Today@NCCapitol (March 16): Confirmations, teachers, flood on agenda

RALEIGH, N.C. — Thursday is a relatively light workday for members of the General Assembly, despite a handful of committee meetings on the calendar.

House: Lawmakers meet at 10 a.m. and will debate a measure to allow more teachers to serve as mentors to their colleagues. Currently, only those teachers rated as "distinguished" or "accomplished" can serve in a mentor role. This bill would allow those judged to be "proficient" to serve as mentors, particularly in places where there are no teachers with the higher ratings. WRAL.com plans to carry this session live online.

Senate: Senators are scheduled to meet at noon and will likely vote to confirm Jim Trogden as secretary of the Department of Transportation and Erik Hooks as secretary of the Department of Public Safety. Senators are also poised to confirm Darrell Allison, a school choice advocate with Parents for Educational Freedom, to serve the remaining two years of a vacant term on the UNC Board of Governors. The chamber is also scheduled to sign off on a bill to allow civil penalties to be imposed on those caught on camera passing stopped school buses.

Governor: Gov. Roy Cooper is scheduled to hold several events in or near Princeville in order to examine recovery efforts from Hurricane Matthew.

News conference: Rep. Pricey Harrison, D-Guilford, and three other Democratic lawmakers will hold a news conference at 12:30 p.m. to announce legislation calling for the state and nation "to set a goal of achieving 100 percent clean, renewable energy for all energy sectors by the year 2050."