news-record.com

Remember how Seinfeld was a show about nothing? That’s kind of what today’s legislative session was about today.

Republican leaders planned today’s session in case they needed to deal with redistricting. With no redistricting problems in sight, they had no business to do and promptly adjourned.

So why was everyone here? Because back in January, legislative leaders used parliamentary rules to turn a session about one veto override into a session about another veto override. That session was called with less than two hours notice for 12:45 a.m. (Background)

With that January session as background, it’s understandable why Democrats showed up in force.

And liberal-leaning groups, lead by Progress NC and Democracy North Carolina, brought more than 50 people to the General Assembly today to protest and keep and eye on the session. When they brought people into the building to stand outside the Speakers’ office, they were told to go elsewhere. Most of the group went up to the third floor to watch the very quick skeleton session.

It's worth noting that this group wasn't making any more noise than than average middle school group that traipses through the building on a fairly regular basis.

“Our group is too large,” Adam Sotak, organizing director for Democracy North Carolina told his group. This provoked much grumbling and questions about where rules for the legislative building came from.

Well, the rules were signed back when Liston Ramsey was House Speaker and J.J. Harrington was Senate President Pro Tempore. There’s no exact date on when they were put in place but the last revision came Nov. 18, 1987.

You can read them here. You can also read them if you happen to notice an 8.5-by-11 inch sign next to the entrance to the legislative building. To be honest, I’ve walked past that thing hundreds, if not thousands, of times and never noticed it. And I've never seen the rule cited before, although I have seen it enforced a few times.

But the relevant rule about the second floor reads:

3. Visiting on Second Floor of State Legislative Building. Individuals and groups of visitors who come to the State Legislative Building for the purpose of viewing the building and observing the sessions of either or both houses shall not visit the second floor of the building. Legislative staff guides shall conduct groups of visitors so as to comply with this rule. Visitors on the second floor shall, at the request of the legislative staff, state the nature of their business on that floor, and shall immediately leave that floor at the request of legislative staff.

Apparently, the Speakers staff requested that the group outside his office leave.

Aside from that hiccup (there were no arrests and everyone kept their tempers) the session went as expected.

Lawmakers will meet for one more skeleton session on Saturday to meet statutory and constitutional requirements. Tills said that he had no plans to be in town for it and that there would be no business conducted.