State Rep. Nelson Dollar was one of a handful of House members who voted against a bill that would allow nonprofits to serve mixed drinks at fundraisers.

Nonprofits are already allowed to serve beer and wine with their special one-time permits, Lynn Bonner reports.

The vote was 104-7. The bill must be heard in the Senate.

If the bill passes, the Cary Republican said, he would encourage nonprofits not serve mixed drinks at their fundraisers.

"It's so much easier to become impaired than if someone is having one beer or a glass or two of wine," he said.

State lawmakers showed little interest today in avoiding another big prison construction bill this session.

In fact, they laughed when Rep. Ronnie Sutton, a Pembroke Democrat, asked whether they would look at legislation that spends more on prevention and less on incarceration, reports Dan Kane.

"Is there anyone that thinks we're going to change our mode of operation?" Sutton asked, after lawmakers listened to a report of options to deal with a rapidly growing prison population.

Today, the state prison system is again out of space. Prisons Director Boyd Bennett said he has sent notice to county jails that they will have to hold convicted and sentenced inmates until a new 1,500 bed prison opens up in Columbus County at the end of summer.

The prison, though, is only a temporary fix. Projections show that the system could be 1,800 inmates over capacity by 2012.

Read more after the jump.

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State Rep. Nelson Dollar is focused on roads.

The Cary Republican said that his biggest priority during the short session is putting together a transportation bond for the fall and spending more road money on urban and suburban congestion.

"We need to fix the transportation funding formula so that we're addressing areas like we have here in the Triangle where commuters are driving on roads that were never designed for commuter traffic," he said.

Aside from the budget, his biggest goal is enacting a temporary moratorium on involuntary annexations.

"You've got far too many cities and towns in the past 10 years that have been aggressively reaching out and trying to grab these folks for their tax base," he said. "These folks have no real voice in the process."

State Rep. Grier Martin shows off his jump-roping skills at Washington GT Magnet elementary in Raleigh this morning.

Martin was one of several legislators, including Sen. Janet Cowell, Rep. Jennifer Weiss, Rep. Deborah Ross, Rep. Nelson Dollar and Wake school board member Anne McLaurin, that went to the school to learn about an athletics program.

But Martin was the only one to compete and make it to the final rounds. Most dropped out after the stretching was done.

His jump roping skills impressed third grader Bowen Beaty, 9, right. "He is pretty good for an elected offical" said Beaty "because usually they just sit around and make laws." (Ethan Hyman)

Bryan Gossage, an Apex council member in his second term, said today that he's running for a state legislative seat that takes in a slice of western Wake County.

Gossage, 33, is a Republican and owns a marketing and communications firm. He said he's raised $22,000 for the election and has the backing of three House Republicans from Wake County: Paul Stam, Nelson Dollar, and Marilyn Avila.

He said in a news release that he is running to bring back honest government to the legislature and to try to keep taxes under control.

"I am running because I’ll be a strong, sensible voice for Wake County," Gossage said. "North Carolina needs experienced, innovative leadership, and that’s exactly what I’ll bring to Raleigh."

His Web site at Gossage.org also notes that he served as worked for a California state lawmaker for two years.

Gossage is seeking the District 41 seat currently held by Rep. Ty Harrell, a Raleigh Democrat. Harrell won the seat in 2006 by beating Rep. Russell Capps, a six-term lawmaker and Raleigh Republican.

A pro-business group has made its first round of House endorsements.

The political action committee of the N.C. Forum for Research and Education endorsed 25 Democrats and all but three Republicans in the state House of Representatives.

The endorsements were based on the senators' voting records on business issues, how business-friendly they are compared to their district and their effectiveness in office.

Among Republicans, the group endorsed House Minority Leader Paul Stam, Rep. Nelson Dollar and Rep. Marilyn Avila, among others.

It did not endorse Reps. Joe Boylan, Carolyn Justice and Ken Furr, who was appointed in August.

Among Democrats, the group endorsed House Majority Leader Hugh Holliman, Rep. W.A. "Winkie" Wilkins, and Rep. Bruce Goforth.

It did not endorse House Speaker Joe Hackney.

A full list after the jump.

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Rep. Alice Bordsen missed three out of every 10 votes.

According to a tally by The Greensboro News & Record, the Mebane Democrat had the most absences during the past legislative session.

She missed most of the votes — including one on the $20.6 billion state budget — during the waning days of the session. A Democratic leader said she had planned in advance to travel overseas.

Rep. Harold Brubaker, an Asheboro Republican, missed about a quarter of the 1,400 votes cast.

A Republican leader said that he was often gone because he was at meetings of the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative group. (GN-R)

Sen. Fred Smith, a Clayton Republican who is running for governor, also missed about a quarter of the votes.

Six legislators had perfect attendance: Reps. Nelson Dollar, Phil Frye and Bill Owens and Sens. Richard Stevens, Andrew Brock and Tony Foriest. (AP)

A bill to immediately replace disbarred district attorneys and judges passed the House this afternoon.

The legislation was written in response to a District Court judge who refused to quit even after he was disbarred, but it attracted attention because of Durham D.A. Mike Nifong's troubles.

Rep. Deborah Ross said the bill is necessary because judges and D.A.s are required to have law licenses to do their jobs, but they aren't required to quit under current law if they lose them.

Rep. Nelson Dollar noted that the state attorney general also needs a law license, but Ross said it would raise constitutional questions to add that position to the bill.

The bill passed 116-0. It now heads back to the Senate for a concurrence.

A House bill would create a major new park on Dix Hill in Raleigh.

Supporters of a "world-class destination park" on the soon-to-be-former campus of the Dorothea Dix state mental hospital are hailing House Bill 1644.

Jay Spain, president of the Friends of Dorothea Dix Park, said the group is "excited" about the bill, which would create a park district on the hill just southwest of downtown Raleigh.

But as has always been the case with proposals for Dix Hill, the devil remains in the details.

The bill calls for three things: 1) the creation of a "potential park district" on Dix Hill, 2) the rehabilitation of its historic buildings when "economically feasible" and 3) the generation of "significant revenues" for mental health services.

It will be hard for the new owners of a Dix Park — the bill doesn't say if that would be the city, the state or a private group — to raise much money from grassy fields and museums.

The bill is sponsored by all of the Wake County House delegation — Reps. Deborah Ross, Jennifer Weiss, Linda Coleman, Marilyn Avila, Dan Blue, Nelson Dollar, Ty Harrell, Paul Stam and Grier Martin — as well as Rep. Larry Brown of Kernersville, Rep. Rick Glazier of Fayetteville and Rep. Verla Insko of Chapel Hill.