Schorr Johnson, a spokesman for Senate President Pro-tem Marc Basnight, D-Dare, said that Basnight wants to override the veto.

“Sen. Basnight has said he wants to override it,” Johnson said this afternoon. “I don’t know that there’s been a poll of the Senate taken.”

The bill, which would allow drivers to pull boats up to 10 feet wide on any day of the week without a special permit, received overwhelming, bipartisan support in the General Assembly. It passed the House by a 108-5 vote and the Senate by a 43-0 vote. If both votes held up, it would be well more than the three-fifths margin required to override a veto.

The House will have the first crack at deciding whether to override the veto. Bill Holmes, a spokesman for House Speaker Joe Hackney, D-Orange, said Hackney has been talking to House members to gather their opinions.

If the General Assembly does override Easley’s veto, it would be the first time in the state’s history that a bill became law despite the governor’s objections.

The N.C. Constitution gives the governor 30 days to sign a bill or veto at the conclusion of a legislative session. Easley has until midnight Sunday to decide what to do with the remaining bills.

If a bill isn’t signed or vetoed, it becomes law without his signature. The governor, unlike the president of the United States, has no pocket veto.

Among legislation awaiting a decision from the governor are bills addressing gang violence, allowing more towing of recreational boats, changing the law on children in the bed of a truck and preventing municipalities from restricting the sale of newspapers from streets.

Easley was not sedated, and his office reports that he even joked with the surgeon during the surgery. Garrett said things could change. “I expect the governor’s mood to change when the nerve block wears off,” Garrett said.

Earlier in the week, Garrett said he was advising Easley to curtail some of his activities, including driving racecars.

“We night suggest he sign bills left-handed as well,” Garrett said. “His signature will not be any worse.”

Eighty-seven bills from the 2008 short session remain on the governor’s desk, according to the General Assembly web page.

As of 1:20 p.m. today, 113 bills remained on his desk, according to the General Assembly’s web page. Easley has until midnight Sunday, Aug. 17 to either sign them or veto them. If he does neither, they become law on Monday, Aug. 18.

If Easley does veto a bill, he will be required to reconvene the General Assembly to reconsider the bill he vetoed. The North Carolina Constitution does not give the governor the pocket veto the way the U.S. Constitution gives that power to the president.

There is an exception to the requirement that the governor reconvene the General Assembly into a veto session. If the governor receives a petition signed by a majority of the members of both the House and the Senate, the reconvened session can be waived.

Those elected to the state House and Senate this fall will make u the 2009 General Assembly.

Study committees will likely meet in the interim however.

Not long after word spread around the Legislative Building pressroom that the governor had signed the bill, Sen. Linda Garrou, D-Forsyth, announced his signature on the floor of the Senate.

“Smart man!” responded Senate President Pro-tem Marc Basnight, D-Dare, who was presiding over the chamber.

When? No one’s sure. A lot depends on when and if Gov. Mike Easley signs the budget. If he signs it soon, lawmakers could conceivably go home as early as Thursday. If he waits or lets it become law without his signature, adjournment could come as late as Saturday. A veto would throw a monkey wrench into the whole ordeal.

One sure sign that the session is nearing an end is the conduct of the Senate, which went into session around 11 a.m. today. The Senate is recessing a lot so that hastily called committee meetings can be scheduled.

I’m guessing that adjournment will come on Friday.

Adjournment could come by the end of the week, or possibly early next week. There are a number of loose ends dangling around:

– The budget. While the General Assembly has passed its budget, the governor has yet to sign it. There’s some sense that lawmakers don’t want to go home until the governor signs the budget.

– Jessica’s Law. Versions of the bill setting up a minimum of 25 years in prison for an adult who rapes a child younger than 13 have passed both chambers. Will a final version be worked out during the final week of session?

– Drought legislation. This bill is controversial. Recent rains may throw water on this piece of legislation.

– Coastal storm water rules. A compromise bill is likely to pass.

One sure sign that adjournment is not far away is when committees stop meeting. That hasn’t happened yet.

The moratorium would last through April 30, 2009.

In some ways, its practical effect may be limited. For one, the moratorium lasts only 10 months. For another, it’s only a House vote. It would still need approval by the Senate and Gov. Mike Easley to become law.

If it becomes law, it would put a hold on annexations for a few months while a special committee looks into further reforms in the state’s half-century old annexation framework, which allows cities to annex property without the approval of those being annexed.