The Conservation Council of N.C. recognized seven state politicians for environmental work.

For its annual "Green Tie" awards, the Raleigh-based nonprofit honored Attorney General Roy Cooper, state Sen. Ellie Kinnaird and state Reps. Angela Bryant, Ruth Samuelson, Cullie Tarleton, Jennifer Weiss and Paul Luebke.

Cooper was praised for having a team of lawyers fight the Tennessee Valley Authority over air pollution.

Bryant, Samuelson and Tarleton were recognized for their support for a smoking ban and bills on energy efficiency and water conservation.

Weiss and Kinnaird were singled out as representative and senator of the year.

Luebke received the "Defender of the Environment" award, the highest award given this year. 

"At the Legislature, it was a short time ago very few people talked about the need to protect the environment and public health," said board president Nina Szlosberg.

She said business and environmental groups now work together.

The legislature is leaning to the left this session.

North Carolina lawmakers are approvign bills tha push liberal ideals such as more comprehensive sex ed, no plastic bags at grocery stores and more protection for minorities in death penalty cases.

Many of the bills have gone nowhere in recent years.

The cast of characters in the legislature remains the same, but Democratic leaders have gone farther than simply shelving hot-button Republican bills on gay marriage or abortion.

"It's Obama's coattails," said Rep. Ruth Samuelson, a Charlotte Republican. "There's sort of a presumption that certain things are more politically acceptable than they were two years ago."

The bills have moved through the House and the Senate. (N&O) 

The House voted for bills requiring the state to recycle thermostats and prohibiting the sale of lottery tickets at check cashing sites.

HB 1287: Requires the state to recycle items from state-owned facilities that contain mercury, such as thermostats or flourescent light bulbs. The bill requires the state to remove those objects and recycle before demolishing buildings.

HB 1289: Prohibits the sale of lottery tickets by business whose primary purpose is to cash checks. The bill doesn't apply to grocery stores or other similar businesses that also cash checks. The idea, supporters say, is to limit lottery sales in a place that serves people who may have financial problems.

"In these check-cashing places, they sell almost nothing else," said Rep. Ruth Samuelson, a Charlotte Repubilcan.

Some recent House bills:

H.B. 512: Incentives for Energy Conservation, Reps. Hugh Holliman, Pricey Harrison and Paul Luebke

H.B. 516: Increase Revenues Without Raising Taxes, Rep. Paul Stam

H.B. 518: Lottery Name Changed, Reps. John Blust, Thom Tillis, Ruth Samuelson and Darrell McCormick

H.B. 539: Merge Smart Start/More at Four, Reps. Ray Rapp, Rick Glazier, Bob England and Marvin Lucas

H.B. 586: Expand Voter-Owned Elections, Reps. Glazier, Deborah Ross, Rapp and Grier Martin

Rep. Ruth Samuelson
Charlotte Republican
Second Term

What two things would you cut in the state budget? "No matter where you cut you're going to get grief," Samuelson said, adding that she would not cut from criminal justice, transportation or certain aspects of Health and Human Services. Anything else would be in contention, she said.

Are there any taxes you would be in favor of increasing? "The truth is families cannot go out and just earn more money in a down economy, so why would we go out and raise taxes?"

— Ben Niolet 

The state House will have 38 women next session.

Nearly two-thirds of the women are from cities with more than 20,000 residents, including a third who represent urban areas in Wake, Mecklenburg and Guilford counties.

Charlotte is the best represented, with five women: Reps. Becky Carney, Martha Alexander, Beverly Earle, Tricia Cotham and Ruth Samuelson. Greensboro has three and Raleigh two.

The women from smaller towns hale from Grifton, Wilkesboro, Louisburg, Emerald Isle, Dallas, Ahoskie, Mocksville, Farmville, Hamlet, Mebane, Mount Airy, Hampstead and Hendersonville. Rep. Linda Coleman is from Knightdale, a close suburb of Raleigh.

Twenty-six of the women are Democrats; 12, Republicans.

The longest serving is Republican Rep. Julia Howard of Mocksville, now in her 11th term, followed by Democratic Reps. Martha Alexander of Charlotte and Maggie Jeffus of Greensboro, now in their ninth terms. Four new women were elected for the first time this year.

The women make up 32 percent of the 120-member House.

John McCain is hosting house parties across North Carolina tonight.

The Republican presidential candidate will host approximately 70 events around the state, including Raleigh, Asheville, Greensboro and Fayetteville.

The Charlotte event will be at the home of state Rep. Ruth Samuelson.

The parties are part of the McCain campaign's effort to sign up voters and organize volunteers. Those in attendance at the "McCain Nation" events will also get a chance to hear Cindy McCain speak on a conference call.  

Opponents of same-sex marriage are making another attempt to amend the state's constitution to ensure such unions do not become law in North Carolina.

Today, they announced new legislation that gives voters the opportunity to vote for a constitutional amendment that defines marriage as "the union of one man and one woman at one time," Dan Kane reports.

Several Republican lawmakers at a news conference today said the recent court decision in California throwing out that state's ban on same-sex marriages makes it urgent that lawmakers take up the legislation. North Carolina law already prevents same-sex marriages.

"We think because of the importance of marriage, as the real building block of our society, we feel that the people of North Carolina deserve the right to vote on should our constitution be amended to make sure that someone's lawsuit filed somewhere in our state, that falls upon the ears of a favorable judge, can not be used to invalidate the law of this state," said Rep. David Lewis, a Harnett County Republican.

No Democrats attended the conference, but supporters provided a list of 66 House members, including several Democrats, who have signed on as sponsors. House and Senate leaders, however, have blocked efforts in the past several years to bring the referendum legislation to the floor for a full vote.

More after the jump.

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Fred Smith is advertising in Charlotte.

In a half-page ad in the Charlotte Observer Sunday, the Republican gubernatorial candidate boasts of his endorsements from state legislators.

"The Stampede Has Begun!" crows the headline, above a picture of a herd of elephants.

The ad, which ran in color on page 22A in the Big Picture weekly section, lists 16 state representatives and 17 state senators who have endorsed Smith's campaign. It includes six from Mecklenburg County: Reps. Jim Gulley, Ric Killian, Ruth Samuelson and Thom Tillis, Sen. Eddie Goodall and former Sen. Bob Rucho.

The copy of the ad is generic, but it aims to sound local.

"The charge from our region to Raleigh is just geting started as Fred Smith, supported by an impressive assortment of local Republican leaders, is committed to providing innovative solutions to transportation, education, immigration and taxation problems in North Carolina," it reads.

Dome doesn't know if the ad is running elsewhere, but the timing may have been influenced by Mayor Pat McCrory's possible bid.

Twenty-four legislators did not get paid for every day.

According to state records, 17 representatives and seven senators asked not to receive their $104 per diems for at least one day during the 2007 session.

Reps. Angela Bryant, William Current, Annie Mobley, Deborah Ross, John Blust, Bill Daughtridge, Laura Wiley, Ruth Samuelson, Pryor Gibson, David Lewis, Mitchell Setzer, Paul Stam, Jennifer Weiss, Martha Alexander, Pricey Harrison, Alice Bordsen and Paul Luebke did not receive pay for every day.

Luebke was the lowest, receiving pay for just 178 days.

Sens. William Purcell, Fred Smith, Clark Jenkins, Harris Blake, Tom Apodaca, Janet Cowell and Marc Basnight did not receive pay for all 191 days of session.

Basnight was the lowest, receiving pay for just 176 days.

Under state policy, legislators automatically receive pay for every day of session, regardless of whether they attend, unless they specifically ask not to be paid for that day.