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.

The N.C. House and Senate overwhelmingly approved a sweeping package of anti-gang measures today that include new penalties for gang-related activity.

The legislation is punitive part of a carrot and stick approach to help reduce gang activity across the state. A Governor's Crime Commission report that said there are more than 550 gangs in the state and nearly 15,000 gang members, Dan Kane reports.

There was no debate in the House, which passed it by a 110-1 vote. In the Senate, the vote was 45-0 after a short debate.

The legislation creates new felonies for those who commit drive-by shootings, take part in gang activities, or solicit others to join gangs. There are also new felonies for gang members who threaten others who try to leave, or threaten those who try to help members leave a gang.

Property acquired for or derived from gang activity could be subject to forfeiture.

More after the jump.

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The N.C. House passed another extension Monday night to keep some government operations going for 10 more days in case Gov. Mike Easley does not sign the state budget bill by today.

Lawmakers last month passed a similar resolution late last month to extend those operations until July 15. While they have since passed a $21.4 billion spending plan, Easley has not signed it and has given little explanation why, Dan Kane reports.

Rep. Mickey Michaux, the House's chief budget writer, said Easley still wants lawmakers to provide more money for some of his education initiatives. The spending plan, for example, provides $15 million less for his More at Four pre-kindergarten program.

While much of government will continue to operate because last year's budget is a two-year spending plan, some programs that aren't in question, such as those funded by federal grants, need reauthorization, Michaux said.

The temporary spending bill needs Senate approval.

Legislation that would create a referendum on a meals tax for Durham County voters squeaked through the House today.

After the 60-59 vote, Rep. Wil Neumann, a Gaston County Republican, said that he voted incorrectly in favor and wanted his vote changed, reports Dan Kane.

Speaker Joe Hackney denied the request, saying it wasn't allowed because it would affect the outcome.

Neumann then asked to have the vote taken again, which the rules allow when the request comes from someone on the prevailing side.

But before the vote could be taken, Rep. Mickey Michaux, a Durham Democrat and a bill sponsor, urged his colleagues to support the legislation, reminding them that it only gives Durham residents the right to consider the tax. He then made a motion to kill Newmann's request. It passed by a 62-56 vote.

The legislation now goes to the Senate.

If a referendum becomes law, Durham County residents could vote to add a one percent sales tax on restaurant meals in the county. The legislation states that 80 percent of the proceeds would go toward civic and cultural amenities, 10 percent for marketing, five percent for workforce training and five percent for community clean up.

N.C. House and Senate budget negotiators have repeatedly said that joint meetings are public.

They had such a joint meeting this morning. But when a News & Observer reporter tried to enter, they kicked him out.

Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand, a Fayetteville Democrat, could not cite a reason under the public meetings law as to why a reporter would be excluded. But he said the meeting had nothing to do with the budget, reports Dan Kane.

"Because we were just hearing a report from staff," Rand said. "It had nothing to do with negotiations."

He said the report was an "economic briefing."

What did it say?

"We're not sure."

Why can't a reporter listen to that?

"Because we're trying to determine if there's something we want to do," Rand said. "I mean, that was just a staff thing."

Related to the budget?

"Related to anything."

Budget negotiators were the only ones attending. A brief glimpse into the meeting showed Dan Gerlach, senior budget adviser to Gov. Mike Easley, and legislative fiscal staff addressing the lawmakers.

Gerlach left several minutes later.

What were they meeting about?

"Talking about the budget," Gerlach said as he walked away.

After the meeting broke up, Rep. Mickey Michaux, a Durham Democrat and the House's chief budget writer, said his team had nothing to do with the decision to close the meeting.

"They ran you out of there," he said of the Senate budget negotiators. "That was their meeting. It wasn't mine."

Major pieces of the N.C. House's proposed state budget were released this morning, and they show more money for drop out prevention, a big cut for mental health community support services and a potential stumbling block for Gov. Mike Easley's More at Four pre-kindergarten education program.

The House would devote $15 million for drop out prevention grants to communities, more than double what is in the current state budget, Dan Kane reports. Nearly one out of every three students in North Carolina fail to graduate from high school, and state leaders are looking for ways to keep more students in school.

House budget writers also cut more than $86 million from the mental health community support program.

A recent News & Observer series on the state's mental health services reported roughly $400 million in waste in that program. The cut is $65 million more than Easley had sought in his $21.5 billion state budget proposal.

Easley's senior budget adviser, Dan Gerlach, said the governor will not sit for the way House members funded More at Four.

Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated the cuts.

More after the jump.

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The House has released its salary figures. 

Rep. Mickey Michaux, a Durham Democrat and chief budget writer, said that House leaders have tentatively agreed to giving teachers and school administrators a 3 percent raise and all other state employees a 2.75 percent raise or $1,100, whichever is greater, Dan Kane reports.

Retirees would receive a 2.2 percent cost of living increase.

As expected, House lawmakers did not concur with anti-gang legislation that cleared the state Senate last week, setting up a negotiation between both chambers.

Rep. Mickey Michaux, a Durham Democrat, asked his colleagues to oppose changes the Senate made to his bill that would create new penalties for gang activity, Dan Kane reports.

The Senate version dropped provisions that would prevent 16-year-olds from being charged with the new crimes, and would allow a rehabilitated former gang member from expunging gang activity from his or her criminal record.

The House and Senate will appoint members to serve on a conference committee to work out differences for compromise legislation.

A coalition of mayors and law enforcement agencies urged state lawmakers this morning to create new penalties for gang activity and to devote money toward prevention and intervention.

"What it's about is saving the youth of North Carolina," said Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy. "The insidious nature of gangs is that it destroys our communities."

The state Senate is scheduled to take up two bills later today that address many of the concerns of the mayors and police agencies, reports Dan Kane.

There are differences, though, with House legislation passed last year, so it is likely that both sides will have to work out compromise legislation in a House-Senate conference committee.

A recent Governor's Crime Commission report found that there are nearly 15,000 gang members in the state and more than 550 gangs. Gastonia Police Chief Terry Sult said there are more gang members per capita in communities of less than 75,000 residents than in larger cities.

Some lawmakers, particularly Rep. Mickey Michaux, a Durham Democrat, have been pushing for anti-gang legislation for several years. But debates about the cost of incarceration and whether prevention was being adequately addressed have stalled their efforts.

Michaux and others are optimistic legislation will pass this session. Michaux said more needs to be done before he will sign off on a final package. He wants $10 million in the state budget for prevention.

Others, including the sponsor of the Senate legislation, Malcolm Graham, a Charlotte Democrat, and Durham Mayor Bill Bell said the final legislation should include a provision that gives rehabilitated gang members the ability to expunge their records of their gang activity.

After years of wrangling, state lawmakers may be close to reaching agreement on legislation to curb gang activity.

The state Senate is expected to vote tomorrow on legislation that creates new crimes for gang activity and community-based prevention and intervention programs. The legislation cleared the Senate Rules Committee today, reports Dan Kane.

The state House passed anti-gang legislation last year, and there remain differences between that and the Senate version. Rep. Mickey Michaux, a Durham Democrat and one of the lead sponsors of the House bill, said the differences will likely be resolved in a conference committee of House and Senate lawmakers.

But Michaux was optimistic the differences would be worked out. He said key to an agreement is approval of $10 million in prevention and intervention grants that the House plans to include in its state budget proposal.

Read more after the jump.

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