Session's end and marijuana?

So, I keep hearing from folks working on the budget they are intent on wrapping up the budget next week (it's supposed to be done by Monday night but that won't happen). Anyway, conventional wisdom is it takes two weeks to wrap up session after the budget.

I've had three dates thrown at me-the 15th, 17th, 21st. Any guesses? Perhaps this could be another 8 ball decision over at my colleagues blog The Dome? Or he could get another pool going. Not as interesting as elections but it is a hot topic among the honorables.

I went to a hearing on medical marijuana today. I'll leave the jokes behind and just leave the script instead!

RALEIGH -- A state lawmaker wants North Carolina to study and potentially legalize medical marijuana.

Guilford County Representative Earl Jones filed the bill. Wednesday, a former U.S. Surgeon General testified in favor of it as well.

From 1993-1995, Dr. Joycelyn Elders was the country's top doctor. Nearly 20 years, later she's here in North Carolina advocating medical marijuana.

"We've been using marijuana out there as I said for 5000 years," Dr. Elders said. "It's safer than an awful lot of medications than we have out there on the market."

But opponents say that's not the case.

"When you consider the carcinogens in marijuana alone, it's multiple to that of smoking so this is not really a safe drug to take," Mark Creech from the NC Christian Action League said.

Supporters believe medical marijuana helps health problems related to Alzheimers, AIDS, arthritis, cancer, and multiple sclerosis.

"And if you can prevent nausea and vomiting the body might soon recover but so many of these patients die of starvation because they can't keep anything down," Dr. Elders added.

Rep. Jones agrees and wants north carolina to look into the idea.

12 other states have legalized medical marijuana. Most of them are out west or in the northeast. Rep. Jones of the bill points out this is just a bill to study the idea.

He emphasizes it's a study, but it's clear he supports the idea to help patients with nausea and vomiting.

"Marijuana has clearly demonstrated to stop that process, people gain weight, they have a high quality of life, they are psychologically and emotionally enhanced," Rep. Jones (D-Guilford) said.

"Who's gonna grow it?" Creech asked. "That's a question that has to be considered and can that get out of hand. It has gotten out of hand as I understand it in California."

Lawmakers did not vote on the proposal and it appears House leadership is reluctant to take up the issue. A similar bill failed in the North Carolina legislature in 2003. Recent attempts in Tennessee and South Carolina have failed as well.

Happy Tuesday and voting day for some!

So, a record turnout is expected for the second straight primary election. Problem is, we could reach a record low for today's runoff compared to record highs in the May 6 primary.

I was in Atlantic Beach this weekend for the debates. If you haven't seen them we are in the process of putting them on our Carolina Ondemand channel which you can get on Ch. 1234 on Time Warner Cable. I really think viewers can take a lot from both debates. I think the U.S. Senate candidates made a much stronger point to show clear differences between themselves. All four candidates appeared well prepared and had some great stories lined up to illustrate points.

Today, it's a busy one at the legislature and I'm just one man so the bosses wanted me to focus on a wrongly convicted compensation bill. Here's the script from my story.

RALEIGH -- The state could soon more than double the amount of money given to wrongfully convicted people.

Just in the past year, two people have been released from prison after new evidence found them innocent. Lawmakers are working on a bill that would help them find jobs as well.

Last summer DNA evidence cleared Dwayne Dail after serving nearly 20 years in prison for a rape that he did not commit.

"I can take this day and start my life now," Dail said the day he was released. "Today is the first day of the rest of my life and I'm absolutely going to make the most of it."

But getting that start can prove difficult after years behind bars. If the governor offers a pardon of innocence, those who are wrongfully convicted can get $20,000 for every year they spent in prison but no more than $500,000.

Tuesday a House committee voted to more than double that amount.

"When we have created the double injustice of not solving the crime we do great harm to society and the victim," Rep. Rick Glazier (D-Cumberland) said. "But this is dealing with the other harm, the person we have put in prison wrongfully and taken away years if not in some cases decades of their life."

The proposal offers $50,000 per year served in prison but no more than $750,000 total.

The idea of this bill goes beyond money. It's to help the people wrongfully convicted get back on their feet by offering a free education.

"If someone qualifies within ten years of their release for tuition and fees at a community college or constituent university campus if admitted," Rep. Glazier added.

It also offers at least one year of job skills training for those not interested in school. Just five people since 2001 qualified for the money so it won't create a big strain on state budgets, but it could have a huge impact on the lives of those who spent years in prison for crimes they did not commit.

The bill must still pass on the House floor and in the Senate. If it's approved there, the governor must sign the bill as well.

To debate...or is it forum?

Make sure to check out special editions of Political Connections this Sunday on News 14 Carolina.

11:00am - Debate/forum between Bev Perdue and Pat McCrory
1:00pm - Debate/forum between Elizabeth Dole and Kay Hagan

It's in Atlantic Beach for the Bar Association's gathering. It's really the first debate/forum between the candidates.

We will air them in their entirety and let's hope it's interesting!

I'll be heading down as well...it's funny because everyone keeps saying oh you have to work on a Saturday but you're going to the beach. I will see it on the way into the forum and on the way out..that's about it!

Have a great weekend!

Following the money..

If you want to see how the money race is shaping up in the Prez race the Federal Elex Commission has a pretty neat map system right on its front page.

http://www.fec.gov/DisclosureSearch/mapApp.do

At the moment (last reporting period) there's some interesting stuff.

-NC has contributed $9,265,183 to candidates
-While NC is traditionally a red presidential state McCain is 4th behind Obama, Edwards, and Clinton
-Democrats have raised almost 3-1 over Republicans

You can even narrow it down by zip code and then when you click on a zip code it tells you who's contributing.

It's not earth shattering news or new but if you haven't seen it, it can be a little addicting.

Sorry no major update today, I'm working on a non-political or state government story today.

However, you are well covered by my colleagues who are covering the goings on at the General Assembly.

It appears we will have votes Wed. and Thurs. on the budget in the Senate and it won't be terribly different than the House on the hot button items. Should be interesting if they can get a deal done by July 1 and what Gov. Easley will have to say about teacher pay proposals that don't come anywhere near his goal.

Tomorrow I'll likely be focused on a couple things. It's equal rights for women day at the GA which is an interesting topic with so many high profile women up for office this year. There could be some news out of an immigration rally planned as well. Will keep you posted!

I'm headed to the following this weekend for news stories but wanted to keep you posted on our other efforts involving debates for this weekend.

NEWS 14 CAROLINA TO CARRY NORTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR AND U.S. SENATE DEBATES

Raleigh, NC (, 2008) –News 14 Carolina, Time Warner Cable’s 24-hour local news network, will televise the first debates between the major candidates for Governor and U.S. Senate.

The first joint appearance of the two major party candidates for both offices is June 21st at the meeting of the North Carolina Bar Association in Atlantic Beach. Beverly Purdue, Pat McCrory, Elizabeth Dole and Kay Hagan will respond to questions from a media panel in two separate 45 minute forums.

News 14 Carolina will record both forums and televise them Sunday, June 22nd. The Gubernatorial forum will air at 11 am. The U.S. Senate forum will air at 1 pm.

Both forums will then be available on-demand to Time Warner Cable digital subscribers on Carolina on Demand. Carolina on Demand is a free, exclusive service of Time Warner Cable on channel 1234. It features news, sports and entertainment programming produced in and about North and South Carolina.

News 14 Carolina is sharing its coverage of the forums with UNC-TV. This will make them available to non-cable subscribers across North Carolina. “Time Warner Cable is dedicated to providing all citizens of our state with the information they need to make informed choices at the polls,” says News 14 Carolina VP & General Manager, Alan Mason. “We are pleased UNC-TV will telecast our coverage of this important event on its digital service across North Carolina.”

About News 14 Carolina:

News 14 Carolina is an exclusive service of Time Warner Cable. News 14 Carolina is available to all 1.3 million Time Warner Cable subscribers in the Charlotte, Raleigh/Durham/Fayetteville and Greensboro/High Point/Winston-Salem television markets. News 14 Carolina will expand to the Wilmington, Morehead City and Jacksonville area on August 18.
About Time Warner Cable:
Time Warner Cable is the second-largest cable operator in the U.S., with technologically advanced, well-clustered systems located mainly in five geographic areas — New York state (including New York City), the Carolinas, Ohio, southern California (including Los Angeles) and Texas. As of December 31, 2007, Time Warner Cable served approximately 14.6 million customers who subscribed to one or more of its video, high-speed data and voice services.

I was off politics today in a way. Rev. Al Sharpton was in Charlotte protesting police and the death of a young man at the hands of a police officer.

I helped them out by doing a companion piece on new training efforts for officers to deal with potentially lethal situations. Here's the story if you're interested. Have a great weekend! This weekend's Political Connections focuses on the week that was and Obama's return trip. 6pm tonight and Sunday at 11am on News 14 Carolina.

RALEIGH -- This year alone more than two dozen officer involved shootings were reported to the State Bureau of Investigation.

In some parts of the state there is new technology to help prepare officers for these situations. The simulator can look like a video game, but it's far from a game. It trains officers to deal with life and death situations.

"To say okay what should I do in this situation, not to jump to a quick decision but to think that decision through before taking any action," Anthony Caison, Dean at Wake Tech Community College said.

This year alone, the SBI has investigated 26 officer involved shootings, half were fatal. The statistics only include shootings the SBI has investigated.

Under state law, officers essentially have the authority to shoot and kill if the officer's life or any other life is in danger. The simulator allows superiors to see how their officers will react in a life and death situation.

"We want to see how accurate they are in situations because the screen is firing at them and it actually makes them more stressful and see how they react under stress," Fuquay-Varina Police Chief Larry Smith said.

Beyond the fact they believe it helps with decision making and accuracy with shooting, they also believe it has a huge impact in the real world.

"And many of the scenarios in the firearms training simulator are actual scenarios that have happened and that's why they are constantly updating the software," Caison added.

"I've been through the fats training and I find myself ducking behind the table and yelling commands at the screen to drop their weapons and we want to see that to make the officers are doing the right things," Chief Smith said.

The right thing to make sure no one dies unless absolutely necessary.

Sen. David Hoyle says he thinks the Senate will vote on a budget next week. That gives conference less than two weeks before the June 30th deadline. Can they do it? They are pretty darn pushy about getting it done by that date and get home but that's not a lot of time either.

In the meantime, involuntary annexation opponenets got a small victory today but still face an uphill battle. Here's the script from my story...

RALEIGH -- A legislative committee approved a one year ban on involuntary annexations today.

Involuntary annexation is when a town or city forces outlying residents to become city residents. One by one opponents of involuntary annexation pleaded their case to lawmakers.

"I got involved in annexation after the mayor of selma decided that he needed to fix the town,' Tony Terrington from Johnston County said. "He had a very unlawful annexation and i was successful in fighting it."

With involuntary annexation, the new residents must pay taxes but get city services like water, transportation and police. City leaders across the state say annexation is necessary as town and cities grow, but homeowners often say they already have those services and don't want to pay more taxes.

"Our community is a gated, private community," Moore County resident Doug Aitken said. "We have every single service the law talks about."

Thursday the House Finance Committee approved a one year ban on forced annexations to study the law.

"There are some problems with the law," Rep. Paul Luebke (D-Durham) said. "It's 49 years old and there have been some excesses and we have some good suggestions that we have talked about in our committee."

Cities and towns are against the moratorium but agree some changes to the law are necessary.

"I think the issue that probably has to be looked at is water and sewer," Andy Romanet from the League of Municipalities said.

Opponents are hoping lawmakers would require a vote by residents for all annexations. They also want more supervision of cities trying to annex new residents.

The bill must still pass another House committee then a full vote on the House floor. It then heads to the Senate where leaders are reportedly not likely to hear the bill.

North Carolina is one of just five states that allow involuntary annexations.

Realtors pledge more...

Despite a 20-0 record against counties, the NC Realtor's Association has pledged a $10 million dollar campaign to continue it's fight against any land transfer tax increase.

Here's my story from today..

RALEIGH -- Realtors across the state are stepping up their efforts to fight any tax increase on the sale of a house.

The North Carolina Association of Realtors pledged a multi million dollar fight against what's known as the land transfer tax. It comes as lawmakers battle over the future of the tax as well.

Hundreds of realtors filled the halls of the state legislature Wednesday with one simple goal, to let lawmakers know they are serious.

"The Realtors Association has made a $10 million commitment to continue the fight against the home tax as well as other assaults against private property rights," Tim Kent from the NC Realtor's Association said.

Realtors are fighting what's known as the land transfer tax. It's a tax on the person selling a home. Last year counties were given permission by lawmakers to put an increase of that tax on the ballot to help raise money to build schools and roads.

"The people have already had a chance to vote on this," Kent added. "20 times, 3 out of 4 voters have said absolutely no to the home tax."

Realtors say it unfairly targets homeowners but counties say without it, they would have to hike property taxes. Realtors are getting help from some lawmakers in trying to keep land transfer tax increases off voter ballots.

"Anything that we add to the cost of selling or transferring real estate is just counterproductive," Sen. David Hoyle (D-Gaston) said. "We're trying to do things to spur people to buy not discourage it."

While realtors continue their expensive campaign against the tax and the Senate appears poised to possibly vote against the tax as well, there is some strong support from one of the state's top leaders for the counties.

House Speaker Joe Hackney wants it to remain an option for counties and other leadership in the house appears to agree.

"As long as you require voter approval, I don't see any need for major changes," House Majority Leader Hugh Holliman said.

With the House opposing changes, that likely means there will be no change in law and it could end up on ballots in future elections.

So far, only Polk county plans to put the land transfer tax on the November ballot.

Hey all...

Not much to report on my front. I'm caught up doing a lot of non-legislative work again. This week seems to be filled with a lot of interesting bills in committees. I took up a driver's license bill today. Here's the text...

RALEIGH -- A new plan to change drivers licenses is cruising toward approval at the state legislature.

Monday, a senate committee approved the idea that changes the look of licenses for those under 21 years old. Advocates hope the idea will cut down on under age drinking.

At John Hernly's restaurant, his company goes the extra mile to help prevent his employees from serving minors.

"We have a bars program," the Champps General Manager said. "We have undercovers that we pay coming in here to check up on us constantly so we're always aware of that."

Lawmakers are working on a way to make it easier for bars and restaurants to check id's.

"It simply changes anyone's driving license from horizontal with which you're familiar with to vertical because the number of complaints and sales to minors of alcohol," Sen. Stan Bingham (R-Davidson) said.

Those complaints come from ALE. This year, during 700 compliance checks, ALE officers found that under age drinkers were able to buy alcohol 18-percent of the time.

21 states already use the vertical id for people under 21 including Virginia, where Hernly use to work.

"It's a lot easier for the staff to recognize under 21 you know and I think it's harder to alter the id," Hernly said.

North Carolina currently uses color coding systems to identify those under 21 and 18 but retailers believe this new id is a better solution.

So far, there has been no vocal opposition to the proposals. Supporters understand it won't cure underage drinking but it will help.

The bill still needs approval on the House and Senate floors and from Governor Easley. If it passes, the new licenses will start in October.

Dems support Obama...

**update**
Gov. Easley introduced Obama basically saying better late than never. John and Elizabeth Edwards are here as well.

So, I'm here covering the Barack Obama speech at the state fairgrounds in Raleigh. It seems most of the top Democrats in the state are here. There's probably 500 people maybe. It's an invite only event. It's clear there are volunteers and supporters in addition to the public officials. There are people of all ages.

The list includes....

House Speaker Joe Hackney
Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand
State Treasurer Richard Moore
Rep. Ty Harrell
Rep. Dan Blue
U.S. Rep. GK Butterfield
U.S. Rep Bob Etheridge
Rep. Linda Coleman
Sec. of State Elaine Marshall
Sen. Vernon Malone
Ed Turlington (Edwards 04 Campaign Chair)
Hampton Dellinger (Frm. Lt. Gov. candidate)
NC NAACP Prez William Barber
Rep. Jennifer Weiss
Rep. Floyd McKissick
Rep. Verla Insko
Rep. Fisher


So far no sign of Gov. Easley or Sen. President Pro Tem Marc Basnight

Keep you posted!

Will Easley veto budget?

Hello again! I'm back from a great five day trip to the Outer Banks.

I spent a short time at the General Assembly today because I had some meetings. What's interesting is the buzz I heard about the House budget and what's next.

We'll have to see what the Senate does with the budget and teacher pay in particular, but there is a lot of talk about the governor's reaction.

If you missed my interview with the Gov this past weekend I asked him if he would veto a budget that doesn't help teachers reach the national average in pay. He paused, grinned, then said he would have to see what the rest of the budget looks like.

Several lawmakers posed the question today about Easley potentially vetoing the legislature's budget. Some believe he would to make a point since he's leaving office and does not face an election. Others believe he won't because he doesn't want to worry about tarnishing his reputation if his veto was overruled.

Either way, it is interesting to chat about and creates some interesting chit chat as lawmakers figure out their budget.

Just a reminder to check out Political Connections this weekend.

The entire show is an interview with Gov. Easley. It's pretty interesting and covers a wide range of topics. It airs on News 14 Carolina tonight at 6pm and Sunday morning at 11am. It should wind up on the website at www.news14.com as well.

We talk about the budget, controversial issues, his style of governing, why he prefers his work over fundraising, his future, etc. etc. etc.

Check it out if you get a chance. I aired a story on part of the interview today and will post the script below.

In the meantime, I'm counting down the hours to a 5 day vacation so have a great weekend and I'll be back next Thursday. Happy House Budgeting!

RALEIGH -- A big budget battle is shaping up between the governor's office and the legislature.

The State House will likely vote on their version of the budget next week. Early indications are that it will look much different than the governor's budget.

Senior Political Reporter Tim Boyum sat down with the governor this week. When Governor Easley unveiled his budget three weeks ago, it included a 20-cent cigarette tax hike and a four cent increase on alcohol.

Next week the House will unveil its version of the budget. It will not include those tax proposals.

"I don't care if they pass them or not," Gov. Easley said. "I'm just looking for a means to an end."

That end is an expensive mental health reform package and a seven percent teacher pay raise.

"We have to get teachers to the national average," Easley added. "We said we were going to do it in 2005, we raised them five percent, eight percent, five percent over the last three years and we're looking at 6.9-percent short this year."

The House budget will include a three percent raise instead of seven percent.

"Is that something you would send the budget back if they didn't?" Boyum asked.

"You know, I would want to look at the entire budget before I ever said that I would look at that," Gov. Easley said. "The thing for me to do now is work with the legislators and try to help them get there."

But lawmakers want lower teacher pay to help give state employees a 2.75-percent raise compared to Easley's 1.5-percent.

Easley says state employees deserve a large raise but he promised teachers they would get to the national average by the end of the year.

"If you say you're going to do it you should do it," Easley added. "That's what we teach kids and we can start by paying their teachers so that's why I started with the sin taxes.

It's a pay battle that will play out over the next month. After the House budget, the Senate must come up with their version then all three sides must compromise on a final budget by June 30th.

To see the entire interview watch Political Connections. It airs Friday nights at 6:00 and Sunday mornings at 11:00.

Gov. Easley one on one...

I had a chance to sit down with Gov. Easley for a lengthy interview this morning. We hit a number of topics ranging from the budget to his style of governing. The entire interview will air on Political Connections this weekend but here's a short story we're airing today on a couple topics. I'll try to update some other highlights from the interview as well later.

RALEIGH -- Gov. Easley says there's no need for lawmakers to get involved in the illegal immigrant community college issue.

Easley made the comments during a one-on-one interview that will air on Political Connections this weekend. Easley believes its time for the federal government to fix immigration and gas price issues.

Those two topics are among the top concerns to North Carolina voters in most polls.

Gov. Easley still supports illegal immigrants in community colleges if they pay out of state tuition.

"The reason is you have so many undocumented workers that are working in the state's now all across the country that you're building your economy on those people so do you want them better educated or less educated and we could make that decision better if we knew what the heck Washington is going to do," Gov. Easley said. "So, I'd like for Washington to take some action. They have defacto legalized illegal immigrants."

The community college system ordered all campuses last year to admit illegal immigrants, but it reversed the policy recently while federal officials formally weigh in on the matter.

Earlier this month, Attorney General Roy Cooper's office recommended community colleges drop the lenient admissions policy.

Several lawmakers have filed bills to either disqualify or allow illegal immigrants in community colleges.

"It's not a legislative issue at this point," Easley said. "What the attorney general was reacting to was the perceived federal regulation but the federal regulation isn't what they thought it was. It's way beyond the state legislature at least at this point."

On the gas price front, Easley believes the answers will come from Washington.

"There's not a lot the state can do in terms of immediate help on the gas price," Gov. Easley said. "That's set by OPEC and we're not members of OPEC.

Easley believes the state must focus on public transportation and research on battery powered cars to limit our need for oil.

We will show the entire interview with Governor Mike Easley this weekend on Political Connections.

He talks about everything from the state budget to his future after office. It airs Friday night at 6:00 and Sunday morning at 11:00 only on News 14 Carolina.

Welcome back after a long holiday weekend!

I don't have much to report since I'm swamped working on a potentially big show this weekend (hopefully more on that tomorrow).

Last week Sen. Rand said he thought the House might unveil its budget this week. I'd say that is unlikely. I just got a number of notices from appropriation subcommittees that are working on Thursday, so I'd say it won't happen this week.

That would put House members at the earliest voting next week which would give the Senate and Conference roughly 3 weeks to come up with another version and compromise by the July 1 deadline. Can it happen? The answer is almost always, if they really want it to they can.

I'll hopefully have more to report tomorrow. In the meantime here's my story today on U.S. Senate candidate Kay Hagan's roundtable on 287 g with sheriffs today. One thing not in the story is the fact that none of the people on her roundtable were actually using the 287 g program yet and I believe at least most of them were Democrats just like her. Not sure what that may or may not mean but just throwing information out there for you to know.

P.S. I was in Arizona this weekend and saw the Red Rocks in Sedona. Holy smokes if you haven't seen them you should! And no, I didn't make it out to McCain's house to BBQ with the Veep candidates!

Anyway..here's the story

RALEIGH -- Immigration is quickly becoming a hot topic in North Carolina's U.S. Senate race.

Today, Democratic candidate Kay Hagan met with a half dozen sheriffs to talk about the 287 g program. Hagan's opponent, current Senator Elizabeth Dole has tried to convince sheriffs to join the program for more than a year.

Mecklenburg County started the 287 g program in 2006 and its sheriff says it works.

"In the stats we've looked at the DWI stats for Hispanics has gone down every year since 287 g came in," Sheriff Chip Bailey said. "And if you look at the DWLR, driving while license revoked, its gone down every year.

The 287 g program trains sheriff's deputies to identify illegal immigrants who commit crimes and start the deportation process.

Hagan supports the program but only if the federal government pays for 100-percent of it.

"My problem with it is that it's an unfunded federal mandate," Hagan said. "As I've stated last year the state of North Carolina spent $750,000 on this program and this is really something that is an ICE situation which is an immigration situation."

Dole has been a big supporter of the program. In fact she spent the past year touring the state trying to get sheriffs on board.

"We're looking at every possibility to stay focused on this issue of criminals who are illegal aliens who repeat and repeat and causing great angst among our citizens in North Carolina," Dole said at one of her own roundtables last August.

Dole's stance may be paying off in some ways.

In the most recent Public Policy Polling poll, she leads Hagan by five points with ten percent still undecided.

However voters who are most concerned with immigration overwhelmingly pick Dole by an 89% to 8% margin.

Hagan hopes her public stance on the issue will turn those numbers around.

The Prez..

So, I spent the day on Fort Bragg covering President Bush. You can check out www.news14.com to see the story itself.

What a day. I arrived there around 6:45 this morning. We checked in and sat around until 8:15 when they put us on a coach bus and took us to the site. When we got there we went through another 25 minutes of security.

Finally about 9:00 we were all set and it was sunny and hot! But as it always is with President Bush, it started right on time and his speech was even 5 minutes earlier than expected.

He was almost in a campaign mode after the event. He avoided the stage and walked within 10 feet of us and shook hands with the crowd, which was mostly families of paratroopers.

I have to say it was quite a sight to see 16,000 parartroopers lined up in a field. It was incredible to see them all march by knowing what they have seen and where they have been. Many of them still have acne problems which reminds you how young some of these troops are.

One of those days that makes you think.

I'm off until Tuesday..a late post election trip/late anniversary trip!

Until then...

Unfortunately I'm swamped trying to get my show done because I'm on vacation Friday and covering President Bush tomorrow so all I got is my story from today...

RALEIGH -- It appears North Carolina will put gang laws on the books for the first time in state history.

Mayors, police, and lawmakers joined forces Wednesday to announce they are close to an agreement. Right now, North Carolina law does not address gangs specifically.

Statewide there are an estimated 550 gangs with more than 14,000 members.

"Gangs are recruiting better than law enforcement agencies are," Gastonia Police Chief Terry Sult said. "These bills before the legislature address that recruiting effort on the gang level."

Wednesday the Senate passed those bills unanimously inching them closer to becoming law.

The proposals define gangs for the first time, make it illegal to belong to a gang, and target gang leaders.

"This has been a four year battle and I'm glad to see a lot of converts," Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory said. "The four letter word gang is now being confronted in the state capitol and I'm glad to see a lot of people get on board and recognize this is a life and death issue."

Mayor McCrory is making it a top issue in his campaign for governor. Tuesday his opponent, Lieutenant Governor Beverly Perdue said it's on the top of her legislative list as well.

While the news conference was essentially billed as a celebration that these new gang laws are likely going to pass, not everyone is supportive of these ideas.

One concern still undecided is how to punish gang members under 16 years old and if these laws will have an impact beyond filling up already crowded prisons.

"We're talking about severe criminal sanctions and I would argue that the acts we're trying to prevent are already illegal," NC Policy Watch's Chris Fitzsimon said. "If we need more police officers, more district attorneys, more magistrates, more prison beds, then we should do those things."

Attorney General Roy Cooper supports gang legislation but wants gang prevention funding as well.

"We are in a battle with gangs for the hearts and minds of our children and we must invest in education," Cooper said. "We must invest in after school programs."

Despite concerns, it appears after years of negotiations, lawmakers will make it illegal to belong to a gang in North Carolina.

Lawmakers are expected to negotiate differences between the House and Senate bills next week. It would also need the governor's signature.

*update with quotes below*

Couple interesting notes from today's Rules Committee in the NC Senate.

That committee is powerful and can send bills directly to the floor. They took up the Street Gang Prevention Act today and approved it.

Coincidentally that is a huge issue GOP Gov candidate Pat McCrory has been pushing and criticizing the legislature about for not taking it up.

The Senate has sat still on the bill. It just so happens that McCrory has plans to come lobby the bill on Wednesday (as in tomorrow).

The Lt. Gov. staff (who just happens to be McCrory's opponent) made sure to make a public statement that Lt. Gov. Perdue supports the legislation.

Sen. Rand who chairs the committee said it's not politics and it was fast tracked because they had to with money in the bill that needs to be in the budget both chambers are working on now.

You be the judge.

Speaking of that, Sen. Rand said it's his belief the House will roll out its version of the budget next week.

Stay tuned.

**here's my story from today on the subject

RALEIGH -- The war on gangs has become a focus for the candidates for governor.

State Senate leaders put anti-gang legislation on the fast track toward approval Tuesday. It comes just one day before one gubernatorial candidate planned to lobby against his opponent on the issue.

Last July, the State House passed a bill defining gangs in state law for the first time. Nearly a year later, it appears the Senate will do the same this week.

"It certainly is a long time coming," Sen. Malcolm Graham (D-Mecklenburg) said. "Gang activity across the state of North Carolina is increasing. We need to make sure that we have legislation in place that protects the citizens and that's what we did here today."

The bill defines a gang, makes it a felony to belong to one, and will target gang leaders. The Senate and House must still settle differences over punishing gang members under 16.

The bill was pushed through one of the few committees that can fast track a bill to the Senate floor. It's also just one day before gubernatorial candidate Pat McCrory is scheduled to be in Raleigh.

The current Charlotte mayor plans to lobby lawmakers Wednesday to pass gang legislation.

Tuesday the staff of his opponent Lieutenant Governor Beverly Perdue made a point to speak before the committee voted.

"This legislation is one of the lieutenant governor's top priorities for the coming legislative session," Perdue's Chief of Staff Don Hobart said. "We're very pleased the committee has agreed to take it up quickly and hopefully it will find itself into conference and in law. "

Committee Chair Tony Rand says the meeting was not about politics.

"It has to do with we're trying to get the budget passed and we're trying to adjourn and this has to move forward as you know the provision in this it doesn't go into effect unless there's money in the budget so we're trying to do it together," Sen. Rand (D-Cumberland) said.

The full Senate could vote on the bill as soon as Wednesday. Supporters hope for final approval next week.

A recent report shows there are nearly 15,000 gang members in North Carolina. That's up from an estimated nine thousand just four years ago.

As a follow up to yesterday's post on a potential gas tax holiday. I was contacted by Civitas and given an early preview of their upcoming poll. Here's the section about the gas tax holiday from Civitas.

DO YOU SUPPORT A PROPOSED GAS TAX HOLIDAY OVER THE SUMMER

MONTHS OR BELIEVE THESE FUNDS SHOULD BE KEPT FOR ROAD

CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE IN NORTH CAROLINA?



# %

1. GAS HOLIDAY 224 28

2. KEPT FOR CONSTRUCTION 481 60

98. NOT SURE 95 12



TOTAL 800

To gas tax or not to gas tax?

State Rep. Joe Boylan wants a state gas tax holiday. Clinton and McCain want one too on the federal level. Will it happen? Probably not. Below is the script from my story today. Richard Burr definitely supports it nationally but wants the bill tied to other long term goals.

RALEIGH -- Gas prices continue to set records with Memorial Day weekend approaching.

Leaders in North Carolina are proposing changes to help fix the high price at the pump, but will these proposals make a difference?

On the national level, Hillary Clinton and John McCain have proposed a three month gas tax holiday. Barack Obama opposes the idea and calls it a Washington gimmick and he wants to focus on long term solutions.

U.S. Senator Richard Burr doesn't believe it would pass Congress anyway.

"The leadership won't take up the gas tax," Sen. Burr said. "Does it make a big difference? 25-cents to a family that is struggling today is a big difference. Is it the optimal direction for us? Not in isolation."

Senator Burr also wants to focus on alternative fuels but he does support immediate help.

"I'd be very supportive of a temporary moratorium but it has to be mashed with an investment in the right technologies," Sen. Burr added. "It has to be matched with a commitment on this country's part to invest in new exploration but our goal should be to eliminate our need for foreign oil in the future."

On the state level, most state leaders don't have an appetite to take up the gas tax but there are some who want changes.

Moore County Representative Joe Boylan wants to suspend the state gas tax for 90 days starting June 15th.

Currently the state gas tax is 30.2 cents. It's the sixth highest rate in the country. The state revenue department estimates the state would lose out on about $425 million dollars for road projects.

Gov. Easley supports Hillary Clinton's national gas tax holiday proposal but recently said he would never recommend it on the state level.

"If they can do it like she did which is paying for it by taxes from windfall profits from oil companies but I don't think we could do that on the state level," Easley said.

While there is some support on the state and national level for a gas tax holiday this summer, Republicans and Democrats generally agree it is unlikely.

Easley has proposed to keep a current cap on the gas tax in his budget. It's unclear at this point if lawmakers will keep the cap in their versions of the budget.