Some recent House bills of note:

H.B. 593: Change School Starting Date, Reps. Paul Luebke, Martha Alexander, Bob England and Ray Rapp

H.B. 611: Check-Off Donation: Breast Cancer Screening, Reps. Nelson Dollar, Carolyn Justice, Lucy Allen and England

H.B. 614: Absentee Voting Improvements, Reps. Grier Martin, Rick Glazier, Marian McLawhorn and Rapp

H.B. 626: Restraining of Dogs, Reps. Douglas Yongue, Susan Fisher, Danny McComas and Justin Burr

H.B. 630: Capitalize National Guard in Statutes, Reps. Martin, Cullie Tarleton and Ric Killian

H.B. 644: Misdemeanor/Not Produce Public Records, Reps. George Cleveland and Burr

Some recent House bills of note:

H.B. 433: Change Corporate Income Tax, Rep. Harold Brubaker

H.B. 442: Parental Involvement in School Discipline, Reps. Martha Alexander, Susan Fisher, Rick Glazier and Earline Parmon

H.B. 443: Increase Class Size in the Public Schools, Reps. Paul Stam and Laura Wiley

H.B. 453: Increase Cig. Tax/Proceeds to MHTF, Reps. Verla Insko, Beverly Earle and Alexander

H.B. 494: Superior Court Judge May Perform Marriage, Reps. William Wainwright, Dan Blue and Garland Pierce

H.B. 504: Tax Credit for Energy-Efficient Homes, Reps. Fisher, Pricey Harrison, Bruce Goforth and Ruth Samuelson

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.

Several more House bills were filed this afternoon:

H.B. 21: Eugenics Program - Support and Education, Reps. Larry Womble, Ronnie Sutton, Earline Parmon and Martha Alexander

H.B. 22: Enhance Youth Employment Protections, Reps. Jennifer Weiss, Melanie Wade Goodwin, Paul Luebke, Angela Bryant

H.B. 23: Strengthen Child Labor Violation Penalties, Reps. Weiss, Luebke, Bryant and Goodwin

H.B. 24: Funds for Cochlear Implants / CASTLE, Rep. Verla Insko

H.B. 25: Clarify SCFAC Appointments, Rep. Insko

H.B. 26: Stay Beach Plan Rates, Deductible Surcharges, Reps. Timothy Spear, Carolyn Justice

A few more bills have been filed in the House:

H.B. 15: Military Family Assistance Center / Funds, Rep. Cullie Tarleton

H.B. 16: Retired Judge May Perform Marriage, Rep. Russell Tucker

H.B. 17: Asheboro Satellite Annexation, Rep. Harold Brubaker

H.B. 18: Speech Language Pathologist Qualifications, Rep. Bill Faison

H.B. 19: MLK's 80th Birthday / Obama Inauguration, Reps. Larry Womble, Paul Luebke, Jennifer Weiss, Earline Parmon

H.B. 20: Compensate Eugenics Sterilization Survivors, Reps. Womble, Parmon, Ronnie Sutton and Martha Alexander

Rep. Martha Alexander
Charlotte Democrat
Ninth Term

What two things would you cut in the state budget? "Until I take a look at the budget, I don't believe I can respond to that question at this time. I think people will be looking clearly to see if there are any duplication of services."

Are there any taxes you would be in favor of increasing? "I would personally be in favor of raising the alcohol taxes and the cigarette taxes but with the caveat that some of the money raised be used for (prevention and treatment) services in the field." She added the tax increases would also reduce usage, particularly among teenagers and young adults.

— Dan Kane 

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.

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. 

Twenty-four legislators did not get paid for every day.

According to state records, 17 representatives and seven senators asked not to receive their $104 per diems for at least one day during the 2007 session.

Reps. Angela Bryant, William Current, Annie Mobley, Deborah Ross, John Blust, Bill Daughtridge, Laura Wiley, Ruth Samuelson, Pryor Gibson, David Lewis, Mitchell Setzer, Paul Stam, Jennifer Weiss, Martha Alexander, Pricey Harrison, Alice Bordsen and Paul Luebke did not receive pay for every day.

Luebke was the lowest, receiving pay for just 178 days.

Sens. William Purcell, Fred Smith, Clark Jenkins, Harris Blake, Tom Apodaca, Janet Cowell and Marc Basnight did not receive pay for all 191 days of session.

Basnight was the lowest, receiving pay for just 176 days.

Under state policy, legislators automatically receive pay for every day of session, regardless of whether they attend, unless they specifically ask not to be paid for that day. 

A bill would allow judges to sentence convicted drunk drivers to wear alcohol monitors.

The monitors, which sense alcohol through the skin, are worn as ankle bracelets. They could be worn as a condition of probation, an alternative to jail or as a way for convicts to get their licenses restored sooner.

Rep. Ronnie Sutton, a Pembroke Democrat, said he was concerned that the bill would create inequalities, since not every offender can afford to pay for the monitors.

"You're going to create two classes of citizens: Those that can afford $12 a day and those that can't," he said. (Later, he restated his objection humorously: "I was passed a note that said that Paris Hilton is in favor of this bill.")

Rep. Martha Alexander, a Charlotte Democrat, said she thinks many local governments will pay for the bracelets as an alternative to jailing drunk drivers.

The bill passed the House 107-9. It now heads back to the Senate.