A number of top state Democrats are at Camp Lejeune.

Gov. Beverly Perdue, Speaker Joe Hackney and Secretary of State Elaine Marshall just arrived for a speech on the military by President Obama.

Perdue's chief lobbyist, Andy Willis, and spokeswoman, Chrissy Pearson, came with the group. U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan and Rep. David Price came separately.

The speech will be held at the Goettge Memorial Field House, which Marines use to play basketball, but there's not going to be a chance for the hoops-loving president to take any shots today.

Several hundred Marines are in folding chairs on the court floor, awaiting the president.

Update: U.S. Reps. Mike McIntyre, Brad Miller and Larry Kissell; Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin; Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand; and state Reps. Russell Tucker, Grier Martin and Alice Underhill are also here.

Second Update: Defense Secretary Robert Gates, National Security Adviser James L. Jones, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Adm. Mike Mullen, Lt. Gen. Dennis Hejlik of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force and senior Obama advisor David Axelrod were also at the event.

A few notable House bills filed:

H.B. 132: Jury Duty Tax Deduction, Rep. Timothy Spear

H.B. 133: Prudent Management of Institutional Funds, Rep. Deborah Ross

H.B. 134: Assault State or Local Officer or Employee, Rep. Russell Tucker

H.B. 135: Broadband Service Providers, Reps. Bill Faison, Joe Tolson, Phil Haire and Thom Tillis

H.B. 137: Capital Procedure / Severe Mental Disability, Reps. Verla Insko, Pricey Harrison, Larry Womble and Paul Luebke

H.B. 149: Require Arts Educ. Credit for Graduation, Reps. Becky Carney, Rick Glazier, Alma Adams and Linda Johnson

H.B. 154: Appoint State Superintendent, Rep. Leo Daughtry

H.B. 155: Appoint State School Superintendent, Reps. Haire, Harold Brubaker, Johnson and Marvin Lucas

Rep. Russell Tucker isn't trying to start something.

He just wants to help a friend.

The Lenoir County Democrat filed a bill this week that would allow certain retired judges to officiate at weddings in North Carolina.

He said the bill is intended to help his friend, retired N.C. Appeals Court Judge Eddie Greene. He's not even sure of the details.

"I have no idea who it is he wants to marry," he said.

The problem comes from the fact that under state law, only magistrates and ordained ministers can perform weddings. (Trust Dome. We ran into this statute planning our own wedding.)

The bill would create an odd legal scenario: A state judge couldn't perform a wedding — but a retired state judge could. Past legislation to expand officiants has run up against opposition from judges who would rather not have the extra duty.

Tucker said he didn't care about all that.

"I just think they should pass my bill and forget about the rest of that," he said.

A few more bills have been filed in the House:

H.B. 15: Military Family Assistance Center / Funds, Rep. Cullie Tarleton

H.B. 16: Retired Judge May Perform Marriage, Rep. Russell Tucker

H.B. 17: Asheboro Satellite Annexation, Rep. Harold Brubaker

H.B. 18: Speech Language Pathologist Qualifications, Rep. Bill Faison

H.B. 19: MLK's 80th Birthday / Obama Inauguration, Reps. Larry Womble, Paul Luebke, Jennifer Weiss, Earline Parmon

H.B. 20: Compensate Eugenics Sterilization Survivors, Reps. Womble, Parmon, Ronnie Sutton and Martha Alexander

A campaign finance reform group has praised 21 legislators for their openness.

Democracy North Carolina identified a group of state lawmakers who are doing "a superior job" identifying occupations and employers of their donors on campaign finance forms.

Though candidates are required to make their best effort to identify all donors, many fall short, listing only names, dates and amounts.

The group singled out legislators who raised more than $15,000 and provided full information on 98 percent or more of donors, including Senate President Marc Basnight and House Speaker Joe Hackney, both Democrats.

From the House: Democrats Tricia Cotham, Jim Crawford, Margaret Dickson, Rick Glazier, Bruce Goforth, Deborah Ross, Russell Tucker, Jennifer Weiss and Verla Insko, and Republican David Lewis.

From the Senate: Democrats Charlie Albertson, Doug Berger, Linda Garrou, Clark Jenkins, A.B. Swindell and Republicans Pete Brunstetter, Neal Hunt, Richard Stevens and Jerry Tillman.

"It's crucial for the public to have the full picture about the candidates before they vote — and the pattern of where a campaign’s money comes from is an important part of that picture," said Kaitlin Stollbrink, an intern at Democracy North Carolina.

N.C. Rep. Russell Tucker said he has some magic words that allowed him to pull off an unusual feat: getting money slipped into the state budget bill that had not appeared in either the House or Senate spending plans.

Tucker, a Duplin County Democrat, persuaded House legislative leaders to include $500,000 for a proposed Museum of the Marine in Jacksonville, which is home to Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. Tucker's district includes a small portion of Onslow County, Dan Kane reports.

The money is to help the nonprofit seeking to build the museum complete an architectural plan.Tucker said the museum has a $35 million price tag. He said the state put in roughly $1 million in planning money about two years ago.

This year, Tucker filed a bill seeking $5 million from the state for the museum. The bill went nowhere. So, he embarked on a lobbying campaign that went all the way up to House Speaker Joe Hackney.

"I think I spoke to them all," Tucker said. "I left no stone unturned."

More after the jump.

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Rep. Thomas Wright was on paid leave.

The Wilmington Democrat was one of 15 state lawmakers who were paid for the two-day special session even though they didn't show up for at least one day, according to a story in the Wilmington Star-News.

As per his usual routine, Wright did not return calls to a reporter.

According to the Wilmington Star-News, checks were sent to Wright and Reps. Becky Carney, Jerry Dockham, Phil Haire, Hugh Holliman, George Holmes, Edgar Starnes, Russell Tucker and R. Tracy Walker and Sens. Katie Dorsett, Eddie Goodall, Malcolm Graham, Jim Jacumin and Clark Jenkins.

Reps. Jeff Barnhart and Ric Killian were absent and asked not to be paid. Rep. Karen Ray missed the second day and asked not to be paid for it.

Two lawmakers — Reps. Ty Harrell and Grier Martin — were present, but asked not to be paid anyway.

Correction: The absences are based on final roll-call votes on the second day of the session. Sens. Jacumin, Dorsett and Goodall were in session on Sept. 10, according to votes taken that day. No roll calls were taken in the House on Sept. 10.

A dozen legislators were absent from yesterday's special session.

On the House side, nine representatives had excused absences, according to a roll call of the vote on the session's rules. They include House Majority Leader Hugh Holliman, who is recuperating from surgery, and Rep. Thomas Wright, who is recuperating from self-inflicted political damage.

Others are Reps. Jeff Barnhart, Becky Carney, Jerry Dockham, Phil Haire, Ric Killian, Edgar Starnes and Russell Tucker. All had voted for the second reading and conference report on the original bill, except Tucker, who had an excused absence on the latter.

On the Senate side, three members had excused absences, according to a roll call of a vote on a measure commemorating Appalachian State's win over Michigan.

They are Sens. Malcolm Graham, Clark Jenkins and Don East. Graham and Jenkins voted for the second reading; East against.

Correction: An earlier version of this post named the wrong senators.

The legislature passed a resolution Tuesday that paid tribute to the late Dallas Herring, known as "the father of community colleges" in North Carolina.

Rep. Russell Tucker shared his memories of Herring and pointed out that Herring, in addition to his role in the creation of the Community College System, also served as the chairman of the State Board of Education during the tumultuous time of desegregation.

"He was the right man for the job," Tucker said. "He was a man of education, and everyone in this chamber has benefitted from the contributions of Dallas Herring."

Herring’s two brothers and their wives observed from the House gallery.

In the Senate, Sen. Charles Albertson called Herring “One of the greatest men I’ve ever known. He wasn’t focused on himself, but on his fellow man.”

Herring died in January at age 90. A former mayor of Rose Hill, he had an extensive home library and a passion for education. He led the State Board of Education from 1957 to 1977. In the late 1950s, he pushed a plan for industrial education centers and then the creation in 1963 of the state's community college system, which now enrolls more than 800,000 students at 58 campuses.