Legislative briefing

CURBING COSTLY MALPRACTICE TRIALS: The N.C. House took a broadly supported swipe at the problem of rising medical malpractice insurance costs Monday evening, passing a bill that would provide arbitration for cases that would not exceed $1 million. The legislation, which passed 110 to 3, is aimed at resolving malpractice claims in less time and without costly trials. Both parties in a lawsuit would have to agree to the arbitration, which means that the patient couldn't appeal the final decision and the maximum award would be $1 million. Both the state's doctors and lawyers, normally at odds on malpractice legislation, backed the bill. "It was a real Kum Ba Ya moment," said Rep. Deborah Ross, a Raleigh Democrat and chair of the committee that approved the bill. The bill now goes to the Senate.

UNDERAGE BOOZE, YOU LOSE: Adults who give booze to a minor could lose their driver's license under a bill approved by the House on Monday night. House members voted 106 to 6 to add the driver's license penalty to the possible punishments for furnishing alcohol to underage drinkers, a misdemeanor. Judges already can impose a fine and community service. Rep. Cary Allred, a Republican from Alamance County, opposed the bill, describing a scenario in which a father could be punished for buying beer for his underage son who has returned home from fighting in Iraq. "This bill is an exercise in demagoguery," Allred said. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Ty Harrell, a Raleigh Democrat, was prompted by a fiery crash last year that killed four students from Wakefield High School in Raleigh.

INSURANCE FRAUD: Out-of-state residents who obtain automobile insurance in North Carolina fraudulently to get cheaper premiums would be guilty of a felony in a bill that the House approved unanimously Monday night. The state Insurance Department sought the bill after accusations that people from high-premium states jig the system by supplying bogus North Carolina information. Thousands of people living elsewhere benefit from so-called "rate evasion" because North Carolina has one of the lowest premium rates in the country, said Rep. Bruce Goforth, D-Buncombe, one of the bill's primary sponsors. When those people get into accidents in high-cost urban areas, they raise premiums for North Carolina residents, he said. The bill, approved 112-0 and heading to the Senate, would make it a low-grade felony for someone to intentionally deceive an insurer, and it requires insurers to take reasonable steps to see if an applicant is providing true information.

NOTEWORTHY

* The massive gold-colored doors of the House and Senate chambers are flanked by 72 plaques honoring North Carolina's National Guard units in advance of Memorial Day. Each plaque bears a unit's name and its guidon, a swallow-tailed flag that shows the unit's designation, branch insignia and corps colors. Each plaque also notes the units' recent overseas deployments and members who were killed or wounded in action.

ON THE AGENDA

Today: Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue and other female legislative leaders will speak at a news conference at the Legislative Building in observance of 2007 Women's Advocacy Day at the General Assembly.

OVERHEARD

"I think the members by and large feel that he should not be here, and that's the way I feel. He should not be here. It's time for him to resign."

-- House Speaker Joe Hackney, D-Orange, on Rep. Thomas Wright, D-New Hanover, and questions about Wright's campaign finances.