As the Senate readied to end their session and leave Raleigh on Friday, they worked late into Thursday night passing a flurry of bills. A few notable bills that received the chamber's approval:

HB 713: Increases the tax credit for movie production companies that some say will cost the state money. The bill resembles a similar tax credit that was winding its way through the legislature earlier this session. The bill goes back to the House for final approval.

HB 1261: Makes it a criminal offense to engage in "cyber bullying," which the act defines as intimidating or tormenting minors online by following them into chat rooms, repeatedly contacting them, posting pictures without their consent or engaging in a number of other actions. It now goes back to the House for concurrence.

SB 293: Originally would have allowed deaf citizens to serve on juries to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, but the House removed that provision of the bill. The version that passed the Senate tonight only requires that the register of deeds store an electronic copy of the juror list. It now goes to the governor's desk.

HB 274: Makes about a dozen technical changes to the General Statutes to clarify wording. A notable change: the law prohibiting blue lights on vehicles other than police cars would not apply to non-functional lights. So fire up that replica ghost-busting Ectomobile. Seriously. A replica ghost-busting vehicle was the reason for this change. The Senate ain't 'fraid of no ghosts.

NOBODY LIKES NOBODY: The popularity recession has settled in for most N.C. politicians. Gov. Beverly Perdue, with basement-dwelling approval ratings less than six months into her first term, travelled the state to rally support from unimpressed teachers and Democrats. The raspberries are bipartisan: both U.S. Senators Kay Hagan and Richard Burr's numbers are down. President Barack Obama is slipping, and his policies are less popular than the man.

SPARE A FEW THOUSAND DIMES? One state resident isn't worried about layoffs. Jeff Wilson of Kings Mountain took home $29 million, after taxes, when his father gave him a Powerball ticket that hit the jackpot. (Gotta figure Wilson is apologizing for having ignored any past fatherly advice). We get this question a lot, so before you ask, the lottery can't fix the state's budget problems because it raises only a small fraction of the state's education spending and state law mandates lottery profits go to four specific programs.

PLASTICS, PESTERING AND POTTY TIPPING: The legislature has been on an outlawing binge. It has banned plastic bags on the coast, bullying in schools and vandalizing portable toilets.

IN OTHER NEWS: The state got most of its deposit money back for a private jet officials decided not to buy after all. A new film production tax credit would lose money for the state at first. And Obama does still occasionally smoke, but that's not why he signed into law sweeping new regulatory authority over cigarettes.

North Carolina lawmakers are pushing through a hefty increase in the tax credit for movie makers even though a study commissioned by the state film office says the state would lose money on the deal for at least two years.

The experience other states have had with film credits suggest such an incentive might not pay for itself, leading some Republicans to question giving such a tax break as the state's cash crunch puts teachers in the unemployment line.

But representatives of the film industry and North Carolina's film office say the payoff will be down the road. They argue that the tax credit will lure jobs to the state.

As a bonus, Screen Gems Studios, which already operates studios in Wilmington, has pledged to build a production studio in Charlotte if the state increases the handout to Hollywood.

The Senate on Wednesday gave final approval to legislation that would raise the film tax credit from 15 percent to 25 percent of qualifying expenditures in the state.

The bill now goes to the House. (N&O)

The Senate approved a bill Tuesday that boosts the tax credits given to film companies that make their movies in North Carolina.

The legislation, aimed at luring more of Hollywood's business, gives the filmmakers a 25 percent tax credit on qualifying expenditures they make in the state, up from 15 percent.

Supporters emphasized that the state doesn't pay anything unless the movie companies create jobs and spend money, while critics questioned handouts for Hollywood at a time that state services and potentially jobs are being cut.

A group of Democrat and Republican lawmakers at a news conference today pushed for a tax credit for the parents of special needs children that gives them the option of placing them in a private school with appropriate services.

House Minority Leader Paul Stam, an Apex Republican, called the legislation a "win-win situation," Dan Kane reports. He and the other advocates say that it would cost the state about $2.5 million in credits, but save counties about $6 million in educational expenses.

"The public schools lose nothing from this bill," Stam said. "They will have more money for fewer students."

The conference also featured a Charlotte couple who said their seven-year-old son would greatly benefit from the tax credit because the public school system has not been able to adequately provide for his needs.

Brandon Petruk has a condition that has rendered him nearly incapable of speech and unable to be comfortable among large groups of children, said his parents, Leslie and Trevor Petruk. They said the Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools still placed him in a full classroom with teachers who did not use sign language and his skills regressed.

"It was horrible," Leslie Petruk said.

More after the jump.

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U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole has proposed a tax break to fight hunger.

Dole announced a bill that would give transportation companies a 25-cent tax credit for each mile they transport food for a charity.

She noted that transportation is a major problem for food banks and Meals on Wheels programs.

"This bill would provide a little extra encouragement for trucking companies to donate space in their vehicles to help more food reach more hungry people," she said in a statement.

The Hunger Relief Trucking Tax Credit was first proposed in 2005, but Dole highlighted it today as part of Hunger Awareness Day.