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Some last-minute Senate approvals

As the Senate readied to end their session and leave Raleigh on Friday, they worked late into Thursday night passing a flurry of bills. A few notable bills that received the chamber's approval:

HB 713: Increases the tax credit for movie production companies that some say will cost the state money. The bill resembles a similar tax credit that was winding its way through the legislature earlier this session. The bill goes back to the House for final approval.

HB 1261: Makes it a criminal offense to engage in "cyber bullying," which the act defines as intimidating or tormenting minors online by following them into chat rooms, repeatedly contacting them, posting pictures without their consent or engaging in a number of other actions. It now goes back to the House for concurrence.

SB 293: Originally would have allowed deaf citizens to serve on juries to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, but the House removed that provision of the bill. The version that passed the Senate tonight only requires that the register of deeds store an electronic copy of the juror list. It now goes to the governor's desk.

HB 274: Makes about a dozen technical changes to the General Statutes to clarify wording. A notable change: the law prohibiting blue lights on vehicles other than police cars would not apply to non-functional lights. So fire up that replica ghost-busting Ectomobile. Seriously. A replica ghost-busting vehicle was the reason for this change. The Senate ain't 'fraid of no ghosts.

House not ready for deaf jurors

The House voted to send back to committee a bill meant to bring the state's procedure on seating deaf jurors into compliance with federal law.

State law has been contrary to the Americans with Disabilities Act because it says deaf jurors cannot be seated as jurors. In practice, the Administrative Office of the Courts has advised judges and other court officials to allow deaf people to remain in jury pools and to have an interpreter assigned to them.

Opponents of the bill, primary lawyers, have expressed concern that the bill could force lawyers to seat a deaf juror.

"if you're going to be in court and you're going to have your case heard, you want to make sure you're being heard," said Rep. Bill Faison, an Orange County Democrat.

Faison said his concern was over whether the change would force a lawyer to use one of their limited supply of peremptory challenges that allow a lawyer to reject a juror for any reason.

Rep. Rick Glazier, a Fayetteville Democrat, said opponents were making much out of a bill that needed to pass.

"This is simply a conforming change that we're required to do since our state has been out of compliance and illegal under the ADA," Glazier said.

More after the jump.

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