Gov. Beverly Perdue is not alone in China and certainly not in terms of elected officials from North Carolina, since 11 legislators are also there.

Senators Malcolm Graham (right with Alfred Liu, general manager of SAS' Beijing R&D) and Bob Rucho, of Charlotte; Floyd McKissick, of Durham; Joe Sam Queen, of Waynesville and Tony Foriest, of Graham, along with Representatives Lucy Allen, of Louisburg; Bill Owens, of Elizabeth City; Joe Tolson, of Pinetops; Jane Whilden of Asheville; Margaret Dickson, of Fayetteville and Wil Neumann, of Belmont are visiting as part of a program organized by the University of North Carolina’s Center for International Understanding. All are Democrats except for Rucho and Neumann, Republicans.

Graham said no tax dollars are being used to pay for the trip. Funding comes from Duke University as well as corporate sponsors AT&T, Longistics and SAS.

The group is participating in a few events during Perdue's trade trip, such as Wednesday's visit to a middle school, but also are making their own stops, such as SAS' Beijing R&D operation. Lawmakers are aiming to learn more about a country and culture with which North Carolina must compete for jobs and business.

"We don’t live in an isolated world anymore," Graham said. "We’re not just competing with South Carolina, Tennessee and Florida. We’re competing in a worldwide economy."

Several legislators have signed onto parts of Gov. Beverly Perdue's budget.

Three bills filed today at the legislature echo provisions of the $21 billion proposed budget unveiled by Perdue this morning:

H.B. 619: Earmarks $5 million for N.C. Green Business Fund, Reps. Pricey Harrison, Angela Bryant, Paul Luebke and Joe Tolson

H.B. 640: Increases per-cigarette tax rate to 5.5 cents, directs some revenue to mental health, Reps. Jennifer Weiss, Rick Glazier, Luebke and William Wainwright

S.B. 608: Directs $5 million for the One North Carolina small business fund, Sen. David Weinstein

Naturally, the sponsors hope to tap into momentum created by the governor's proposals, but given the amount of time it takes to write a bill, these weren't simply filed as a "me-too" effort.

The cigarette tax proposal also differs from Perdue's, which simply covers the general fund revenue shortfall.

A few notable House bills filed:

H.B. 132: Jury Duty Tax Deduction, Rep. Timothy Spear

H.B. 133: Prudent Management of Institutional Funds, Rep. Deborah Ross

H.B. 134: Assault State or Local Officer or Employee, Rep. Russell Tucker

H.B. 135: Broadband Service Providers, Reps. Bill Faison, Joe Tolson, Phil Haire and Thom Tillis

H.B. 137: Capital Procedure / Severe Mental Disability, Reps. Verla Insko, Pricey Harrison, Larry Womble and Paul Luebke

H.B. 149: Require Arts Educ. Credit for Graduation, Reps. Becky Carney, Rick Glazier, Alma Adams and Linda Johnson

H.B. 154: Appoint State Superintendent, Rep. Leo Daughtry

H.B. 155: Appoint State School Superintendent, Reps. Haire, Harold Brubaker, Johnson and Marvin Lucas

The House made its committee assignments Wednesday.

The first two weeks of the session have been mostly uneventful as members attended budget and revenue briefings. Behind the scenes, members have been jockeying for committee assignments and chairmanships.

Speaker Joe Hackney appointed chairmen and chairwomen Wednesday, and the speaker handed out new wooden gavels to each committee head.

In the House, Rep. Mickey Michaux, a Durham Democrat will remain a senior budget writer. Other chairs of the Appropriations Committee include: Reps. Alma Adams, Greensboro; Martha Alexander, Charlotte; Jim Crawford, Oxford; Phillip Haire, Sylva; Maggie Jeffus, Greensboro; Joe Tolson, Pinetops; Douglas Yongue, Laurinburg. All are Democrats.

Who's in the Tobacco Growers' Caucus?

After Dome noted which legislators represented major cigarette manufacturing employers in North Carolina, a reader noted that others represent tobacco growers.

According to records at the N.C. Department of Agriculture, 11 counties each produced more than $20 million worth of tobacco in 2007: Sampson, Johnston, Wilson, Wayne, Nash, Pitt, Lenoir, Harnett, Greene, Edgecombe and Duplin.

That means the following members represent growers:

In the House: Reps. Larry Bell, James Langdon, Leo Daughtry, Jean Farmer-Butterfield, Joe Tolson, Van Braxton, Efton Sager, Lucy Allen, Angela Bryant, Randy Stewart, Marian McLawhorn, Edith Warren, Arthur Williams, William Wainwright, David Lewis, Jimmy Love, and Russell Tucker.

In the Senate: Sens. Charlie Albertson, David Rouzer, A.B. Swindell, Don Davis, Clark Jenkins, and Harris Blake.

During a 2007 House vote, Reps. Bell, Farmer-Butterfield, Allen, Bryant, Wainwright, Love, and Tucker voted for a smoking ban, while Langdon, Daughtry, Tolson, Braxton, McLawhorn, Warren, Williams, and Lewis voted against it.

Sager and Stewart were not in the House at the time.

More bills filed in the House:

H.B. 65: Students Under 16 May Attend Comm. College, Reps. Joe Tolson, Paul Stam, Marian McLawhorn

H.B. 68: Prohibited Use of Electronic Devices/Driving, Reps. Nelson Cole, McLawhorn

Four state Democrats want the legislature to honor John McCain.

But not that John McCain.

State Reps. Jean Farmer-Butterfield of Wilson, Joe Tolson of Pinetops, Marvin Lucas of Spring Lake and Martha Alexander of Charlotte filed a bill to honor Dr. John L. McCain, a Wilson County physician who died in 2005.

Dr. McCain has at least one thing in common with his namesake. Like the Republican presidential candidate, he served in the Navy, although it was during World War II, not the Vietnam War. 

Unlike the other McCain, he was once appointed to a national advisory board by President Jimmy Carter. 

* Commissioner of Banks reports that absence of payday lending in North Carolina has not hurt residents who face financial shortfalls. (W-SJ)

* Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue visits the Gateway Technology Center in Rocky Mount at the urging of state Rep. Joe Tolson to learn about high-tech training. (Rocky Mount Telegram)

* U.S. Rep. Brad Miller has proposed letting bankruptcy judges amend the terms of home mortgages to stave off foreclosures. (The Nation)

* Gov. Mike Easley writes letter to Congressional leaders asking for them to start making payments on the "Road to Nowhere" in Swain County. (AC-T)

The state House has long been the big supporter in funding the state's community colleges. But this year, community college officials say they are being shortchanged.

They are angered by the fact that the House budget proposal raises tuition by 6.3 percent, but the $7.5 million in additional revenues does not appear to be going toward the colleges. In addition, the system is taking a $1.2 million cut in salary money, but system officials say they are not seeing those savings plowed into needed programs.

The additional revenue and the cut amounts to $8.7 million that community college officials expected to use for programs such as an expansion of training programs in the fast-growing health care fields, and to add more student counselors. But the community college budget only grew by $2.1 million.

Martin Lancaster, president of the N.C. Community College System, said this is the first time he's ever seen this happen. His experiences with state budgets go back nearly 30 years, when he became a lawmaker in 1979.

"This is a very disappointing budget," he said.

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