Under a bill approved by a Senate committee this week, one of the chamber's new members would not have been eligible for appointment to his job.

Sen. Floyd B. McKissick Jr., a Democrat appointed last month, does not live in the district he represents though he owns a house there. McKissick said he has owned homes in each of Durham's Senate districts since 1993.

"I could be a permanent resident within 48 hours," he said. "It's all a matter of where you decide to sleep."

The house is being renovated, McKissick said, and he will establish residency.

The proposed legislation would require an appointee to an office be qualified to vote for that office on the day of appointment.

The issue came up earlier this year in connection with a House appointment. A letter from a special deputy Attorney General said an appointee does not have to live in the district for one year or be a qualified voter in the district.

Rep. Tricia Ann Cotham, the Democrat who replaced former House speaker Jim Black, also moved to her district shortly before her appointment this year.

McKissick would have to live in the district to be qualified to run in the next election.