If you have an opinion on illegal immigration or the handling of Wake Schools, pay attention. A couple bills filed today focus on those two hot topics and both are in the state Senate.

Bill 405 would require jailors across the state to identify illegal immigrants who are in custody. It'll then require sheriffs to request the federal government take those inmates into custody. With no place to put the illegal immigrants, the bill also requires the governor to ask the federal government to create a holding facility.

Also in the Senate, two lawmakers want to shake up the Wake County School Board.
Neal Hunt and Richard Stevens filed a bill to eliminate districts when electing school board members. Instead, the entire election would become at-large.  That could give more power to parents in areas that seem to get hit hard by the reassignment wand every year.

A couple other smaller issues include giving state employees three days of bereavement leave,...

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A little singing, a little CSI and a little soccer today at the legislative building.

The session starts off with a performance by Chuck Davis and the African American Dance Ensemble. It's all part of a tribute to Black History Month.  If you've never seen them perform, it's quite a treat. Look for video of the performance later today on WRAL.com!

Now to the meat of the session. The first bill that really caught my eye is in the House. It appropriates about $900,000 to create a Triad Regional Crime Lab. It'll serve about a dozen counties in the central part of the state.  Right now, all crime scene evidence that needs testing comes to Raleigh and it's no secret, the state crime lab can't keep up. This money would create 12 positions and help lease a building. Even with the lab, chemists and computer gurus still won't help solve cases in less than an hour, a la CSI, but it'll help.

In the Senate, there's a bill to tweak the state's electors in presidential...

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It's Monday. A slow news day most of the time. After looking at the legislative calendar, it's nice to know we're not the only ones who have a tough time jump-starting the week.

After looking at today's bills, the post Jim Black era is still going strong. The senate's following the house's lead in filing a bill that would cut of the legislative pensions of lawmakers who commit felonies while in office.  The Senate's also going after one of the laws that got Jim Black in trouble. Senate bill 321 would repeal an act that gave chiropractors a break when it comes to insurance co-payments.  You may remember, the former speaker took thousands of dollars in cash from a handful of chiropractors to get the favorable legislation passed.

Two house bills filed today deal with education on different levels. One would provide almost $45 million dollars for Smart Start, the early childhood initiative first started by former Governor Jim Hunt.  House bill 357 would...

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Every session, there are several bills with good intentions that create a huge uproar. This session's been void of that type of legislation, until today.

House Bill 314 directs the state board of community colleges to waive tuition for juvenile offenders and prison inmates once they're released from jail. In fact, the bill waives tuition for the first three years after their release.  I see the intention here. An education is an important step in the rehabilitation process for inmates. Ex-cons with an education are probably more likely to stay out of trouble in the future.  But what do you say to all those current community college students who are struggling to make ends meet. They're working, training, raising families, all while dealing with rising tuition costs.  In this bill's case, is the payoff worth the headache from the naysayers? We'll see.

There are two more bills today that in a roundabout way have Jim Black's fingerprints on them. ...

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I've taken the high road the past couple of days hitting on sweeping legislation that affects a lot of people.  Today, there's new legislation introduced that really puts me in a pickle.  Literally.  And to be honest, I can' t help but to start with it even though it affects just one small town in eastern North Carolina.

House Bill 286 asks for $150,000 dollars in state money to help restore the "historic Old Pickle Shed" in the Duplin County town of Faison.  Look, I know lawmakers are supposed to represent the people who elected them into office and the best way to do that is to focus on local pet projects. But $150,000 for a pickle shed?

All right.  Enough. Let's get to the meat of some of the bigger issues.  First, more fallout from the Jim Black scandal. Representative Blust is sponsoring a bill that would only allow the Speaker of the House and Senate Pro Tem to hold those posts for two consecutive legislative sessions. ...

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