The U.S. Senate moves this morning toward a procedural vote that could diminish the hopes of U.S. Sen. Richard Burr to stop tobacco regulation by the Food and Drug Administration.

Burr, a Winston-Salem Republican, hails from the hometown of R.J. Reynolds, producer of Camels and the nation’s second-largest tobacco manufacturing company, Barb Barrett reports.

He has vowed to do anything possibly to prevent passage of S.B. 982, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.

Burr's threat has been widely interpreted as including a pledge to filibuster the bill — engaging in an endless debate or launching a series of procedural motions that can only be cut off by a 60-vote margin in the Senate.

That cloture vote is scheduled for 11 a.m. today.

More after the jump.

   Comments (0)

Kenneth Lewis will hold a meet-and-greet in Winston Salem today. 

The potential Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate will meet with fundraisers and volunteers at the Forsyth County Democratic headquarters from 3 to 4:30 p.m.

An e-mail announcing the meet-up was sent from Bo Gray, a relative of the former president of R.J. Reynolds tobacco company, on Facebook yesterday.

"A small group of us met with Kenneth Lewis today, a talented and inspiring young lawyer at Womble," he wrote. "As we sat and talked I truly believe we were sitting in the presence of a man, in the tradition and philosophy of Barack Obama, who will not only inspire, but has the depth of intellect and the passion to help realize this vision of change that we all have embraced."

After the jump, the e-mail.

   Comments (2)

North Carolina's two senators have proposed a new agency regulate tobacco.

As an alternative to the possible regulation of tobacco products by the Food and Drug Administration. Republican Sen. Richard Burr and Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan filed a bill today that would create a Federal Tobacco Regulatory Agency.

The bill is an attempt to stave off legislation backed by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and President Obama that would give the FDA regulatory control over harmful chemicals and additives in cigarettes.

Both Burr and Hagan say that the FDA, which oversees such things as cosmetics, prescription drugs and vitamins, is overworked.

"The FDA is overburdened already, and lacks the capacity or the expertise to take on a large, complicated new industry," Hagan said in a statement. "I will not stand idly by while the FDA is put in charge of such a critical industry to North Carolina."

Winston-Salem-based tobacco company R.J. Reynolds opposes FDA regulation bill, although Virginia-based Philip Morris USA supports it.

Burr, who lives in Winston-Salem, has threatened to filibuster the bill, according to the Washington Post.

Previously: Hagan opposes FDA tobacco regulation during Senate campaign. 

U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry is being feted by House conservatives.

The Cherryville Republican is being honored in Washington tonight at a welcome reception and fundraiser as the new honorary chairman of the House Conservatives Fund.

The fundraiser, which is being held at an American Legion post, will also feature Rep. Tom Price, chairman of the Republican Study Committee, and members of the House Conservatives Fund.

Entrance costs range from $50 for a guest to $5,000 for a host. The Credit Union Legislative Action Council and the R.J. Reynolds PAC are sponsoring the event.

Hat Tip: Sunlight Foundation

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole's political action committee has received $848,615 in the last three years.

The Leadership Circle PAC is separate from Dole's campaign committee, so it can receive bigger contributions from donors. As a recent report and database from NPR's Marketplace shows, leadership PACs like it are booming.

Many of Dole's contributors are familiar faces.

Between December of 2004 and December of 2007, her leadership PAC received $20,000 from lieutenant governor candidate Robert Pittenger and his wife, Suzanne; $16,750 from former gubernatorial candidate Bill Graham and his wife, Shari; and $10,000 from SAS co-founder Jim Goodnight.

Other donations came from Raleigh lawyer Kieran Shanahan, CaptiveAire owner Bob Luddy, her husband Bob, Luther Hodges Jr., billionaire resort builder Kirk Kerkorian, Raleigh developer John Kane, and former Dole running mate Jack Kemp.

The Leadership Circle PAC also received money from other PACs, including the Progress Energy PAC, Wachovia Employees Good Government Fund, the N.C. Farm Bureau, and PACs for R.J. Reynolds, Lorillard Tobacco Co., Duke Energy and Federal Express.

At least two lobbyists helped state Rep. Thomas Wright get a $1,500 check from AT&T, according to testimony Monday.

John Policastro, a former AT&T lobbyist, testified about the money before a legislative committee that is hearing ethics charges against Wright, a Wilmington Democrat, David Ingram reports.

Wright sent an "invoice" to Policastro and AT&T in 2003, asking for a $1,500 payment, and Policastro said he then forwarded the request to superiors because he did not have authority to make the payment. Wright got the check, and investigators say he pocketed the money.

The charity, known as The Community's Health Foundation, did not have IRS approval as a tax-exempt organization. Policastro said he was under the impression that it did.

"I would have not passed this along if I had known it was not a 501(c)(3) organization," he said.

But before Wright sent the invoice, he spoke with another AT&T lobbyist, Larry Bewley, about the possibility of getting a contribution, Policastro said.

More after the jump.

   Comments (0)

Walter Dalton raised $855,382 by the end of 2007.

The Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor raised $764,637 from major donors, including retired oilman Walter Davis, lottery commissioner Charles Sanders, and state Sen. Martin Nesbitt.

He also raised $1,895 from donors who gave less than $50 and $88,750 from political action committees, including the Bank of America, R.J. Reynolds, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Progress Energy and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, according to a campaign finance report filed with the State Board of Elections last week.

At the same time, he spent $134,100 on secretarial services, campaign consulting and event sponsorship.

That left him with $904,191 in cash on hand.

Rep. Thomas Wright failed to report $185,000 in campaign contributions.

According to an analysis of bank records and campaign finance reports, the Wilmington Democrat failed to include donations from individuals and political action committees on 22 different reports between 2000 and 2006.

Unreported contributions include $1,000 each from the N.C. Amusement Machine Association PAC and the Progress Energy Employees Carolinas PAC in 2004; $1,500 from the Bell South NC PAC in 2006; and $1,000 from the R.J. Reynolds PAC in 2006.

Many of the unreported contributions also came from nurse anesthetists when Wright was chairing a key legislative committee, Senior Deputy Attorney General Alec Peters said.

He said the unreported money amounts to 38 percent of the total contributions Wright received during that period of time.

He said there also "appears to be a pattern" of Wright holding back on reporting contributions from potentially controversial donors until after a primary or general election.

The late Ben Ruffin, former chairman of the UNC Board of Governors, was honored last night with the University Award, the highest honor given by the university system board.

The posthumous award, which recognizes illustrious service to higher education in North Carolina, was presented to Ruffin's widow, Avon, and daughters, April and Benita, during a banquet at UNC-Chapel Hill, Jane Stancill reports.

Ruffin, a Durham native, civil rights activist, businessman and civic leader, was the first African-American chairman of the UNC board. He died unexpectedly last December at the age of 64.

"His spirit is here today," current Board of Governors Chairman Jim Phillips said this morning at the board's meeting.

Tributes to Ruffin were offered last night by former Gov. Jim Hunt and former N.C. Central University Chancellor Julius Chambers. Earlier this year, a dormitory was named for Ruffin at his alma mater, NCCU.

Ruffin was a special assistant to Hunt and later a vice president at R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. He led the UNC board during the successful  2000 campaign for a $3.1 billion bond referendum for campus construction.

He is remembered as an advocate for higher education affordability for North Carolina students.

Political action committees associated with four major tobacco companies gave about $28,000 since 2000 to 11 of the 17 Democrats who voted against the smoking ban.

As Dome noted earlier, they were the crossovers who went against party line, helping defeat the bill.

Lorillard, R.J. Reynolds, Standard Commercial Tobacco, Philip Morris and its parent company Altria gave mostly small donations of $250, $500 or $1,000 through their PACs, typical of their contributions to other legislators.

The biggest recipient was Rep. Nelson Cole of Reidsville, who got $8,750 between 2000 and 2006. Rep. James Crawford of Oxford received $5,500 during that same time period.

Both represent tobacco-growing areas in North Carolina.

Reps. R. Van Braxton, Walter Church, Mary McAllister, Timothy Spear and Edith Warren were not listed on campaign finance reports filed by the tobacco companies' PACs.

Among the Republicans who voted for the bill, Rep. Julia Howard received $4,200 and Rep. Jeff Barnhart received $2,250.