Much speculation surrounds this week's return legislative session. We know they're coming back to clean up redistricting maps. But do they plan anything else?
A spokesman for House Speaker Thom Tillis said the agenda isn't concrete and Senate President Phil Berger's office wasn't returning calls.
In the void, the rumor mill churns - and Democrats are on heightened alert for a GOP trick.
It's hard to blame them after this June remark from Tillis regarding the voter ID bill the governor vetoed but the House kept alive through a procedural maneuver: "If seven Democrats don't show up for a publicly announced session, that would be the easy way to override it," Tillis said, referring to the required three-fifths needed.
What is known: Both chambers convene at noon Monday. The House and Senate will hold a joint redistricting committee meeting at 1 p.m., and then committees will meet separately 15 minutes after the meeting.
Legislative aides suggest the redistricting bill could take more than one day, unless Democrats agree to waive the rules. A Senate rules committee scheduled for 8 p.m. to draw up an adjournment resolution also could suggest a second day.
Complicating the picture are scheduled absences from a handful of lawmakers in the House and Senate, including Republicans and Democrats, who will travel to China on a trip sponsored by the Center for International Understanding at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Other rumored topics include a cap on the gas tax and a fix to a bill that changed the dates teachers are paid and created a glitch. Newbie Rep. Jason Saine, a Denver Republican, suggested the voter ID override also may come to the House floor, though he acknowledged he didn't know when.
Tillis said on the radio Friday the main purpose for convening is to deal with technical fixes to the redistricting bills. A software glitch left parts of the state out of the plan and needs to be fixed, though the plan received tentative federal approval.
"If we have a chance to do a few other administrative matters while we're in town, we'll do it," Tillis said. "But it will be a very short session."
Tillis watches DNC contracts
The political blogosphere was afire late last week with outrage over a Charlotte man's claim that his company would be denied work with the Democratic convention because his business doesn't employ union labor, The Charlotte Observer reports.
But convention officials said that wasn't the case. A DNC spokeswoman said the official that printer John Monteith talked to "misspoke." Union labor is not a requirement for convention contracts, committee executive director Dan Murrey said.
Dome notes that when asked about the issue on Raleigh radio station WPTF 680, Tillis, a Republican from Mecklenburg County, said he will watch to make sure businesses don't run into that problem.
Tillis said he may set up a complaint registry, possibly on his website, to track any problems.
Staff writers John Frank and Craig Jarvis
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