House lawmakers hope for compromise on Dix bill

Backers of the park deal, including the Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane, said the state should not go back on its word and note that a park has been the topic of discussion since the state began making moves to shut down the state mental hospital there a decade ago. 

Since the Senate vote, the bill has sat in the full House Judiciary Committee. 

"The bill is going to be heard sooner or later," committee Chairman Leo Daughtry said. However, he is hoping to avoid the contentious exchanges that marked the measure's path through the Senate.

"It is my hope that the people are able to resolve some of the issues," said Daughtry, R-Johnston. "I hope they are talking among themselves."

Daughtry said that he doesn't have any preconceived notion of what the bill ought to look like, but he has offered himself as a mediator. So far, he said, he has not heard from either side that there are active, ongoing discussions.

Rep. Marilyn Avila, R-Wake, said it was her understanding that committee staff was still gathering information regarding the Dix lease in advance of any hearing. She estimated any public discussion of the bill was "one or two weeks" away. 

"That was looked at pretty extensively," she said.