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Medical tests kept Rep. Joe Kiser from Thursday's special session.

Kiser, a Lincoln County Republican and former minority leader, said he had scheduled a CAT scan long before the session was announced, David Ingram of The Charlotte Observer reports.

"I didn't feel like I could cancel or postpone what they wanted to do here," he said by telephone. He said the tests went well and that he is feeling fine.

He also said he would have voted for expelling Thomas Wright and against only a censure.

State Rep. Joe Kiser, a Lincoln County Republican and former sheriff, said today he will not run for re-election to the legislature.

"This is a very difficult decision for me to leave the many friends I have made in both parties in the North Carolina House and North Carolina Senate," Kiser said in a statement, David Ingram reports.

He previously served as Lincoln County sheriff. The experience made him an influential voice on criminal justice issues in Raleigh, where he is known for advocating longer prison sentences.

Former House member Johnathan Rhyne Jr., a Republican and a lawyer and businessman in Lincolnton, has said he plans to run for Kiser's seat, which encompasses all of Lincoln County. 

The House tentatively approved a bill that would let sheriffs know when a pistol permit application had been turned down in another county.

The legislation stems from a Guilford County case in which a man who was denied for mental problems went across the county line, bought a gun and killed himself.

Sheriffs would still set their own guidelines for pistol permits. A denial in one county would not necessarily mean a second denial in another.

But Rep. Joe Kiser, a Lincoln County Republican and former sheriff, said it would give sheriffs more information. (N&O)

"This would be a red flag to the other sheriffs in the state," said Rep. Ronnie Sutton, a Robeson Democrat who sponsored the bill. (AP)

Rep. Verla Insko, a Chapel Hill Democrat, is a co-sponsor.

A survey found that 10 top legislators raised a quarter of a million dollars out of state.

The research, released today by the N.C. Public Interest Research Group, focused on fundraising from within a legislator's district compared to elsewhere.

It found that an average of 73 percent of the $1.9 million in campaign donations came from outside their district.

That includes 14 percent that came from outside North Carolina.

Sen. Walter Dalton, a Rutherfordton Democrat, did the best elsewhere, raising $59,144 of his $422,460 from other states.

On a percentage basis, Rep. Beverly Earle, a Charlotte Democrat, came in highest, with 27 percent of her $62,305 from out of state.

Others studied were Sens. Phil Berger, Tom Apodaca, Linda Garrou and Kay Hagan, and Reps. Joe Kiser, Bill Owens, James Crawford, and Debbie Clary.

They were chosen because they are chairs or ranking minority members of the House or Senate Appropriations Committee during this election cycle.