In the section of the House budget proposal covering justice and public safety spending just one item represents increased spending: a plan to split the 11th prosecutorial district, which covers Harnett, Johnston and Lee counties.

The proposal would spend $164,459 in the 2010-2011 fiscal year to add a new district attorney and two staff positions to serve Harnett and Lee counties, Dan Kane reports. Johnston would become its own prosecutorial district, which is where the current district attorney resides.

Given the tough fiscal times, you'd think the proposal would need solid support and justification. But it doesn't have it.

The state Administrative Office of the Courts hasn't requested it, nor has a state judicial council that looks into staffing needs. The Johnston County Bar Association adamantly opposes it. Minutes reflect that the association shot the proposal down by a 24 to 2 vote, calling it "fiscally irresponsible."

"Isn't that ridiculous, in this time when people are losing jobs and everything's being cut back, to spend money in that way?" said Robert Denning, a Johnston County defense attorney and bar member.

More after the jump.

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A state legislator who wants graduation projects to be optional has not been swayed by the State Board of Education's decision to delay the diploma requirement for one year.

Rep. Jimmy Love Sr. said he agreed to pull his bill from an earlier committee agenda after talking to schools CEO William Harrision, reports Lynn Bonner.

But Love, a Sanford Democrat,  said Friday he doesn't see a reason to abandon the bill, because he doesn't want the state to require the projects.

The state school board voted Thursday to put off until 2011 the requirement for students to complete graduation projects to get high school diplomas.

Love said he hadn't heard that the education department was going to address his concerns that the requirement was an unfunded mandate and that it would drive up drop out rates.

Love said his idea has good support in both the House and the Senate.

Sen. David Hoyle, a Gaston County Democrat, has his own bill removing the project as a graduation requirement.

Some interesting recent House bills:

H.B. 223: No High School Graduation Project Required, Reps. Jimmy Love and Angela Bryant

H.B. 232: Scholarship Loan for Rural Social Workers, Reps. Larry Bell, Rick Glazier, Marvin Lucas, Marian McLawhorn

H.B. 257: No Seizure of Lawful Firearms in Emergency, Reps. George Cleveland, Mark Hilton, Tim Moore and Laura Wiley

A bill would make a new, controversial high school graduation requirement optional for school districts.

Rep. Jimmy Love, a Sanford Democrat, filed the bill today in response to complaints about the cost to school districts that have hired project coordinators and incurred other expenses to meet a requirement the State Board of Education handed down, Lynn Bonner reports.

Next year's seniors must complete a project  in order to be eligible to graduate. The project includes a paper, a project, work with a mentor and an oral presentation.

State school board members are sold on the project, which they say allows students to demonstrate that they've acquired skills they need for the workplace and college.

Parents and students critical of the project say it's a waste of time and will cause struggling students to drop out of school.

A state legislators says the state should pay to oversee high schoolers' senior projects.

Rep. Jimmy Love, a Sanford Democrat, called the new graduation requirement an unfunded mandate, saying he is considering a proposed law to allow school districts to drop it unless the state pays for it.

The State Board of Education is requiring all high school students starting with the class of 2010 to complete an ambitious project: Write a paper, create a product and present their work to a panel of judges. Students must find mentors too.

"The graduation project is OK as long as you provide the money," said Love, who serves as the school board attorney in Lee County. "I'm looking to put the thing off until the legislature funds it or somebody funds it."

It is not clear how much the graduation project costs. Local school districts do not have uniform rules and the state Department of Public Instruction has not estimated the cost. (N&O) 

North Carolina's budget is growing faster than other states.

Since 1979, the state budget has risen an average 7.9 percent annually, compared to an average 6.5 percent in all states.

Historically, Tar Heels have lagged behind in government spending, but a 16-year run of activist governors has led to the increases.

Rep. Jimmy Love, who served in the House in 1975 and returned this year, was shocked to realize the budget had grown from $1.7 billion to $20.7 billion. He was one of two House Democrats to vote against it.

"I thought it was too much," he said. "It just keeps growing and growing." (N&O)