Democrats in Robeson and Hoke counties selected businessman Michael Walters to replace David Weinstein in the state Senate.

Weinstein resigned his seat to become director of the Governor's Highway Safety Program.

Walters, 53, is president of Claybourn Walters Logging Company in Fairmont.

A lifelong resident of Robeson County, Walters said today that he wants to give back to the community.

A committee representing Democrats in the Hoke and Robeson district selected Walters last week. Walters said he plans to run to keep the seat next year.

The N.C. Senate passed a state budget this afternoon that doesn't say where $500 million in revenue would come from, would add two students to the average public school classroom and would lay off 700 state employees.

Senators approved the $20 billion spending plan mostly along party lines, 32 to 16. It must pass a second vote tomorrow before going to the House, where significant changes are expected before the two halves of the legislature write a compromise version.

Democrats said they balanced the need for cuts with protecting both education and those in need. Republicans said the plan still would spend more money than this year and leaves a gaping hole to fill in future years.

Sen. Dan Clodfelter, a Charlotte Democrat, defended the unidentified $500 million in revenue, saying Senate leaders can't specify a tax package until they know what the April 15 tax returns will look like. Those numbers provide the clearest indicator of revenue for next year.

The Senate passed a de facto limit on legislative sessions Thursday, voting 37 to 11 to limit the number of days lawmakers will receive their daily expense reimbursement for food and lodging.

The idea is that if legislators don't receive their $104 a day for expenses, they won't want to stay in session. They would be limited to 135 days in odd-numbered or "long" session years and 60 days in even-numbered years. The bill's chief sponsor, Sen. Tony Rand, said he is taking this approach after several attempts to put a limit on the number of days for a session, which the Senate passed in previous years but the House rejected.

"If we do not get some control over the length of time we spend here," said Rand, a Fayetteville Democrat and Senate majority leader, "we do damage to the institution of the legislature."

Opponents said the bill suggested lawmakers were in office only for money, despite the $13,951 salary, and didn't allow for extraordinary circumstances when legislators need to keep working past a certain date.

"There should be a return on the investment of time," said Sen. Malcolm Graham, a Charlotte Democrat.

Senators overwhelmingly approved a companion bill to convene an organizing session in January but not return to Raleigh for three weeks when committees are named and debate on bills can begin.

Does it matter if your bill is first?

When legislation is introduced at the General Assembly, it is numbered, with House Bill 1 and Senate Bill 1 starting things off.

Dome wondered if there was a correlation (probably not a causation) with the first bills filed. Perhaps they were more likely to be well-prepared or have some favor with leadership.

The first bill in each chamber simply lays down the rules they'll follow during the session. But as it turns out, being the second, third, fourth or even fifth bill doesn't do much good in the House.

In 2007, H.B. 2 failed to incorporate the community of Corolla, H.B. 3 failed to add a tax credit for long-term care insurance and H.B. 4 did not amend one-stop voting days. Only H.B. 5 passed — and all it did was honor the late Rep. Bernard Allen.

Things were a little different in the more tightly controlled Senate.

That same year, S.B. 2 did not change the lottery formula, but S.B. 3 successfully promoted renewable energy. While S.B. 4 collected more data on race and public health, S.B. 5 did not change laws on methadone and second-degree murder.

The lesson? Representatives, take your time. Senators, get a move on.

When the legislature returns to Raleigh in January, the Senate will take a bold technological leap into 1992.

For the first time, senators will be allowed to have laptops at their desks. They won't have e-mail or access to the Internet, but they can have laptops. The computers would allow Senators access to the information available on the legislature's Web site. Senate leader Marc Basnight changed a long-standing rule banning electronic devices.

"There's been some discussion for a while of allowing access to information by computer," said Schorr Johnson, a spokesman for Basnight. "There has also been the concern of the tradition of the Senate session and any disruption. This represents a compromise."

The laptops would allow Senators to find a statute or bill quickly. But they won't have much else (sorry, no Minesweeper or solitaire). Senators will have to request the machines, which will stay in the chamber. The computers will be refurbished from older laptops the legislature already owns, so the rule change won't cost taxpayers anything, Johnson said. The plan also means senators will likely be wrestling with computers that are long past their prime.

The House has no rule banning computers and laptops are common in the chamber. As far as Dome knows, there have been no reports of House members reading Perez Hilton during sessions.

We have a local entry for bookstores' political biographies section.

Howard Lee, chairman of the State Board of Education, has published his biography, "The Courage to Lead."

Lee was elected the first black mayor of Chapel Hill in 1969, and is a former state senator.

Lee said he worked on the self-published memoir for about five years, and trimmed his first draft of 800 pages to 240.

He has 15 book signings scheduled around the state.

The anti-bullying bill, which would have listed gay students as potential harassment targets, is dead, said a state senator who worked on proposal.

The Senate had the bill on its list of issues to vote on today, but sent it back to committee.

Another controversial bill that appeared dead this week was twice given new life and passed, but Sen. Doug Berger, a Franklin County Democrat, said the bullying bill is really gone.

The bill was controversial because it listed "sexual orientation" and more than a dozen other characteristics as reasons school children might be bully targets. Groups interested in socially conservative issues such as the Christian Action League and the N.C. Family Policy Council did not want the term "sexual orientation" in state law, saying that gay-rights groups would use it to leverage other rights.

The bill would have required teachers, students and volunteers to report bullying and have local school boards establish anti-bullying policies.

Ironically, supporters said they had enough votes to pass it, but only if everyone showed up. As a courtesy, the Senate allows members who cannot be around for votes to "pair" with another senators who are going to vote the opposite way. When senators "pair," their votes cancel each other.

Berger said the bill's opponents pressured senators who were going to vote no not to accept pair requests from senators who would have voted for the bill.

Bullying is already against school policies, Berger said, but the only way it is going to be seriously addressed is if people talk frankly about who gets targeted.

"The failure of this bill to pass, I think, it sends a bad message," Berger said.

The Durham meals tax is back.

In a hastily-called meeting, the Senate Finance committee approved a proposal allowing Durham to impose a 1 percent tax on restaurant meals.

Sen. Floyd McKissick, a Durham Democrat, had been struggling to find enough votes to get the bill, which the state restaurant trade association opposed, out of committee and to a full Senate vote.

The committee had voted to kill the bill about an hour earlier, but McKissick found a senator who opposed it the first time to ask for a new vote.

The proposed Durham meal tax died before noon Wednesday in a quick committee vote on the Senate floor.

Sen. Floyd McKissick, a Durham Democrat, told committee members they would not be voting to impose a tax. But in a voice vote, the noes easily overwhelmed the ayes.

Durham wanted permission to hold a vote on a 1 percent tax on prepared meals. The N.C. Restaurant and Lodging Association opposed it. The bill barely got out of the House and barring some parliamentary miracle, is dead for the year.  

For the second time in two days, state Sen. Floyd McKissick asked the chamber's Finance Committee to skip debate on a proposed bill that would allow Durham to vote on a 1 percent tax on restaurant meals.

If the bill passes, it's going to be close, McKissick said. Likely bill supporters have not attended committee meetings this week, he said, so he asked to pull it.

"It's a tough one," McKissick said. "A lot depends on who's in town, who's out of town, that kind of stuff," he said.

He said he's ask for an unscheduled committee meeting on the Senate floor to get a vote.

The N.C. Restaurant and Lodging Association is fighting the bill, and it bearly got out of the House.

McKissick, a Durham Democrat, said a tax vote is tough this election year, with members facing competitive races worrying that their 'aye' votes will be characterized as votes for tax increases.