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

Some interesting recent House bills:

H.B. 223: No High School Graduation Project Required, Reps. Jimmy Love and Angela Bryant

H.B. 232: Scholarship Loan for Rural Social Workers, Reps. Larry Bell, Rick Glazier, Marvin Lucas, Marian McLawhorn

H.B. 257: No Seizure of Lawful Firearms in Emergency, Reps. George Cleveland, Mark Hilton, Tim Moore and Laura Wiley

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