The full House will get its first look today at $18.5 billion budget proposal that slashes spending across state government, but spares several programs by including $780 million in new taxes.

The House budget bill made it through a key committee late Wednesday after a contentious debate in which Republicans franticly tried to stop Democrats from using a parliamentary maneuver designed to fend off any changes to the budget proposal.

The Democrats changed the title of the bill to an unwieldy recitation of all the taxes the budget would raise. House rules say amendments can’t be contrary to the title of a bill, which means removing the taxes would be tough.

House Republicans have stood firmly against any new taxes. Democrats have been divided over the issue with supporters saying the taxes are needed to avoid painful cuts to education and social services. The state is facing a $4 billion deficit.

"We had very egregious cuts that a lot of us on both sides of the aisle had trouble with," said Hugh Holliman, the House majority leader and a Lexington Democrat.

Rep. Paul Stam, an Apex Republican and the House minority leader, protested the Democrats’ late move to cut off substantial changes.

"It spends too much. It taxes too much. We’re in a deep recession. We shouldn’t be doing this," Stam said. "It will hurt the economy of the state."

The debate gets testy after the jump.

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Recent House bills of note:

H.B. 414: Judicial Appointment/Voter Retention, Rep. Johnathan Rhyne

H.B. 421: Use of Deadly Force/SBI Investigations, Rep. Kelly Alexander

H.B. 427: Counties May Fund Charter Schools, Reps. Tim Moore, George Cleveland, Larry Brown and William Current

H.B. 430: Voter Identification, Reps. Moore, Current, Paul Stam and Ric Killian

H.B. 431: Abortion-Parental Consent Notarized, Reps. Mark Hilton and Pat McElraft

H.B. 432: Conscience Protection/Health Care Providers, Rep. Hilton

Recent House bills of note:

H.B. 370: Salary of Secretary-Health and Human Services, Rep. Verla Insko

H.B. 388: Campaign Disclosure, Reps. Beverly Earle, Earline Parmon, Marvin Lucas and Becky Carney

H.B. 390: Poultry Worker Protection, Reps. Earle and Insko

H.B. 397: Conscience Protection/Contraceptive Coverage, Rep. Mark Hilton

H.B. 399: U.S. Senate Vacancies, Rep. John Blust

H.B. 409: Annual Archeology Reports, Rep. Ronnie Sutton

H.B. 413: Limit Legislators to Four Consecutive Terms, Rep. Johnathan Rhyne

A bill would let the governor appoint top judges.

Rep. Johnathan Rhyne, a Lincoln County Republican and family law attorney, said he filed the bill to improve the appellate court system.

"It's a recognition that 99 percent of the voting public has no idea who they're voting for," he said.

Under the proposal, a Judicial Nomination Commission would vet potential judges for the N.C. Court of Appeals and the N.C. Supreme Court. They would then forward a list of recommendations to the governor, who would make the appointments.

In many ways, the system would be similar to the one used now for unexpected vacancies, Rhyne said. A difference is that the judges would later face a retention election — essentially an up-or-down vote by the people after they'd been in office for a while.

If they lost, the governor would appoint another judge. 

Rhyne, who served on a commission that looked into the judicial system in the early 1990s, said that the goal is to get better judges.

"Electing judges when the public does not know who they're voting for is like walking down a highway in the dark," he said. "It's dangerous, and you don't need to do that."

A bill would limit legislators to four consecutive terms.

Rep. Johnathan Rhyne, a Lincoln County Republican, said he filed the bill to help bring fresh faces to the state legislature.

"When you have people holding office for excessively long periods of time, it stifles new ideas," he said. "If we have some rotation, we'll have fresh faces, fresh ideas and different perspectives."

Rhyne served four terms in the House during the late 1980s and early '90s before retiring. He was re-elected to a fifth term last fall.

He said that he was not concerned that reducing legislative terms might give more power to the staffers and lobbyists who don't leave town. Rather, he argued that long-term legislators tend to become more beholden to the permanent political class.

"The longer you're down here, the more aligned you tend to be with various interest groups," he said.  

Rhyne, a family law attorney, said that he would voluntarily leave office after serving three more terms in the legislature.

The watchword for the House class of 2008 is scandal.

At least four representatives-elect won seats formerly held by legislators who were either retired or defeated because of scandals involving speeding tickets, drunk driving, sexual harassment or campaign donations.

Depending on your definition, the House has 15 or 20 new members. Some of the five who were appointed prior to the election also took the seats of troubled legislators, including disgraced former Speaker Jim Black and Rep. Thomas Wright, the first member expelled since 1880.

Here's a quick look at the representatives-elect:

Hugh Blackwell (R): The Valdese lawyer defeated longtime Rep. Walt Church Sr. after the legislator got a speeding ticket dismissed by the district attorney.

Elmer Floyd (D): The longtime city of Fayetteville human relations director won the former seat of Rep. Mary McAllister, who got in trouble over campaign finance reports.

Nick Mackey (D): A controversial figure in Charlotte, Mackey resigned from the police department while under investigation, then ran for sheriff, but had his election thrown out.

Shirley Randleman (R): The retired longtime Wilkes County clerk of court won the seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Tracy Walker.

Sarah Stevens (R): The Mount Airy lawyer defeated three-term Democrat Rep. Jim Harrell III after a campaign that ridiculed his support of a teapot museum.

James Boles (R): The Southern Pines resident won the seat of retiring Republican Rep. Joe Boylan, who admitted to an alcohol problem after a drunk driving arrest.

Pearl Burris Floyd (R): The Gaston County commissioner will be the first elected black Republican woman in the legislature.

Darrell McCormick (R): The Yadkinville owner of a real estate company fended off a Democratic challenger for the seat of Rep. George Holmes.

Johnathan Rhyne (R): The Lincolnton lawyer had no Democratic opposition in his race for the seat of retiring Republican Rep. Joe Kiser.

Randy Stewart (D): The Rocky Mount resident won a much-contested race for the seat of Republican Rep. Bill Daughtridge, who ran unsuccessfully for state treasurer.

Justin Burr (R): Albemarle defeated Rep. Ken Furr in the primary, who had been appointed to the seat after Rep. David Almond resigned over a personnel complaint.

W. David Guice (R): The Transylvania County commissioner was outspent by a Democratic opponent in the race for the seat of retiring Rep. Trudi Walend.

Grey Mills (R): The Iredell County business owner handily beat a Libertarian opponent for the seat after narrowly edging Republican Rep. Karen Ray in the primary.

Efton Sager (R): The Wayne County commissioner and retired Air Force member won the seat of retiring Republican Rep. Louis Pate.

Jane Whilden (D): The former director of Gov. Mike Easley's Western office, an Asheville resident, won with the help of the state Democratic Party.

In addition, previously appointed Reps. Kelly Alexander Jr. of Charlotte, Angela Bryant of Rocky Mount, Annie Mobley of Ahoskie, Tricia Cotham of Charlotte and Sandra Spaulding Hughes of Wilmington were also elected for the first time in November.

Related: The Senate Class of 2008

Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated details of Mills' win.