WASHINGTON  – A top congressional Democrat says the White House may have oversold the roads-and-bridges component of the historic stimulus law.

An Associated Press analysis of the first $19 billion in transportation spending showed that communities most in need of jobs are least likely to benefit from the program.

A spokesman for Minnesota Rep. James Oberstar, who leads the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, says the White House shouldn’t have billed road money as the signature component of the stimulus, or as a surefire boost to needy communities.

Spokesman Jim Berard says Washington is limited in how it can tell states where to spend the money. Needy communities might lose out in the short term but he says they’ll benefit from other aspects of the stimulus bill.

RALEIGH, N.C. – A bill to allow North Carolina school districts to start classes each year as much as 2½ weeks earlier than what’s now allowed has hit a roadblock.

The House Commerce Committee narrowly defeated a motion Tuesday night to recommend the measure go to the House floor.

The bill would change the 2004 law requiring most schools to begin no earlier than Aug. 25 and end by June 10. Districts could start as early as Aug. 8.

Education groups argue districts should decide their own start dates. The tourism industry and parents oppose the change because they say districts want to erode traditional summer vacations.

The 13-to-14 vote doesn’t necessarily kill the bill. Sponsor Rep. Ray Rapp of Madison County hopes the motion will be reconsidered.

RALEIGH, N.C.  – Sixteen- and 17-year-olds would no longer automatically be sent to adult courts on criminal charges in legislation recommended by a House committee.

The House Juvenile Justice Committee approved Tuesday a measure supporters say would give more children a second chance by having their cases in juvenile court. The bill now goes to a judiciary panel.

North Carolina is one of two states where children under 18 are prosecuted automatically in adult court, with no exceptions.

Bill sponsor Rep. Rick Glazier of Cumberland County said the change would give teenagers intensive help. It also would keep convictions off of their permanent adult records.

Children as young as 13 could still be tried in adult court on a felony but only if a judge agrees.

RALEIGH, N.C. – The state Senate has given tentative approval to a bill that would require all school districts to
approve detailed anti-bullying policies its supporters say would protect children.

Senators voted 25-22 on Tuesday in favor of the measure, which lists perceived characteristics of a person who could be susceptible to bullying behavior. Those include sexual orientation and gender identity, which bother some Christian groups. They argue it would create protected classes of people and give gays and lesbians special rights.

Bill sponsor Sen. Julia Boseman of New Hanover County said the bill isn’t designed to encourage any particular type of behavior except to keep kids safe in schools.

A final Senate vote could come Wednesday. The House has yet to consider the measure.

A bill that would make it easier for people to collect attorneys’ fees if they won public records lawsuits has cleared a key House committee intact, the N&O reports.

RALEIGH, N.C. — Supporters of a ban on smoking in indoor workplaces in North Carolina are trying to restore a provision that would include adult-only businesses under the ban.

The smoking ban was approved by the N.C. House earlier this month – but only after the bill was amended to exempt bars and other places that are not open to people younger than 18.

The bill is now before the N.C. Senate.

The Senate Health Committee will take up a substitute bill that will eliminate the exemption and restore the ban to its more restrictive form, according to the chairman of the health committee, Sen. William Purcell.

The health committee had planned to consider the bill yesterday, but the topic was postponed at the last minute because of a concern from the Wilmington film industry that the bill would not allow actors to smoke while being filmed for a movie.

“I don’t really like promoting smoking in movies, but on the other hand, the movie industry is very important to the state,” said Purcell, D-Scotland.

Legislators will rewrite the bill to deal with the issue of smoking on screen, and then the health committee will hold a hearing on the bill next week, Purcell said.

The holdup demonstrates how far-reaching the proposed smoking ban is – and how it has rattled many interest groups and employers. The bill, which is sponsored by Rep. Hugh Holliman, D-Davidson, would outlaw smoking in nearly all buildings where people are employed or the public is invited.

The exemption for adult-only businesses is particularly controversial because restaurant owners worry that it would create an uneven playing field. If the exemption stands, family restaurants that also have bars would be forced to ban smoking throughout their buildings, while adult-only bars could continue to allow smoking.

Democratic leaders in both the House and the Senate prefer a smoking ban without the adult-only exemption.

But the exemption makes the bill more palatable for some moderate Democrats, especially ones from tobacco-producing districts.

Most Republicans oppose the bill.

If the Senate approves the more-restrictive version of the bill, without the adult-only exemption, it will return to the House. Holliman said yesterday that he believes that if that happened, the more-restrictive version could get enough votes to pass in the House.

Supporters argue that all businesses should be subject to the ban in order to protect all employees from the health hazards of second-hand smoke.

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.  – A North Carolina congressman says a bill to grant federal recognition to the Lumbee Indian tribe is heading toward a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Fayetteville Observer reported Thursday that Rep. Mike McIntyre, D-NC, said in a statement that the recognition bill he sponsored could be voted on within 30 days.

With recognition, the tribe would received millions of dollars for housing, education, health care and economic development.

Lumbees were partially recognized by the federal government in 1956, but the government denied the tribe benefits given to other tribes. Language in the bill also prohibited the tribe from seeking recognition through the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

RALEIGH, N.C. – The North Carolina House narrowed the sample but approved a test of how much voters want to see the influence of money in local elections diluted by taxpayer subsidies.

The House voted 60-56 on Tuesday to let cities choose whether to use taxpayer money in some local elections. The cities would join Chapel Hill, which will allow public financing in local elections this year.

Changes adopted on Tuesday limited the experiment running through 2016 to cities larger than 50,000 residents. Cities must seek permission from the State Board of Elections to test using tax money for local candidates.

Statewide candidates for appellate judges and three other posts now get public funding.

The bill next moves to the Senate.

RALEIGH, N.C.  – Gov. Beverly Perdue says retooling an old Outer Banks landmark will create hundreds of jobs and help visitors learn about North Carolina marine life and nature.

Perdue signed into law Wednesday a bill to pay for construction of the North Carolina Aquarium Pier at Nags Head, using admissions money at state aquariums and outside sources. The Legislature gave its final OK to the $25 million plan Tuesday.

The pier previously known as Jeanette’s Pier almost was destroyed by Hurricane Isabel in 2003. The state aquarium society bought the property and gave it to the state.

The bill says the pier’s refurbishment could create more than 550 jobs.

The pier will include a stormwater system designed to protect the sounds and beaches from runoff.