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In the closing days of the legislative session, House Speaker Thom Tillis staked a claim on the state’s sputtering economy, even though his party blames Democrats for the current situation.

“This is our economy,” Tillis said. “I am fully confident. I want to own this economy. It is our responsibility. We did a good job of starting, and we’ve got a lot of unraveling to do of bad policies that have hamstrung us that cannot be undone overnight.” 

But the GOP record on the economy remains debatable, especially in a rural county that needs jobs. Read more here.

More political headlines:

--Get a scorecard from the Republican-controlled two-year legislative session here.

At the statehouse, North Carolina's people are prohibited from visiting the second floor - the floor where lobbyists lobby and lawmakers make laws. The rule is posted on a concrete wall in the lobby, written in roughly 12-point font, behind glass and a black frame, tucked in a corner behind a leafy potted tree.

The language is nearly 25 years old, and few lawmakers knew it even existed until Thursday, when House Speaker Thom Tillis' office invoked it - for first time in anyone's memory - to clear a group of demonstrators from the hall outside his office. Read more here.

In other news:

-- Democrat Brad Miller says he won't run for governor and Republican Pat McCrory declared in a Raleigh event he's halfway to his goal. And Republicans rallied against President Barack Obama in Charlotte.

House Speaker Thom Tillis took the brunt of the criticism and tough questions about the midnight special session. In an interview Thursday afternoon with our Charlotte Observer colleague Jim Morrill, the Mecklenberg County Republican didn't back down. In fact, he said he'd do it again, if needed.

But then later in the interview, Tillis said such actions should be rare. And he even suggested the House didn't attempt to override the Energy Jobs Act, a bill reviled by environmentalists, because of transparency concerns.

Here's a few edited Q&As with the Republican speaker courtesy of Morrill.