A pair of bills that would shorten the length of some prison sentences cleared the House Monday and are headed to the governor's desk.

The bills would reduce sentences for some offenders in order to create more prison space and help reduce the prison overcrowding that is steadily growing.

Republicans scolded Democrats during debate for pushing changes that could trim months or years off some sentences.

"The last thing we want to do is say, 'We want to save some money so we’ll let some people out a little early,'" said Rep. Tim Moore, a Cleveland County Republican.

Democrats responded that the legislation was backed by the state's sheriffs, prosecutors and sentencing commission.

"This is a bill that is trying to balance, in a reasonable way, dealing with the overpopulation of prisons," said Rep. Rick Glazier, a Fayetteville Democrat.

The House rejected a bill encouraging grocery stores to provide sanitizing wipes to customers to clean shopping cart handles.

Rep. Ed Jones, a Greensboro Democrat, said he filed the bill after learning that researchers determined shopping carts provided some of the most exposure to germs and were most risky for children under the age of six.

The legislation would have encouraged retailers to provide the wipes and instructed local health departments to promote their use.

The bill quickly drew derisive comments from House Republicans.

Rep. George Cleveland, a Jacksonville Republican, said the bill represented the "nanny state having fun."

"I think we're going to lead our society to the point where we're going to be so sterile, we'll all just have to live in a bubble," he said. "When I grew up, I think the saying was you had to eat a peck of dirt or you wouldn't be a healthy kid, and I believe that."

More after the jump.

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The House voted for a bill Wednesday that would require lawyers to disclose to a judge that a previous judge had rejected a plea bargain.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Tim Moore, a Shelby Republican, would write into law something many lawyers already believe is a matter of good ethical practice, Moore said. The bill arose out of a particular case in which a judge accepted the same plea that a previous judge has rejected.

"What is really boils down to is avoiding the gaming of the system," Moore said.

Moore said pleas are most often rejected because judges believe they are too lienient.

Rep. Phillip Haire, a Sylva Democrat, said the bill was unnecessary because judges could always just ask lawyers if another judge has already rejected a plea.

"We don't need to put this in the statute," Haire said. "Put the burden back on the judge."

The bill is likely to be amended before it moves to the Senate. Rep. Darren Jackson, a Raleigh Democrat, suggested that the burden should only apply to the prosecutor, since the defense lawyer's duty is to do what's best for his or her client.

Recent House bills of note:

H.B. 414: Judicial Appointment/Voter Retention, Rep. Johnathan Rhyne

H.B. 421: Use of Deadly Force/SBI Investigations, Rep. Kelly Alexander

H.B. 427: Counties May Fund Charter Schools, Reps. Tim Moore, George Cleveland, Larry Brown and William Current

H.B. 430: Voter Identification, Reps. Moore, Current, Paul Stam and Ric Killian

H.B. 431: Abortion-Parental Consent Notarized, Reps. Mark Hilton and Pat McElraft

H.B. 432: Conscience Protection/Health Care Providers, Rep. Hilton

Some interesting recent House bills:

H.B. 223: No High School Graduation Project Required, Reps. Jimmy Love and Angela Bryant

H.B. 232: Scholarship Loan for Rural Social Workers, Reps. Larry Bell, Rick Glazier, Marvin Lucas, Marian McLawhorn

H.B. 257: No Seizure of Lawful Firearms in Emergency, Reps. George Cleveland, Mark Hilton, Tim Moore and Laura Wiley

More bills were filed this morning in the House:

H.B. 7: Victory Junction Gang Camp License Plate, Reps. Harold Brubaker, Pat Hurley

H.B. 8: Prohibit Cell Phones in Prison, Rep. Garland Pierce

H.B. 9: No Texting While Driving, Pierce

H.B. 10: Garnish Wages to Satisfy a Judgement, Reps. Tim Moore, Laura Wiley

H.B. 11: Regulation of Golf Carts in Grover, Moore

H.B. 12: Bioptic Lenses/Drivers License Tests

H.B. 13: Horn in the West Funds, Rep. Cullie Tarleton

H.B. 14: Chiropractic Services/Insurance, Tarleton

H.B. 15: Military Family Assistance Centers/Funds, Tarleton

Fred Smith has given $49,090 to Republican candidates and groups in the past 10 years.

According to a quick review of campaign contributions listed on Open Secrets and Follow the Money, the Republican gubernatorial candidate has been pretty generous.

As with Pat McCrory's donations, the biggest beneficiary was the state party. Between 1999 and 2007, Smith gave the party's executive committee $41,548. He's also donated $1,000 to the Republican National Committee.

The top candidate was Tony Moore, who received $4,000 for a state Senate bid in 2004.

He also gave $1,000 to Patrick Ballantine's unsuccessful bid for governor that year. And in a donation he may have come to regret, he gave $406 to Bob Orr's Supreme Court campaign in 2002.

Orr is now running against Smith for the GOP nomination for governor.

A complete list after the jump.

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Rep. Tim Moore told Congress that same-day voter registration will lead to fraud.

In testimony before a House committee today, the Shelby Republican said allowing citizens to register to vote and cast ballots on the same day would increase turnout at the expense of voter confidence.

"If we want only to increase turnout, I suppose we could place a cardboard box on every street corner for a couple of days and invite everyone to simply drop off a ballot at their convenience," he said, according to prepared remarks.

Moore offered a failed amendment to a North Carolina bill that allows voters to register three days before an election that would have required photo identification. He said he intends to put the measure in a new bill in an upcoming session.

He also said that same-day registration did not noticeably improve turnout during the recent municipal elections. 

State Rep. Tim Moore is on Capitol Hill today.

The Shelby Republican will testify before the House Administration Committee on the issue of same-day voter registration, in which citizens can register to vote and cast a ballot on Election Day.

Moore was a strong opponent of a same-day registration bill that passed the state legislature last session. Under the law, which went into effect in September, North Carolina voters could register up to three days before the election.

The bill proved controversial when state Auditor Les Merritt briefly intervened to present early results of an audit of the state voter rolls.

All but two of the legislators who signed a Feb. 27 letter in favor of a proposed Duke Energy Corp. coal plant received money last year from the company's political action committee.

The letter urged the N.C. Utilities Commission to finish public hearings on the Cliffside project, an 800-megawatt coal-fired plant planned by the Charlotte power company in the Blue Ridge foothills.

Of the 23 senators and representatives who signed it, only Republican Reps. Carolyn Justice and Tim Moore did not receive any money from the Duke Energy Corp. PAC in 2006. (Moore received a $500 donation the year before.)

The contributions, which total $59,750, were mostly given around April and September. They range from $1,000 to Rep. Bill Owens, an Elizabeth City Democrat, to $7,000 to Sen. Tom Apodaca, a Hendersonville Republican.

Of the money, $34,750 went to 13 Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand and House Majority Leader Hugh Holliman, and $25,000 went to eight Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Phil Berger.

A full list of the 2006 donations after the jump.

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