In a brief speech to the North Carolina Chamber Wednesday afternoon, Basnight said that the legislature will focus on boosting education and fixing the mental health care system.

"I don't believe you'll see taxes this year whatsoever -- any kind of increase," said Basnight, a Manteo Democrat.

That would be bad news to Gov. Mike Easley, who has proposed raising alcohol and cigarette taxes to help pay for higher teachers' pay and improvements to the state's mental health care system.

Meanwhile, Senate Republican leader Phil Berger told the group that teachers should be paid differently. Berger said teachers should get extra pay for working in challenging environments or for taking jobs that school systems are having trouble filling, such as those in math, science and special education.

"More money, blindly spent, by adding to existing strategies is not the right answer," he said.

He criticized Easley's proposed budget for cutting a pilot program that used pay as an incentive to hire math and science teachers.

Berger also called for the state to make "a serious commitment" to career, vocational and technical education, saying that today's graduates are not skilled enough for jobs in automotive repair or other fields.

Dole's woes stun reporter

Mort Kondracke said Republican U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole may be in for a fight.

At a luncheon speech before the North Carolina Chamber, the longtime Washington political reporter said Dole may have a tougher re-election campaign than expected.

"I was amazed that Elizabeth Dole was in as much trouble as she seems to be," he said. "Washington does not know that."

A recent poll showed Dole only 5 points ahead of Democratic nominee Kay Hagan, a state senator from Greensboro.

Burr promotes his GI bill

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, a Winston-Salem Republican, spent much of Wednesday trying to push his new GI bill over the one the U.S. House is expected to vote on today.

Burr opposes Senate Bill 22, sponsored by Sen. Jim Webb, a Virginia Democrat. Webb's proposal would allow veterans to attend the most expensive in-state public university in their home states. It would also match private schools' contributions to student veterans' education at those schools.

In an interview, Burr said Webb's bill dismantles a program that is working and creates a new one.

Webb's bill has been included in the war supplemental package, which the House could vote on today. The bill is supported by various veterans' groups and a majority of both chambers of Congress.

Burr wrote his bill with Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and John McCain of Arizona. Sen. Dole, a Salisbury Republican, is a co-sponsor. Their bill increases the current $1,100-a-month payment to $1,500 a month for active-duty troops.

The Graham/McCain/Burr bill, Senate Bill 2938, would cost about $34 billion over 10 years. Webb's bill would cost about $50 billion.

Burr's bill more closely matches the wishes of Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who said this spring that too-generous benefits would hurt military retention during war.

Burr and others tried to get their bill voted on in the Senate as an amendment Wednesday, but they were rebuffed.

Lake joins law firm

I. Beverly Lake Jr. has joined the Shanahan Law Group. The former chief justice of the state Supreme Court will be a senior counsel at the Raleigh law firm, handling general corporate representation as well as litigation and appellate cases.

"Justice Lake is widely respected in legal, political and business circles throughout our state, and we are fortunate to have him on our team," said Kieran Shanahan, the founder of the firm.

A graduate of Wake Forest University's law school, Lake served two terms in the state Senate and served on the Supreme Court from 1992 to 2006.