ran Gov. Mike Easley's western office, squares off against Asheville Republican Tim Moffitt for the seat of Rep. Charles Thomas.

Rep. Thomas Wright was on paid leave.

The Wilmington Democrat was one of 15 state lawmakers who were paid for the two-day special session even though they didn't show up for at least one day, according to a story in the Wilmington Star-News.

As per his usual routine, Wright did not return calls to a reporter.

According to the Wilmington Star-News, checks were sent to Wright and Reps. Becky Carney, Jerry Dockham, Phil Haire, Hugh Holliman, George Holmes, Edgar Starnes, Russell Tucker and R. Tracy Walker and Sens. Katie Dorsett, Eddie Goodall, Malcolm Graham, Jim Jacumin and Clark Jenkins.

Reps. Jeff Barnhart and Ric Killian were absent and asked not to be paid. Rep. Karen Ray missed the second day and asked not to be paid for it.

Two lawmakers — Reps. Ty Harrell and Grier Martin — were present, but asked not to be paid anyway.

Correction: The absences are based on final roll-call votes on the second day of the session. Sens. Jacumin, Dorsett and Goodall were in session on Sept. 10, according to votes taken that day. No roll calls were taken in the House on Sept. 10.

A dozen legislators were absent from yesterday's special session.

On the House side, nine representatives had excused absences, according to a roll call of the vote on the session's rules. They include House Majority Leader Hugh Holliman, who is recuperating from surgery, and Rep. Thomas Wright, who is recuperating from self-inflicted political damage.

Others are Reps. Jeff Barnhart, Becky Carney, Jerry Dockham, Phil Haire, Ric Killian, Edgar Starnes and Russell Tucker. All had voted for the second reading and conference report on the original bill, except Tucker, who had an excused absence on the latter.

On the Senate side, three members had excused absences, according to a roll call of a vote on a measure commemorating Appalachian State's win over Michigan.

They are Sens. Malcolm Graham, Clark Jenkins and Don East. Graham and Jenkins voted for the second reading; East against.

Correction: An earlier version of this post named the wrong senators.

The state House today rejected a bill that would have restored the disclosure threshold for campaign contributions to more than $100, with some saying it was the wrong thing to do after two years of political scandals.

Last year, lawmakers lowered the threshold for reporting the identities of contributors to those who gave more than $50. The law came after the State Board of Elections uncovered a scheme involving optometrists who were being directed to write $100 checks with the payee line blank.

Leaders of the optometrists' political action committee, sometimes with the input from then House Speaker Jim Black, would then funnel the checks to favored legislative candidates.

Rep. Edgar Starnes, a Hickory Republican, said he proposed the bill after hearing from House members who complained about having to increase their campaign contribution reporting. Many in both political parties spoke in favor of the bill, but those who said the public wanted more transparency from their elected officials won out.

"I can tell you, having just come off a hard-fought campaign, the folks out there are expecting more, not less, from us," said Rep. Cullie Tarleton of Blowing Rock. "Now is not the time to start backing up and start doing less."

The bill would have also extended voluntary instant runoff elections to local education boards. No one disputed that proposal.

It failed 45-73.

A refresher on the Black case is after the jump.

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How much can you give a candidate before it becomes a public record?

In July, the legislature voted to lower the threshold for candidates to report the name, occupation and address of a donor from $100 to $50.

A House bill would now push the threshold back to $100.

It's a debatable change, but the first half of the bill's title does seem a tad, well, defensive:

An act to restore the law on disclosing the identity of political contributors...

The bill is co-sponsored by Reps. Paul Luebke and Bill Faison, both Durham Democrats, and Rep. Edgar Starnes, a Hickory Republican.

The state House tentatively acknowledged the Wilmington race riots this afternoon.

In a 67-47 vote, legislators passed the second reading of a bill that recognized the 1898 riots that ousted an integrationist government in Wilmington and bolstered segregationist Democrats.

Rep. Thomas Wright, a Wilmington Democrat, said it was one of 10 bills related to recommendations from the Wilmington Race Riot Commission.

An amendment to add wording acknowledging that Democrats, The News & Observer publisher Josephus Daniels and others were also behind the riots failed.

That led some Republicans to vote against the measure. Others, such as Hickory Republican Rep. Edgar Starnes, were concerned it would lay the groundwork for reparations or other legal measures.

Rep. John Blust, a Greensboro Republican, said he wasn't sure why legislators should bother, since the riots happened several generations ago.

"Nobody in my district had anything to do with any of these activities," he said.