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Some more House bills of note:

H.B. 285: Salary Increase for Substitute Teachers, Reps. Cullie Tarleton, Marian McLawhorn, Maggie Jeffus and Laura Wiley

H.B. 287: Extend Ethics Law to City/Co. Officials, Rep. Cary Allred

H.B. 288: Remove Cap on the Number of Charter Schools, Rep. Allred

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.

Which legislators have tobacco companies in their districts?

With the General Assembly again considering enacting a smoking ban in restaurants and workplaces, Dome decided to see who represents the tobacco firms.

Alternative Brands, Mocksville:
Rep. Julia Howard, Sen. Andrew Brock

Commonwealth Brands, Reidsville:
Rep. Nelson Cole, Sen. Phil Berger

Lorillard, Greensboro:
Rep. Maggie Jeffus, Sen. Don Vaughan

Philip Morris, Concord:
Rep. Jeff Barnhart, Sen. Fletcher Hartsell

Reynolds American, Winston-Salem:
Rep. Larry Womble, Sen. Linda Garrou

Reynolds American, Tobaccoville:
Rep. Dale Folwell, Sen. Pete Brunstetter

In the 2007 session, Reps. Howard, Jeffus, Barnhart and Womble voted for a smoking ban in public places, while Reps. Cole and Folwell voted against it.

The state House will have 38 women next session.

Nearly two-thirds of the women are from cities with more than 20,000 residents, including a third who represent urban areas in Wake, Mecklenburg and Guilford counties.

Charlotte is the best represented, with five women: Reps. Becky Carney, Martha Alexander, Beverly Earle, Tricia Cotham and Ruth Samuelson. Greensboro has three and Raleigh two.

The women from smaller towns hale from Grifton, Wilkesboro, Louisburg, Emerald Isle, Dallas, Ahoskie, Mocksville, Farmville, Hamlet, Mebane, Mount Airy, Hampstead and Hendersonville. Rep. Linda Coleman is from Knightdale, a close suburb of Raleigh.

Twenty-six of the women are Democrats; 12, Republicans.

The longest serving is Republican Rep. Julia Howard of Mocksville, now in her 11th term, followed by Democratic Reps. Martha Alexander of Charlotte and Maggie Jeffus of Greensboro, now in their ninth terms. Four new women were elected for the first time this year.

The women make up 32 percent of the 120-member House.

Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue will speak at a Lillian's List gathering.

Perdue will be the keynote speaker at a Jan. 28 "victory breakfast" by the group, which promotes pro-choice female candidates in North Carolina.

The event will be held at the Cardinal Club on the penthouse levels of the Raleigh skyscraper known for the time being as the Wachovia Capitol Center.

It's not known what Perdue will say, but the state's first female governor will no doubt reference the group's namesake, first female Southern legislator Lillian Exum Clement.

The breakfast will also honor candidates backed by the group, including state Reps. Alice Bordsen, Jane Whilden, Margaret Dickson, Alice Underhill, Lucy Allen, Linda Coleman, Maggie Jeffus and Jennifer Weiss.

Tickets cost $100. Sponsorships are also available for $250 to $4,000.

Registration is online here.

Eight members of the House voted against overriding Gov. Mike Easley's veto of a wide boats bill.

Those members are:

Alice Bordsen, D-Alamance

Susan Fisher, D-Buncombe

Sandra Spaulding Hughes, D-Wilmington

Verla Insko, D-Orange

Maggie Jeffus, D-Guilford

Paul Luebke, D-Durham

Mickey Michaux, D-Durham

Jennifer Weiss, D-Wake

In the Senate, Ed Jones, D-Halifax, voted against override, but Jones' vote was not recorded because he paired his vote with the absent Doug Berger, D-Franklin. Under the Senate's rules, Jones can cast Berger's vote for him, but it means neither vote is recorded.

The House and Senate roll call votes are below.

Reps. Larry Womble and Maggie Jeffus explained their votes.

Womble, a Winston-Salem Democrat, voted for censure, and when that failed, against expulsion. He told the Associated Press he agreed with Thomas Wright's arguments.

"Not only has he not been convicted, but he has not had his day in court," Womble said.

Jeffus, a Greensboro Democrat, voted against censure, and when that failed, for expulsion.

She told Mark Binker of the Greensboro News & Record that she has sat next to Wright for at least two sessions.

"I felt like we might give that a chance and see. In my own mind I think censure and expulsion are both very serious and in the end would have the same kind of result," she said.

Current and former women legislators have endorsed Richard Moore.

State Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, Reps. Pricey Harrison andd Maggie Jeffus and former Reps. Marie Watters Colton, Ruth Cook and Bertha "B." Merrill Holt have announced their support of the state treasurer's gubernatorial campaign.

In an open letter, six women praise his "steady leadership."

Richard has built this record of achievement through hard work and by surrounding himself with a diverse and highly talented professional team, including the first African American female chief investment officer to run a public pension plan. In fact, more than half of Richard's current leadership team is female, including his chief of staff.

"I am honored that such an outstanding group of women leaders support my candidacy," Moore said in a statement.

He faces Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue in the Democratic primary.

* High school students stump John Edwards on conflict diamonds, recycling nuclear waste and North American currency consolidation at N.H. event. (NYT)

* BlueNC founder James Protzman, a.k.a. Anglico, announces he's leaving the Democratic Party to become unaffiliated over state Sen. Kay Hagan's U.S. Senate run. (BlueNC)

* Hagan replacements mentioned: Reps. Maggie Jeffus and Pricey Harrison, education activist Margaret Arbuckle; Republicans Mark McDaniel and Rep. John Blust. (Capital Beat)

* U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx holds "virtual town hall," fielding mostly positive calls and questions about illegal immigration. Democratic opponent Roy Carter cries foul. (W-SJ)

A House bill would make abstinence more about health than morals.

The legislation would change the wording on state statutes on health education. Though middle-schoolers would still be taught an "abstinence-based" course, it would not be as strict.

Currently, the state requires a curriculum that:

Teaches that abstinence from sexual activity outside of marriage is the expected standard for all school‑age children.

Under the legislation, it would instead be required to:

Teach that abstinence from sexual intercourse is the only certain way to prevent unintended pregnancy, teach that abstinence from sexual activity is the only certain way to reduce the risk of sexual transmission of diseases, including HIV/AIDS, and provide information about the value of abstinence.

Supporters with NARAL North Carolina and Planned Parenthood and opponents with the Christian advocacy group Called2Action will be at a hearing tomorrow morning.

The bill is sponsored by Democratic Reps. Linda Coleman of Wake County and Susan Fisher, Maggie Jeffus, and Melanie Wade Goodwin.