Free Republic

Legislation done in haste often comes with regrets. And lawmakers and political activists could soon be offering regrets about a bill that puts new limits on "electioneering communications" that passed the General Assembly in the waning hours of the 2004 short session. The bill, which has already been signed into law by Gov. Mike Easley, restricts corporate donations to special political groups. According to an Associated Press report, it bars the use of corporate and union donations to these groups for any radio or TV ads that clearly mention a statewide or legislative candidate 30 days before a primary election...

A federal report showing that a political committee controlled by allies of House Republican Co-Speaker Richard Morgan got $100,000 from a small tobacco company in Virginia has Morgan's rivals raising questions about the donation. The N.C. Republican Main Street Committee, a so-called "527" independent committee controlled by Morgan's closest allies, reported to the Internal Revenue Service this week that it has raised $160,200. The committee has run campaign ads on behalf of Morgan's legislative supporters. But more than half the committee's money - $100,000 - came in a single donation on April 29 from S&M Brands Inc. of Keysville, Va.

RALEIGH – The 2003-04 session of the General Assembly ended Sunday with a congratulatory round of back-patting and what amounted to an open meeting of the inside-the-Beltline chapter of the North Carolina Mutual Admiration Society. (snip) House Speaker Jim Black sounded a major theme of the post- adjournment afterglow when he told the Associated Press that his alliance with Republican Co-Speaker Richard Morgan had proven to be a productive one. "Everybody predicted chaos and thought it was going to be the end of the world," he said, but in fact his two-year coalition in the House "began in terrible fashion...

RALEIGH — A new legal-research group in Raleigh will wage lawsuits over constitutional issues involving the use of tax dollars for business incentives and to broadcast public-service ads using state officials, its chairman said yesterday. The N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law will challenge state policies on business recruitment and tax issues, said William Graham, the former Superior Court judge and state banking commissioner who will head the group's board.