Republican Congressional candidate Will Breazeale is putting his money where his mouth is, personally guaranteeing a term limit pledge. 

Breazeale, who is making his second challenge against 7th District Democratic Rep. Mike McIntyre, announced this week that he is guaranteeing his pledge to serve no more than six years in Congress with a $250,000 check secured by personal assets written in a promissory note, Rob Christensen reports. 

If Breazeale is elected and violates his pledge, he would then be obligated to donate the $250,000 to the Cape Fear Volunteer Center-Kids Voting. 

This is part of an effort by a group, based in Pinehurst, called the Alliance for Bonded Term Limits, that is seeking to find ways to ensure that candidates will keep their promises to serve a finite time in Congress. 

The organization reports on its website that three candidates so far have agreed to make bonded pledges. 

Term limits were popular among Republicans in the 1990s, but once elected many changed their minds about the value of term limits. 

Breazeale is an airline pilot and a major in the U.S. Army Reserves. He is also a decorated combat veteran who served in Iraq and Kuwait. 

The Ways and Means Committee has neither ways nor means. Discuss.

As noted elsewhere, the state Senate committee's work belies its brash-sounding title, as it hasn't met since 2001.

That makes it a convenient place for Senate leader Marc Basnight to send bills to die.

Below, the bills sent there so far and what they would (have) do(ne):

S.B. 87: Taxpayers Protection Act: Put constitutional limits on state spending up for a referendum.

S.B. 108: Management of the Striped Bass Fishery: Authorize the Marine Fisheries Commission to create a tradeable quota on striped bass.

S.B. 118 and 119: Four-Year Terms: Lengthen state legislators' terms from two to four years.

S.B. 156: Session Limits: Limit legislature to 90 days in odd-numbered years, 45 in even-numbered.

S.B. 272: Defense of Marriage: Put a ban on gay marriage to the state constitution up for a referendum.

S.B. 329: Right to Hunt: Put a "right to hunt" amendment to the state constitution up for a referendum.

S.B. 351: No Felon as Sheriff: Put a constitutional ban on felons serving as sheriffs up for a referendum.

None of the bills are officially dead until crossover week, however. The committee is chaired by Sen. Charlie Dannelly, one of Basnight's top lieutenants, so a bill could conceivably be resurrected if he changed his mind. 

A bill would limit legislators to four consecutive terms.

Rep. Johnathan Rhyne, a Lincoln County Republican, said he filed the bill to help bring fresh faces to the state legislature.

"When you have people holding office for excessively long periods of time, it stifles new ideas," he said. "If we have some rotation, we'll have fresh faces, fresh ideas and different perspectives."

Rhyne served four terms in the House during the late 1980s and early '90s before retiring. He was re-elected to a fifth term last fall.

He said that he was not concerned that reducing legislative terms might give more power to the staffers and lobbyists who don't leave town. Rather, he argued that long-term legislators tend to become more beholden to the permanent political class.

"The longer you're down here, the more aligned you tend to be with various interest groups," he said.  

Rhyne, a family law attorney, said that he would voluntarily leave office after serving three more terms in the legislature.

The Senate passed a de facto limit on legislative sessions Thursday, voting 37 to 11 to limit the number of days lawmakers will receive their daily expense reimbursement for food and lodging.

The idea is that if legislators don't receive their $104 a day for expenses, they won't want to stay in session. They would be limited to 135 days in odd-numbered or "long" session years and 60 days in even-numbered years. The bill's chief sponsor, Sen. Tony Rand, said he is taking this approach after several attempts to put a limit on the number of days for a session, which the Senate passed in previous years but the House rejected.

"If we do not get some control over the length of time we spend here," said Rand, a Fayetteville Democrat and Senate majority leader, "we do damage to the institution of the legislature."

Opponents said the bill suggested lawmakers were in office only for money, despite the $13,951 salary, and didn't allow for extraordinary circumstances when legislators need to keep working past a certain date.

"There should be a return on the investment of time," said Sen. Malcolm Graham, a Charlotte Democrat.

Senators overwhelmingly approved a companion bill to convene an organizing session in January but not return to Raleigh for three weeks when committees are named and debate on bills can begin.

Joe Sinsheimer says Thomas Wright's lawyer is wrong.

In defending Wright of criminal charges, attorney Doug Harris implied Wednesday that Sinsheimer was working on behalf of Senate leadership, who wanted Wright out of office.

The campaign finance activist told the Insider that the charge was ridiculous.

"It's a bald-faced lie. I'm not doing any work for (Senate Majority Leader Tony) Rand or (Senate leader Marc) Basnight," he said.

He noted that his original complaint from May of 2006 alleging that legislators hid connections to payday lenders named 12 senators, including high-ranking Democrats. 

In an e-mail to Dome, Sinsheimer added that he has been outspoken on the issue of term limits for legislative leadership and the inclusion of non-budgetary items in the state budget, positions that have not endeared him to the long-serving Senate leadership.