Sen. Ed Jones says filing a spending bill is like buying insurance.

The Halifax County Democrat has filed 10 bills seeking a total of $17.2 million in special appropriations.

He said that he knows with the state facing at least a $2 billion shortfall that chances are slim any of his projects will get funding.

But he said that he wants to make sure he's in line in case some extra money is found.

"I want my insurance policy out there just in case something does happen," he said. "People sent me up here to look after their best interest, and this is in their best interest."

All of Jones' proposals are for spending in the seven counties he represents: Repairing the historic Hope Plantation in Windsor, the Newbold-White House in Hertford, and the Barker House in Edenton; building a public library and a Boys and Girls Club in Ahoskie; replacing a high school roof and building a senior center in Gates County; and upgrading a child care facility.

The largest bill is for $11.8 million to expand and run the N.C. Center for Automotive Research in Jackson.

Jones said the spending is especially needed in the poorer northeastern counties he represents, saying it's comparable to a lottery ticket.

"You can't win if you don't play," he said.

State legislators have now asked for $93.2 million.

Eight more bills filed since Dome last checked have added another $5.3 million for specific programs, even as the state faces a $2 billion shortfall.

The largest request of the most recent batch is for $1.3 million for the N.C. Military Business Center at Fayetteville Technical Community College. The smallest request is for $10,000 to help Rhema Educational Services upgrade a child care facility.

Two bills are companions to $11.8 million already requested for a driving course and other facilities at the N.C. Center for Automotive Research and $575,000 to train teachers to work with children who have cochlear implants.

Other spending bills would fund a business incubator at the Partnership for Defense Innovation, support the N.C. Center for Advancement of Teaching's programs for teachers in their first three years, clean up groundwater contamination at the Texfi site in Fayetteville, and build a senior center in Gates County.

The new bills also call for another $2.3 million to be spent in the 2010-11 budget year, for a total of $10.2 million in future spending requests.