A bill that would all but guarantee attorneys fees for those who sue over public records cleared a key committee Wednesday morning.

The bill's supporters narrowly escaped an amendment that would have also guaranteed attorneys fees if a government agency wins a records lawsuit. The amendment failed on a tie vote.

The amendment's sponsor, Rep. Bill Owens, an Elizabeth City Democrat, was necessary to ensure that news organizations and state residents don't flood government with frivolous lawsuits.

"It's said we need to look out for the people's information," Owens said. "We need to look out for the people's money as well."

Supporters of the original bill said that government agencies, cities, counties and towns are not above using their staff attorneys to stonewall citizens.

"Since when has fighting city hall been described as a level playing field?" said Rep. Edgar Starnes, a Hickory Republican.

Owens amendment, or one like it, seems likely to resurface when the bill hits the House floor, possibly next week.

More after the jump.

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The UNC system has a new lobbyist.

Anita S. Watkins, legislative counsel for the N.C. League of Municipalities, will serve as vice president for government relations for the multi-campus UNC system, Eric Ferreri reports. 

She replaces Andy Willis, who resigned earlier this month to become a senior adviser to Gov. Beverly Perdue.

UNC President Erskine Bowles announced her appointment today. It is effective Jan. 26.

Watkins will serve as the university's primary liaison to the state legislature, the governor's office and state government agencies. She will also work with Bowles, the UNC Board of Governors and senior staffers to develop policies and programs.

She holds a law degree and a master's degree in city and regional planning from UNC-Chapel Hill, as well as undergraduate degrees in political science and Spanish from N.C. State University.

After graduating from NCSU in 1994, she served for three years as a research assistant in the office of state Senate leader Marc Basnight. She later was senior policy analyst for the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources before going to the League of Municipalities.

Democrat Beverly Perdue's campaign is running a new TV ad in her race against Republican Pat McCrory, accusing him of opposing a bill that would have allowed large landfills in North Carolina.

What the ad says: The ad shows pictures of garbage-filled barges in New York Harbor and newspaper stories about a 2007 bill. Announcer: "It's trash day in New York City. What will they do with all that garbage? If Pat McCrory becomes our governor, that won't be a problem. Because McCrory wants to let New York and New Jersey dump their garbage in North Carolina. Newspapers say we would become the garbage capital of the East Coast. It's no surprise McCrory's gotten thousands of dollars from landfill owners. Pat McCrory, don't let him dump on us."

The background: The ad refers to the Solid Waste Management Act of 2007. Favored by environmentalists, the bill was designed to restrict new landfills in the state.

It was spurred by concerns that private regional landfills would turn N.C. into one of the country's top five importers of trash. One landfill, proposed for rural northeastern North Carolina, would have buried up to 3 million tons of garbage a year and create a trash mountain 270-feet high.

McCrory cited the measure as an example of the kind of bill he would veto as governor. But he calls the ad a distortion.

That's because the bill also included new taxes on municipalities. An early version would have charged minicipalities $2.50 per ton to dump trash and debris.

The N.C. League of Municipalities also opposed the bill, at least at first.

It dropped its opposition after winning concessions such as getting a larger share of the proceeds to local governments and lowering the so-called tip tax to $2.

McCrory did receive a contribution this year from Lonnie Poole of Raleigh, chairman of Waste Industries.

Is it accurate? Technically. He did oppose the bill and it does restrict large corporate landfills in the state.

But did McCrory want to create a series of trash mountains? Doubtful. The Charlotte mayor, like the League of Municipalities, wanted to save cities from the taxes the bill carried.

— Jim Morrill

Forget red states and blue states. At the Legislative Building today, it was red t-shirts and blue name tags.

Residents against forced annexation wore the shirts, and the pro-annexation N.C. League of Municipalities wore the name tags. All were there to talk to legislators about their issues, Lynn Bonner reports.

The anti-annexation folks are trying to pressure the legislature to approve a one-year freeze on forced annexations. They said they did not want to be forced to pay taxes for services they don't need.

The protest became irreverent at times, One woman had an anti-annexation bumper sticker attached to her pants. She said she pressed her rear end to the glass of the Senate gallery door so those inside could see her message.

They have some legislators behind them.

More after the jump.

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North Carolina mayors say fighting the growth in gangs is not a partisan issue.

But when they walked into the legislature today to advocate for anti-gang legislation at a news conference, only Democrats were given the microphone, reports Dan Kane.

State Sen. Malcolm Graham, a Charlotte Democrat who led the news conference, said Chapel Hill Mayor Kevin Foy and Charlotte Mayor Pro-Tem Susan Burgess were invited to speak because they are leaders of statewide municipal organizations.

Foy leads the Metrolina Coalition of N.C. Mayors; Burgess is president of the N.C. League of Municipalities.

Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory, the Republican candidate for governor who has long advocated for gang prevention measures, could only stand along with roughly two dozen mayors, police chiefs and lawmakers in the legislature's room for news conferences.

He said he was invited to the news conference, but not to speak.

"I didn't mind not talking," McCrory said. "I do wish that they had a little bipartisanship up there."

He got his opportunity. Reporters and TV cameras swarmed him once the event ended.

The Sierra Club is holding a gubernatorial forum on water policy.

The environmentalist group has invited the four major Republican and two major Democratic candidates to a forum at Griffith Theater at Duke University on March 25 from 1 to 4 p.m. They hope to hold two forums for each party.

Co-sponsors include the League of Municipalities, the N.C. Association of County Commissioners, the N.C. Rural Center and the CCNC. 

Gov. Mike Easley asked communities and individuals today to step up water conservation by taking steps ranging from ceasing all outdoor watering to turning off the faucet when brushing teeth.

Easley said he did not want to invoke his emergency powers to require water rationing. Instead, he said, local public officials should respond to the problem themselves to avoid running out of water.

"There's a solution to this problem," Easley said, addressing local officials at a conference of the N.C. League of Municipalities. "We can either create more water or we can use less. I don't know about you, but I cannot make it rain."

He warned that without greater conservation, some industries could be forced to close, throwing people out of work.

Siler City in Chatham County, for instance, faces the possible closure of two industries, which would mean the loss of 1,700 jobs, Easley said. The town has 80 days worth of water remaining, and officials there have asked people to cut water use by at least 50 percent.

"This drought is unprecedented, and the action I'm going to ask you to take has so far been unprecedented," Easley said. "I call on you to be decisive, to show your leaderships, to stand up and lead by example and to ask every member of your community to do more."

Read more after the jump.

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Gov. Mike Easley will call on local officials and the public to do more to save water when he speaks this afternoon at the annual conference of the N.C. League of Municipalities.

Easley's office is billing the speech as a "major announcement concerning the drought," but did not say whether the governor will do more than re-emphasize calls for local officials to impose voluntary or mandatory cuts in water consumption.

All 100 North Carolina counties are experiencing drought, with more than half, including those in the Triangle, suffering from "exceptional" drought. That is the most serious designation from the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Some water experts have urged Easley to require statewide mandatory water conservation; many communities have asked for only voluntary conservation measures or none at all. Earlier this month, an Easley spokeswoman said the governor can declare a drought emergency and require statewide cuts in water use only if supplies become so low that public health and safety are threatened.

The state Senate Finance Committee approved bills Wednesday that would allow cellphone towers to go up quicker and allow billboard owners to cut more trees around their signs.

Both bills go to votes of the full Senate.

The billboard bill would allow 375 feet of tree cutting in front of signs, up from 250 feet. The N.C. Outdoor Advertising Association wants highway travelers to have more time to see ads. Fees for permits and fines for illegal cutting would increase.

Bill Ross, secretary of the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources, objected, saying the proposal undermines the state's preservationist policies.

"It's green that makes us strong and great in North Carolina," he said.

Sen. David Hoyle, a Gaston County Democrat who backs the bill, said it supports taxpaying companies.

"When we talk about green, I agree," Hoyle said. "Green is what pays the bills."

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The latest lobbying reports show that the N.C. Association of Realtors has spent another $109,000 on lobbying and advertising campaigns largely aimed at stopping lawmakers from giving voters the opportunity to adopt a land transfer tax. The reports also show that a partnership of public officials and businesses has also spent serious money on the other side.

The Partnership for North Carolina's Future spent over $400,000 on advertising, polling and consulting, according to its latest report. A couple of the groups that are a members of the partnership, the N.C. Association of County Commissioners and greenspace advocate Land for Tomorrow have also spent $138,000 or more, according to lobbying reports. Land for Tomorrow lists a $200,000 payment to the partnership for its "publicity ad campaign," money that has yet to be spent on lobbying or advertising.

Read more after the jump.

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