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A new Republican consulting group is setting up shop.

Chris Sinclair of Public Solutions and Alastair Macaulay of Cornerstone Strategy and Communications announced that they will merge.

The new firm, called Cornerstone Solutions, will be a full-service political consulting, strategic communications and issue management firm in North Carolina.

Sinclair said in an e-mail to Dome that they plan to fill the void left by the retirement of Tom Fetzer and Mark Stephens after the November elections.

"We're the new (Republican) kids on the block," he said.

The two consultants have a lot of experience on the hot-button issue of real estate. Both have helped the N.C. Association of Realtors successfully fend off land transfer taxes nearly two dozen times and another campaign against allowing counties to have the tax.

Alastair is the former political director for the N.C. Home Builders Association.

The firm will have an office in West Palm Beach, Fla., headed by Rick Asnani, and in Raleigh and Washington, D.C.

A familiar face will be missing when the legislature reconvenes next year.

Veteran lobbyist Paul Wilms is retiring at the end of the year, Rob Christensen reports.

For the past eight years, Wilms has been chief lobbyist for the N.C. Homebuilders Association, but he has worked for the homebuilders since 1990.

In recent years, the group has been a key force in the debate over real estate transfer taxes.

The new lobbyist will be Lisa D. Martin, who has been the homebuilders' director of regulatory affairs since 2001.

Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated Martin's job.

* Don Vaughan, Paul Gibson, Melvin "Skip" Alston also mentioned as possible replacements for state Sen. Kay Hagan in legislature. (Capital Beat)

* N.C. Association of Realtors and N.C. Home Builders Association are spending at least $441,000 to finance 15 local groups fighting transfer taxes. (Char-O)

* U.S. Sen. Richard Burr has gone through a six-week crash course on veterans' issues since taking over committee spot from Sen. Larry Craig. (Politico)

* U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick and three other former Charlotte mayors urge voters not to overturn half-cent sales tax for public transit. (Char-O)

The holdouts on a transfer tax live in swing districts.

Many of the senators who are opposed to allowing counties the option of levying a tax on real estate sales to pay for schools and local services live in areas that switch between Republican and Democratic control.

Voters in their districts are seeing ads funded by Realtors that tell them to "Fight the Home Tax."

Realtors and home builders rank first and second in campaign contributions in the last election, handing out a combined $816,000 in campaign contributions to legislators.

Several of the legislators say they oppose the tax because it could hurt the local economy. (N&O)

The latest lobbying reports show that the N.C. Association of Realtors has spent another $109,000 on lobbying and advertising campaigns largely aimed at stopping lawmakers from giving voters the opportunity to adopt a land transfer tax. The reports also show that a partnership of public officials and businesses has also spent serious money on the other side.

The Partnership for North Carolina's Future spent over $400,000 on advertising, polling and consulting, according to its latest report. A couple of the groups that are a members of the partnership, the N.C. Association of County Commissioners and greenspace advocate Land for Tomorrow have also spent $138,000 or more, according to lobbying reports. Land for Tomorrow lists a $200,000 payment to the partnership for its "publicity ad campaign," money that has yet to be spent on lobbying or advertising.

Read more after the jump.

All that appears to be preventing an agreement among House and Senate Democrats on taxes for the state budget and a plan to help counties with their Medicaid bills is a .4 percent land transfer tax.

House Democrats want it as part of a deal to help counties with their Medicaid bills. But Senate Democrats balked after meeting behind closed doors for two hours this afternoon with lobbyists for the homebuilding and real estate businesses camped outside, reports Dan Kane.

Senate leaders would only say they had no deal late Thursday afternoon.

"No decision is sometimes a victory," said Paul Wilms, a lobbyist for the N.C. Home Builders Association.

Read more after the jump.

A major North Carolina home builder does not oppose a transfer tax.

KB Home announced today that it has joined the Partnership for North Carolina's Future, a group of nonprofits campaigning for more state investment in roads, conservation and affordable housing.

Among the solutions the partnership proposes: Giving more counties the authority to levy a 1 percent tax on real estate sales.

The N.C. Home Builders Association has opposed transfer taxes for years, calling it "unfair" and "discriminatory." The Wake County chapter even included it on a list of "anti-business" issues "likely to rear their ugly heads" this session.

Tim Pittman, a spokesman for KB Home, said that the company does not feel quite as strongly.

"We've not specifically endorsed a transfer tax at this point, but we're open to the idea," he said.