RALEIGH - The state paid more than $1 million for televised ads in which Gov. Mike Easley encouraged people to conserve water during the drought, according to a political newsletter.

Money for the ads, which cost $1,152,000, came from three state agencies, according to the report today in The Insider, an e-mail newsletter published by The News & Observer. The ads ran back in the spring.

State law prohibits North Carolina officials from using tax money to promote their images for political purposes on the airwaves and in print. However, a spokeswoman for Easley told The Insider that the law permits such appearances by state officials in cases of emergency.

Easley never declared a state of emergency during the drought.

But spokeswoman Renee Hoffman said the public spending for the ads did not violate the law, because the law does not specifically say that a "state of emergency" has to be declared. She said Easley's appearance in the ads was appropriate because some communities were close to running out of water, which constituted an emergency.

The governor also has been appearing recently in televised ads for his Learn and Earn initiative. The Insider quoted Hoffman as saying no state money is being used for those ads. Their costs instead are being covered by the nonprofit College Foundation of North Carolina.

Easley is in his final year as governor and isn't seeking another elected office.

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