Orr, a Republican gubernatorial candidate, on Tuesday called for the state to establish an identification process for legal residents, track state spending on illegal immigrants, aggressively pursue reimbursement and possibly even sue the federal government.

"As governor, I'm going to do all I can to ensure that if the federal government continues to shirk its legal obligation to secure our borders and deport those here illegally, then at least our taxpayers are not going to continue paying for it," Orr said.

The plan was a major step for Orr on immigration. At a January debate, he was the only Republican gubernatorial candidate to blame industry, not the government, for the problem. He has been less vocal about immigration than some of his opponents.

Orr called for the state Division of Motor Vehicles to issue driver's licenses and state ID cards only to legal residents; the Department of Public Instruction, public hospitals and jails to document spending on illegal immigrants; the state Department of Revenue to estimate tax revenue from illegal immigrants; and the federal government to reimburse those costs.

If that fails, Orr said, he would direct the state attorney general to sue the federal government.

McCrory airing ads

Pat McCrory will hit the airwaves today with his first TV ads in his bid for the GOP nomination for governor.

The Charlotte mayor intends to spend more than $100,000 on Raleigh, Greensboro and Charlotte markets over the next 10 days.

"Pat got in late," said Jack Hawke, McCrory's chief strategist. "At least two other candidates have been up on television and spent more money."

Bill Clinton delays visit

Former President Clinton has rescheduled his visit to Charlotte.

Clinton is now scheduled to visit Charlotte on April 4.

Clinton was scheduled to campaign in Charlotte on St. Patrick's Day, attending a fundraiser and perhaps other events on behalf of his wife, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Health official retiring

The head of the state office that investigates deaths and abuse in mental hospitals and other medical facilities has announced his retirement.

Robert J. Fitzgerald has been director of the state Division of Health Service Regulation for seven years. He said his retirement, announced to his staff this month, is not tied to The News & Observer series on mental health reform.

"This is entirely of my own volition," said Fitzgerald, 64.

Fitzgerald said his retirement is effective May 1. His annual salary is $119,759.

The N&O series showed that of the 192 employees of state mental facilities who were found to have abused or neglected patients, 13 percent were charged with a crime. The newspaper also listed the names of 82 hospital patients who died in circumstances that raise questions -- homicides, suicides, accidents or as the possible result of sub-par medical care.

Fitzgerald's division investigated 36 of those 82 cases, according to the division's tracking database. Of those, the division cited the hospital for wrongdoing in six cases.

UNC wants money tweak

The UNC system wants to tinker with its formula for doling out repair and renovation money to state agencies.

UNC officials say the current formula -- devised in the early 1990s -- is outdated. UNC accounted for about 46 percent of all state buildings at the time and thus has received 46 percent of the R&R fund each year.

But after its construction boom of the past seven years, the university system's building inventory has swelled, and officials want the repair fund to follow suit. UNC campus facilities make up about 60 percent of all state buildings, university officials say.

The repair and renovation fund is used for general and unexpected maintenance: a leaky roof, an inoperative air conditioner, a broken window. This year, the UNC system received $66.7 million.

If the formula was changed and UNC received 60 percent of the pot -- up from 46 percent -- the change this year would be worth an extra $20 million.

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