State Sen. Richard Stevens is on leave from the legislature.

The Cary Republican went home from the hospital late this afternoon to recuperate from knee surgery, according to an e-mail from his staff.

He'll be away from the Senate for about two weeks but is handling office business by phone. 

A bill to gender neutralize state laws would not undo the state's ban on gay marriage, according to its author and the director of legislative bill drafting.

Sen. Richard Stevens, a Cary Republican, said his bill will not affect the substance of any law. The legislation directs the revisor of statutes, a state official who makes technical adjustments in the law, to make all references to individuals gender neutral.

"It's where the governor is referred to as 'he,'" Stevens said, "or the chairman of the council is referred to as 'he'."

The state law banning gay marriage doesn't mention 'he' or 'she.' It says marriages "between individuals of the same gender" are not valid.

"You can't make gender neutral a statute specifically calling on the state to discriminate based on gender," said Gerry Cohen, the bill drafting director.

The bill passed a Senate judiciary committee, but Stevens asked that it be parked until bill drafting staff and the attorney general's office work out the language to ensure it does not affect the substance of any law.

FLYING THE COOP? Attorney General Roy Cooper was suddenly ubiquitous this week: Announcing the number of domestic violence homicides, speaking at an event for his father's new memoir, filing a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of the Voting Rights Act. Now that U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler is out of the race, is it his moment to announce a run for U.S. Senate in 2010 against Sen. Richard Burr?

UNDER PRESSURE: Moderate and conservative Democrats in North Carolina might be forgiven for thinking it's campaign season again. TV ads targeted Sen. Kay Hagan and Rep. Bob Etheridge and a radio ad singled out Rep. Mike McIntyre. Their aim? Persuade the lawmakers to support President Obama's proposed budget. So far, no state Republicans have faced similar ad campaigns.

IN OTHER NEWS: The race for head of the N.C. GOP narrowed a little as David Robinson of Raleigh dropped out. ... After an earlier bill got held up over a pronoun problem, Sen. Richard Stevens filed a bill calling for gender-neutral language in state laws. ... Carolina would get a little less blue under two bills that would allow liquor tastings and let ABC stores open on Sundays. ... Speaking of alcohol, an "M. Easley" whose address was the governor's mansion turned up on a list of people who never got their shipment from Carolina Wine Co. before it went bankrupt.

A bill would make state statutes gender-neutral.

Sen. Richard Stevens, a Cary Republican, said he filed the legislation after an earlier bill of his was criticized for a masculine pronoun.

That bill, which named the head of the State Board of Education, was held up when Republican state Rep. Laura Wiley objected to its use of the word "him" when describing Gov. Beverly Perdue. 

It was then rewritten to be gender-neutral.

"Bottom line, this bill would do that for the entire state," Stevens said.

The new proposal calls for the state General Statutes Commission to recommend any changes in pronouns to the state constitution or laws by 2010.

An existing state law already says that any reference to a "he" should be read as "he or she" for legal purposes.

An alcohol research center has been funded by drunk drivers.

The Bowles Center on Alcohol Studies has received money from a fee paid by people who had their licenses restored after charges of driving under the influence.

For years, $25 of the $75 fee has gone to the University of North Carolina system to for an endowment for the alcohol research center at UNC-Chapel Hill. Next year, the payments would have totaled about $500,000.

The fee was designed to sunset when the endowment reaches $10 million, which is expected on June 30. Gov. Beverly Perdue proposed to use the half-million dollars to help balance next year's budget.

Rob Nelson, a spokesman for the UNC system, said that the center will now rely on interest from the endowment and grants from national health groups.

Already, some in the state Senate are pushing back.

Sen. Richard Stevens, a Cary Republican, has filed a bill that would continue to give the money to the Bowles Center for annual expenses. One of his cosponsors is Democratic Sen. Linda Garrou, a budget writer.

Update: An earlier version of this post was unclear. The $25 fee itself, not just the transfer of money, would expire this summer if no action is taken. 

"Which Republicans voted for the Democratic leadership in the legislature?" — Caller

Members of the state House of Representatives and Senate select their own leaders on the first day of session.

The majority, which is Democratic in both chambers this year, typically votes for one of its own, while the Republican minority puts forward its own candidate.

Still, legislators can cross over to vote for the other side.

This year, Republican Sens. Fletcher Hartsell of Concord and Richard Stevens of Cary both voted for Democratic Sen. Marc Basnight as president pro tem on the first roll call.

Before the votes were totaled, however, Republican Minority Leader Phil Berger, who was also running, moved to elect Basnight by acclamation — essentially a unanimous voice vote.

This next part is a little tricky. In order to prevent anyone from calling another vote in the future and toppling Basnight, his chief lieutenant, Sen. Tony Rand, asked for yet another vote, known as a "clincher."

Twelve of the 20 Senate Republicans voted for Basnight on that vote: Sens. Austin Allran, Stan Bingham, Harris Blake, Debbie Clary, Don East, James Forrester, Hartsell, Neal Hunt, David Rouzer, Bob Rucho, Stevens, and Jerry Tillman.

In the House no Republicans voted for Speaker Joe Hackney, a Democrat. House Republicans voted for the minority leader, Rep. Paul Stam.

Sen. Richard Stevens wants to help a crossbow manufacturer open a Wake County location.

The Cary Republican said that Horton Manufacturing of Talmadge, Ohio, wants to open up a local plant that would employ 75 people.

But a state law passed in the 1990s requires any seller of crossbows to have an individual permit.

Stevens said legislative researchers found the law was passed after an accident in Gaston County involving a crossbow, but it inadvertently included manufacturers.

He proposed a bill today that would require manufacturers to have a master permit, but not separate ones. Individuals buying crossbows would still be required to get a permit.

"It's just fixing a quirk in state law," he said. 

Sen. John Snow has filed the first bill in his chamber.

The Murphy Democrat has filed S.B. 2, which would change the capital fund formula in the state lottery.

Details of the bill are not yet available, but Snow and other Western lawmakers have argued that their school districts have been shortchanged by the formula, part which is divvied up among areas with higher-than-average property taxes.

The bill is cosponsored by Sen. Martin Nesbitt, an Asheville Democrat.

He also filed S.B. 3, entitled "Smoky Mountains National Park Plate Changes" and S.B. 4, entitled "Clarify Emergency Judge Qualifications."

Two other early bills concerned hunting.

Sen. Richard Stevens filed S.B. 5, entitled "Continuing Crossbow Permit/Dealers and Manufacturers." Sen. Julia Boseman filed S.B. 7, which would allow hunting on Sundays.

Boseman also filed S.B. 6, entitled "Beach Plan and Insurance Rate and Deductible Stay." 

State Rep. Deborah Ross wants to let other cities follow Charlotte's model.

The Raleigh Democrat plans to reintroduce a bill that would allow municipalities that come up with regional mass-transit plans levy an additional sales tax to fund it.

A half-cent local sales tax in Mecklenburg County levied since 2007 has paid for city buses and a new light-rail line in Charlotte.

Because they are viewed as to a certain extent voluntary, sales taxes are often more popular than other taxes with voters.

Sen. Richard Stevens, a Cary Republican, is expected to introduce a companion bill. Both bills will also include requirements that municipalities show they have come up with a workable regional plan before levying the tax.

Ross noted that municipalities already have six options for paying for transit systems, including vehicle registration fees, rental car taxes and property taxes.

"This would just add one more option," she said. 

On other issues, she said she would work to maintain the state's funding of the N.C. Housing Trust Fund, expand child care options for community college students, reconsider rules on children testifying in court and keep the State Health Plan affordable.

A federal stimulus package moving through Congress would give North Carolina about $900 million for new road, bridge and transit projects.

State officials say that’s just a few drops in a leaky bucket, reports Bruce Siceloff.

Dwindling receipts from gas and car sales taxes will cut state transportation revenues by $300 million a year for the next three years, state Transportation Secretary Gene Conti told a legislative oversight committee Thursday.

“That $900 million from the federal government sounds great,” Conti said, “but ... you’re kind of just breaking even, if you want to look at it that way.”

The nation’s ninth-largest state deserves a bigger share of the $43 billion federal transportation package, legislators said.

“This is just about two bridges to nowhere, and it doesn’t seem like it’s quite enough for this growing state,” said Sen. David Hoyle, a Gastonia Democrat.

“It sounds almost like they’re dividing the money by 50 for each state,” said Sen. Richard Stevens, a Cary Republican. “Would Rhode Island get just as much as we do? It’s just a drop in the bucket when we’ve got $8 billion in projects waiting to go now.”

Brad Wilson, chairman of a statewide committee that has recommended state and local tax hikes for transportation, said the federal package won’t make a big difference.

“Even with the money that we may receive from Washington,” Wilson told the committee, “we will still need new money.”