The legislature gave final approval Thursday to a bill that could slow foreclosures if there's a chance a homeowner could catch up on payments.

The bill, which now heads to Gov. Beverly Perdue's desk, would allow judicial officials to halt foreclosure proceedings if there's a good reason to think more time could help.

Attorney General Roy Cooper praised the bill in a statement Thursday. The bill also bars debt collectors from certain unfair or predatory practices.

"When a house goes into foreclosure, a family loses its home, neighbors lose property value and the lender loses money," Cooper said. "We're giving homeowners and lenders more time to work out solutions to foreclosure."

Convicted felons will be allowed to challenge their death sentences on grounds of racial bias according to a law that passed the Senate on Wednesday night.

The N.C. Racial Justice Act, which passed by a vote of 25-18, would allow defendants to challenge death sentences using statistical evidence that shows that race was a factor in imposition of the death penalty at a local or state level. The bill still requires the governor's approval.

"The need for this bill is self evident to prevent any type of conduct that would be impermissible when it comes to the imposition of the death penalty," said Sen. Floyd McKissick, a Durham Democrat an the bill's sponsor.

When the bill originally passed the Senate, it did so with amendments that would end a de facto moratorium on executions created when physicians refused to participate. The House removed those provisions when it passed its version of the bill.

Opponents of the bill said it will end the imposition of the death penalty in North Carolina.

"Concurring in the House version of this bill is a vote to say we should not have a death penalty in North Carolina," said Sen. Phil Berger, the chamber's Republican leader.