Walter Dalton wasn't paid for acting as governor.

The lieutenant governor served in the place of Gov. Beverly Perdue while she was on a vacation out of the state last week. 

State law says he should have been paid her salary, too:

During the period that any individual serves as Acting Governor ... his compensation shall be at the rate then provided by law in the case of the Governor.

It's not much of a pay raise. The governor makes $139,590 a year and the lieutenant governor $123,198, so the difference would be $63.04 for each day he was in charge.

But Dalton did not take the extra money.

"He has not received her salary at all," said Sherri Johnson, a spokeswoman for the Office of the State Controller, which cuts pay checks to state officials. "He didn't get that, and he didn't ask for it."

She said they are not aware of any recent lieutenant governor who has received the additional pay while acting as governor. 

VACATION LOCATION: Less than a month into her term as governor, Gov. Beverly Perdue went on a weeklong vacation with her husband at an "undisclosed location" out of state. It's not all fun though. Instead of, say, a John Grisham page-turner, she's apparently reading state budget books on the beach. A Time to .. Cut Spending?

FILING FILL: The bills keep coming. Legislation introduced at the General Assembly this week would outlaw a hallucinogenic herb, make high schoolers take art, let the governor appoint the schools superintendent, deny bail to illegal immigrants, and end a subsidy for out-of-state athletes. More than 335 bills have been filed so far.

THROWING LONG: U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler, a Democrat from Waynesville, did some pretty public trash talking about the stimulus bill, criticizing Democratic leaders for not getting more GOP buy-in. They hit back with criticism of his record on the Washington Redskins. But Shuler, who is mulling a run for Senate in 2010, may be thinking of other opponents.

IN OTHER NEWS: A Fayetteville Observer reporter joins the growing ranks of blogger-reporters. No bathrobes spotted in the press room at the legislature, yet. ... President Obama chatted about the Duke-Carolina game at a White House roundtable, but he studiously avoided taking sides. There's your bipartisanship. ... The legislature is considering a resolution to honor former lobbyist Roger Bone. It's one bill he wouldn't have had to lobby on.

Rep. Marvin Lucas isn't sure if he's going to vote for his own bill.

When the Cumberland County Democrat first filed House Bill 359 in February of 2007, it was entitled a bill to "Restore Flexibility to School Calendar."

As it was then written, the bill would give local school boards back the power to start and end the school year when they wanted. A previous bill, backed by the tourism industry, had set the start date as no earlier than Aug. 25.

Lucas, a former teacher and principal, said that means some school districts hold finals after the winter break, which is not ideal for students.

The bill passed the House in April of 2007, but when it came back from the Senate this week all mentions of school calendars had been stripped. The new title: "An Act to Promote American Citizenship Efforts by Encouraging Voting by Eligible High School Students."

"It's been gutted," Lucas said. "It no longer bears any resemblance to the one we sent over."

He said he'll have to read the bill to see what's in it before he decides whether to vote to concur with the Senate version this afternoon.

Supporters of a state law that restricts school systems from cutting into summer vacation time plan to rally Saturday in Emerald Isle.

Ronnie Watson, owner of the Holiday Trav-L-Park Resort, said at least 400 people are scheduled to a beachside rally from 5 to 8 p.m. in support of a 2004 law that requires the academic year to end by June 10 and start no earlier than Aug. 25, Jerry Allegood reports.

Parents, tourism-related businesses and coastal town leaders contended that longer school years were cutting into family vacations.

Watson is a supporter of Save Our Summers, which championed the 2004 law and opposed a bill this year to weaken it.

Treasurer Richard Moore, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor, will address the gathering, according to Watson. Other state politicians will also attend.

More after the jump.

Correction: A previous version of this post incorrectly stated that Watson was a board member.

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