* U.S. Rep. Howard Coble received an award from the American Conservative Union; his lifetime rating is 89.21 over 24 years.

* Democratic pollster Tom Jensen thinks state Sens. John Snow or Joe Sam Queen would make good candidates for Rep. Heath Shuler's seat.

* Greensboro News-Record reporter Mark Binker says Gov. Beverly Perdue quashed a rumor that she would submit a do-over on the budget.

* Charlotte Observer columnist Jack Betts gives state schools CEO Bill Harrison props for speaking out for a tax hike for education.

More recent Senate bills of note:

S.B. 439: Tax on Lottery Winnings, Sen. Eddie Goodall

S.B. 440: Establish Gestational Surrogacy Agreements, Sen. Tony Rand

S.B. 451: Strengthen Driver Education, Sen. Austin Allran

S.B. 456: Expand Energy Star Sales Tax Holiday, Sen. John Snow

Ten state legislators drive more than 500 miles to work.

After Dome learned that Rep. Roger West's 720-mile round trip from Marble to Raleigh is the longest commute, we wondered about the other legislators with long drives:

Sen. John Snow, Murphy, 706 miles
Sen. Joe Sam Queen, Waynesville, 552 miles
Sen. Tom Apodaca, Hendersonville, 550 miles
Sen. Martin Nesbitt, Asheville, 520 miles
Rep. David Guice, Brevard, 582 miles
Rep. Susan Fisher, Asheville, 500 miles
Rep. Bruce Goforth, Asheville, 500 miles
Rep. Carolyn Justus, Hendersonville, 550 miles
Rep. Phil Haire, Sylva, 590 miles

Not surprisingly, all 10 represent the mountains. 

Senate bill filings are picking up. Here are some interesting ones:

S.B. 31: Bioptic Lenses / Drivers License Tests, Sen. John Snow

S.B. 32: Employers Must Use Federal E-Verify Program, Sen. Snow

S.B. 36: Expand Chem. Analysis Sites / Contr. Substance, Sen. James Forrester

S.B. 37: Motorsports Vehicle Combination Lengths, Sen. Jerry Tillman

S.B. 43: Require Boating Safety Education, Sen. Ed Jones

S.B. 47: Unauthorized Wireless Phone Use / $50 Limit, Sen. Steve Goss

Sen. John Snow has filed the first bill in his chamber.

The Murphy Democrat has filed S.B. 2, which would change the capital fund formula in the state lottery.

Details of the bill are not yet available, but Snow and other Western lawmakers have argued that their school districts have been shortchanged by the formula, part which is divvied up among areas with higher-than-average property taxes.

The bill is cosponsored by Sen. Martin Nesbitt, an Asheville Democrat.

He also filed S.B. 3, entitled "Smoky Mountains National Park Plate Changes" and S.B. 4, entitled "Clarify Emergency Judge Qualifications."

Two other early bills concerned hunting.

Sen. Richard Stevens filed S.B. 5, entitled "Continuing Crossbow Permit/Dealers and Manufacturers." Sen. Julia Boseman filed S.B. 7, which would allow hunting on Sundays.

Boseman also filed S.B. 6, entitled "Beach Plan and Insurance Rate and Deductible Stay." 

Which Senate Democrats are in Republican-leaning districts?

According to the N.C. Partisan Index, seven Democratic senators are in districts that lean Republican. No Republicans are in Democratic-leaning Senate districts.

The index was created this year by the conservative Civitas Institute, using results from the 2004 elections. Ratings were based on how the district voted in Council of State races when compared to state as a whole.

The blue fish swimming in red ponds are all on the N.C. Senate Republican Committee's wish list.

Below, the senators and their district ratings, from most Republican to least:

Sen. David Hoyle (R+11). Sen. Steve Goss (R+8). Sen. Joe Sam Queen (R+6). Sen. John Snow (R+6). Sen. Walter Dalton (R+3). Sen. Julia Boseman (R+2). Sen. Tony Foriest (R+2).

Republicans have high hopes in nine state Senate races.

Jim Blaine, director of the N.C. Senate Republican Committee, gave Dome a breakdown of the races he thinks the GOP will do well in, based on the filings so far.

Fifth: Rep. Louis Pate Jr., a Republican, faces the winner of a five-way Democratic primary for the open seat of retiring Democratic Sen. John Kerr.

Eighth: Former Wilmington Star-News reporter Bettie Fennell, a Republican, faces Democratic Sen. R.C. Soles Jr. in a district that is changing demographically.

Ninth: Wilmington attorney Michael Lee, a Republican, has filed to run against Democratic Sen. Julia Boseman, who has not yet filed for re-election.

24th: Commercial real estate broker Rick Gunn Jr., a Republican, squares off against Democratic Sen. Tony Foriest.

43rd: Realtor Kathy Harrington, wife of former Rep. Michael Harrington, faces Democratic Sen. David Hoyle in a district that leans Republican.

45th: Boone dentist Jerry Butler has signed up to face Democratic Sen. Steve Goss. Other Republicans may file in this race as well.

46th: State Rep. Debbie Clary, a Republican, faces either Phil Clark or Keith Melton for the seat of Democratic Sen. Walter Dalton, who is running for lieutenant governor.

47th: Former state Sen. Keith Presnell, a Republican, faces Democratic Sen. Joe Sam Queen in a seemingly never-ending grudge match.

50th: Republican Susan C. Pons, who works at a Christian training center, faces Democratic Sen. John Snow.

Two senators who broke party lines on the budget cited their local economy.

Sen. John Snow, a Murphy Democrat, said he could not support the budget written by his fellow party members because it gave counties the option of levying a transfer tax on real estate sales.

Snow said that home builders and Realtors are supporting the economy of his mountain district right now because of second-homes, retirees and new families. He pledged in his 2004 campaign that he would not support impact fees or transfer taxes.

"More than anything else, it was just a matter of keeping my word," he said.

Sen. Fletcher Hartsell, a Concord Republican, said he supported the Democrat-crafted budget because it included funding for a new research center in Kannapolis.

He said that his district has been hit hard by the closure of the Pillowtex plant in 2003 and the loss of jobs at a Philip Morris plant earlier this year. He thinks the research center, which will focus on biotechnology, will help turn things around.

"In my judgment, it is an essential aspect of the redevelopment of the local economy," he said.

A bill allowing judges to carry handguns to work won final legislative approval today.

The bill, which passed the Senate 40-7, now goes to Gov. Mike Easley for his signature, reports Lynn Bonner.

A courthouse shooting in Atlanta that killed a judge and a courtroom employee two years ago helped prompt the legislation, along with requests from individual judges.

Democratic Sen. John Snow, a retired judge from Murphy, said he wouldn’t feel the need to carry a gun, but knew a chief judge who took one to work in his briefcase every day.

Snow voted for the bill.