Today @NCCapitol (March 11): Redistricting, lottery winners, environment on agenda

RALEIGH, N.C. — Good morning and welcome to Today @NCCapitol for Wednesday, March 10. Here's what's going on at the legislature and around state government.

FIRST UP: The House Rules Committee is scheduled to meet at 8 a.m. on an Environmental Amendments bill. After a committee meeting Tuesday, the measure now carries a controversial amendment that would relieve the Environmental Management Commission from writing its own air toxics rules for natural gas drilling. Instead, the EMC could rely on state and federal standards, which environmental groups say are too lax on issues such as methane and ground-level ozone.

TAXING: The House Aging Committee meets at 11 a.m. to tackle a bill that would restore the state tax deduction for older residents' medical expenses. Several representatives say the loss of this deduction has been a source of constituent complaints. WRAL.com plans to carry this meeting live online.

CANCER: The House Health Committee meets at 12:30 p.m. to debate, and potentially vote on, a bill that would ban tanning bed use by anyone under the age of 18. The measure is now named the "Jim Fulghum Teen Skin Cancer Prevention Act" after a former state representative from Raleigh who passed away last year. WRAL.com plans to carry this meeting live online.

LOTTERY AND THE FAIR: The House Judiciary III Committee is all about amusements. It will discuss a measure to keep the names of lottery winners confidential and another to increase the penalties for operating fair rides illegally.

IN THE SENATE: The full Senate meets at 2 p.m. will take up a bill to redraw Wake County's commissioner districts.WRAL.com plans to carry this meeting live online.

IN THE HOUSE: Assuming another food fight doesn't break out over who can supply food to the Alamance County jail, the House should have a relatively uncontroversial session at 10 a.m.

ADVOCATES: Press conferences Wednesday include a rollout of a North Carolina endorsement of the Equal Rights Amendment at 11 a.m. and a noon presser on the rewriting of North Carolina's certificate of need laws that govern some large equipment purchases for hospitals.

MCCRORY: Gov. Pat McCrory will be promoting the historic tax credit in Mount Airy, among other stops outside of Raleigh.