Legislative Briefing

PENSIONS PULL: A bill that would make corrupt officials forfeit their state pensions cleared the Senate and headed to Gov. Mike Easley's desk to be signed into law. The Senate voted unanimously to accept minor House-approved changes in the bill inspired by the scandal surrounding former House Speaker Jim Black, D-Mecklenburg. The new law will provide that an elected official convicted of misconduct in his or her official capacity would lose retirement benefits earned for that office. The law won't affect Black because it can't be applied retroactively.

TAX CHANGES: The Senate tentatively agreed Tuesday to attempt to eliminate a tax-avoidance strategy used by Wal-Mart and other multistate corporations doing business in North Carolina. The state Department of Revenue says companies are using what's called a captive real estate investment trust to help reduce or eliminate their tax payments on profits generated in North Carolina. Sen. Dan Clodfelter, D-Mecklenburg, the bill sponsor, said the measure was crafted so as not to interfere with a legal battle between the Department of Revenue and Wal-Mart over a $33 million tax refund the discount retailer wants because it says the agency overstepped its bounds in examining profits that passed through the real estate trust. The department calls the strategy improper.

SAME-DAY REGISTRATION: The House and Senate will work through their differences on a bill that would allow citizens to register to vote and cast ballots immediately in the days leading up to an election. The House voted 74-41 to reject the Senate version of its bill, sending the measure to a conference committee to reach a compromise. Rep. Deborah Ross, D-Wake, cited two provisions, including one that would require forms and ballots to be printed only in English, as reasons for the rejection. State law now ends voter registration 25 days before an election. The bill would allow residents to go to one-stop voting sites, where they already can vote early, and register and then vote right away in the final 2 1/2 weeks before an election.

QUICK HITS

IN THE HOUSE:

* H786, to order law enforcement to turn over copies of all crime investigation records to prosecutors so they can be made available to defense lawyers. Approved concurrence motion 116-0. Next: To Gov. Mike Easley's desk.

* H1464, to order the State Board of Education to create rules whereby young people who serve as pages for the governor or the General Assembly will be considered as receiving excused absences from school. Approved concurrence motion 116-0. Next: To Gov. Mike Easley's desk.

* H1492, to order the North Carolina Medical Board to license anesthesiologist assistants in North Carolina. Approved concurrence motion 116-0. Next: To Gov. Mike Easley's desk.

* H1634, to establish custody, visitation and electronic communications procedures when a parent in the military receives deployment or mobilization orders. Approved concurrence motion 116-0. Next: To Gov. Mike Easley's desk.

IN BOTH CHAMBERS:

* H1860, a resolution honoring the memory of the Rev. William Wallace "W.W." Finlator of Raleigh, an outspoken Baptist minister who championed civil rights during the 1960s. Approved 114-0 House, 48-0 Senate.

IN COMMITTEES:

* H27, requiring film processors or computer technicians who discover child pornography to report the customers to law enforcement. Favorable report, Senate Judiciary I. Next: To the full Senate.

* H898, to allow for the nonviolent criminal record of youthful offenders in the adult court system to be expunged. Favorable report on 9-4 vote, House Juvenile Justice. Next: House Finance.

ON THE AGENDA

TODAY: The State Board of Elections holds a 9:30 a.m. hearing on a complaint by former Democratic consultant Joe Sinsheimer alleging illegal activity by the re-election campaign of Rep. Mary McAllister, D-Cumberland. Sinsheimer cited discrepancies in McAllister's campaign reports that appear to show she loaned her campaign about $5,700 but repaid herself more than twice that amount. McAllister has said it was a reporting error and the payments never occurred.