Three spending bills are among the most popular in the House.

Proposed appropriations bills to teach children about the state's sterilization program, compensate its victims and run a Kids Voting program have more than 30 cosponsors.

That means they have the support of more than a fourth of the 120 members of the House, a good indicator that they'll be seriously considered. 

Whether they will be added to the budget or pass the Senate is another matter. So far, only the Kids Voting bill has a companion in the other chamber, although a separate compensation bill has been filed with a much higher price tag.

The House compensation bill with 31 cosponsors would set aside $18.6 million for victims, while a Senate bill with only one sponsor would set aside $173 million. Of the other popular House bills, Kids Voting would get $300,000, and sterilization education programs would get $36,648.

Another 10 spending bills have more than 20 cosponsors, or more than one-sixth of the House. The median House spending bill has 14 cosponsors, or about one-ninth.

In all, state representatives have filed 42 spending bills so far worth a total of $248.3 million.

State legislators have already asked for $73.8 million.

Seven bills filed on the first two days of the session include spending requests for specific programs, even though the state could be facing a $2 billion shortfall.

The largest request so far is for $44 million to give public school teachers bonuses earned in 2007-08 that were not given out. The smallest is for $25,000 for the Southern Appalachian Historical Association to present the outdoor drama "Horn in the West."

Other spending bills would compensate victims of a state sterilization program, develop a database of those victims, open two family assistance centers for the National Guard, hire social workers for the developmentally disabled, and train teachers to work with preschoolers with cochlear implants.

These kinds of spending bills are typical for the legislature, and many never make it out of committee. In a tight budget year, they will have even less of a chance, however.

Dome will be tracking spending bills over the next few weeks in the spreadsheet below.

Several more House bills were filed this afternoon:

H.B. 21: Eugenics Program - Support and Education, Reps. Larry Womble, Ronnie Sutton, Earline Parmon and Martha Alexander

H.B. 22: Enhance Youth Employment Protections, Reps. Jennifer Weiss, Melanie Wade Goodwin, Paul Luebke, Angela Bryant

H.B. 23: Strengthen Child Labor Violation Penalties, Reps. Weiss, Luebke, Bryant and Goodwin

H.B. 24: Funds for Cochlear Implants / CASTLE, Rep. Verla Insko

H.B. 25: Clarify SCFAC Appointments, Rep. Insko

H.B. 26: Stay Beach Plan Rates, Deductible Surcharges, Reps. Timothy Spear, Carolyn Justice