State legislators have already asked for $73.8 million.

Seven bills filed on the first two days of the session include spending requests for specific programs, even though the state could be facing a $2 billion shortfall.

The largest request so far is for $44 million to give public school teachers bonuses earned in 2007-08 that were not given out. The smallest is for $25,000 for the Southern Appalachian Historical Association to present the outdoor drama "Horn in the West."

Other spending bills would compensate victims of a state sterilization program, develop a database of those victims, open two family assistance centers for the National Guard, hire social workers for the developmentally disabled, and train teachers to work with preschoolers with cochlear implants.

These kinds of spending bills are typical for the legislature, and many never make it out of committee. In a tight budget year, they will have even less of a chance, however.

Dome will be tracking spending bills over the next few weeks in the spreadsheet below.

More information on those Senate bills is available.

Here are a few of the more interesting bills not already discussed on Dome: 

S.B. 6: Would temporarily stay on higher surcharges under the state's Beach Plan and increases in statewide insurance rate.

S.B. 8: Would appropriate $10 million to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services to hire people to work in community programs for the developmentally disabled.

S.B. 11: Would allow a district attorney or assistant D.A. who has a concealed handgun permit to carry a gun while on duty in the courthouse.

S.B. 12: Would make it an infraction with a $100 fine to use a cell phone while driving except during an emergency. 

S.B. 13: Would increase penalties for injuring a pregnant woman who is past her 20th week of pregnancy and include it as an aggravating factor in felony cases.

S.B. 14: Would transfer the functions of the Occupational Safety and Health division to a new commission not in the N.C. Department of Labor.

A few more Senate bills have been filed:

S.B. 8: Funds for CAP/MR-DD Slots, Sen. Julia Boseman

S.B. 9: Amend Peeping Tom Law, Boseman

S.B. 10: New Hanover Annexation Moratorium, Boseman

S.B. 11: District Attorney and Assistant District Attorney / Concealed Gun in Court House, Boseman

S.B. 12: Ban Mobile Phone Use While Driving, Sen. Charlie Dannelly

S.B. 13: Injury to Pregnant Woman / Penalty, Sen. Doug Berger

S.B. 14: Create Employment Safety and Security Commission, Berger