Today @NCCapitol (March 31): Redrawing lines, raising the age

The state House Elections Committee will hold a public hearing on the Wake County redistricting bill late in the day.

Posted 9:00 a.m. Mar 31, 2015 — Updated 9:00 a.m. Mar 31, 2015

Mark Binker

and

Laura Leslie

RALEIGH, N.C. — Good morning and welcome to Today @NCCapitol for Tuesday, March 31. Here's what's going on at the General Assembly and around state government.

NOTED: North Carolina's religious freedom bill has been gathering attention, but it's unclear either the House or the Senate version is going anywhere. The Senate version of the bill is still sitting in the Rules Committee.

Meanwhile, the House version of the bill is in the Judiciary IV Committee. Asked if the committee would take up the bill this spring, Co-chairman Rob Bryan, R-Mecklenburg, said he didn't know. Asked about the bill, House Speaker Tim Moore said, "It's going to sit there a while."

HOUSE AND SENATE: The House and Senate will hold their floor sessions at 2 p.m. Both chambers are scheduled to finish work on the gas tax bill, which is scheduled to take effect Wednesday.

THE COMMITTEE WE'RE WATCHING: The House Elections Committee is set to hold a public hearing on the bill redrawing Wake County's commissioners districts.

CREDITS: Moore and Cultural Resource Secretary Susan Kluttz hold a news conference pressing for the reinstatement of the Historic Preservation Tax Credit.

RAISE THE AGE: Rep. Marilyn Avila, R-Wake, leads a news conference on behalf of a bill to raise the age at which young offenders can be charged as adults if they commit misdemeanors. Currently, North Carolina is one of only two states that automatically tries 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds as adult offenders. A similar bill cleared the House last year but did not made it through the Senate.

HEADED TO THE HIGH COURT: The legal battle between Gov. Pat McCrory and the legislature over appointments to boards and commissions, including the Coal Ash Management Commission, has been set for oral arguments before the North Carolina Supreme Court on June 30.

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