Campaign finance records reveal varied political pedigrees for Gov. Beverly Perdue’s newest picks for the state Board of Transportation.

Perdue is reappointing one board member who was a major contributor to her run for governor.

She is naming four new members including one who supported her Democratic primary rival -- and never contributed to Perdue’s campaign. ... [MORE]

Gov. Beverly Perdue has made her picks for four more seats on the state Board of Transportation.

Perdue notified members of a legislative oversight committee Wednesday of her intention to reappoint Stan White of Nag’s Head to the board’s Division 1 seat, and to appoint four new members:

Division 6 seat, previously held by Mac Campbell: Gary Ciccone of Fayetteville. Ciccone is a partner in a commercial real estate firm and board chairman of New Century Bancorp. Other New Century board members include state Sen. Tony Rand of Fayetteville, the Senate majority leader, and former Sen. Oscar Harris, who was Perdue’s campaign treasurer.

Divison 8 seat, previously held by G.R. Kindley: David Burns of Laurinburg, former president Z.V. Pate Inc., a farming enterprise.

Division 11 seat, succeeding Arnold Lakey: Sam Halsey, 74, of Jefferson, a Christmas tree farmer and former Chevrolet dealer. In a telephone interview, Halsey said he voted for Perdue and gave her a “very small” campaign contribution.

At-large seat for government-related finance and accounting, to succeed Tony Dennis of Norwood: Ronnie Wall of Burlington.

The five will join 12 other board members. Perdue has scaled back the board's powers, removing board members from decisions on individual transportation projects.

Car dealers are OK with an impending change in state law to ban fat-bordered frames that obscure the state name and other important ID info on license plates (see today's Road Worrier column with reader comments).

"We've got a lot of dealers who buy those frames in bulk," said Robert Glaser, president of the N.C. Automobile Dealers Association. His comments got trimmed out of today's print edition, because we were short on space. "We just want enough time to allow the dealer to prepare to comply with the law."

Glaser said he checked with his counterparts in Arizona. They adjusted without serious pain to similar legislation last year. 

Rep. Nelson Cole, himself a retired auto dealer, is pushing the North Carolina legislation to make license plates legible, and it includes a one-year grace period.

But car dealers aren't the only ones who will be affected. College alumni groups and sports booster clubs like to use these fat frames, too.  Watch out, Wolfpackers.

It appears that the General Assembly is about to approve House Bill 67. It would expand a state law that says the license plate on your car should be legible, to add this provision:

Any operator of a motor vehicle who covers the State name, year sticker, or month sticker on a registration plate with a license plate frame commits an infraction and shall be fined ....

You know what they're talking about: A frame around your license plate that advertises your alma mater or your outlook on life -- or, more likely, the dealer who sold you the car.

"These things have gotten to be where the whole tag is an advertisement," Sen. Harry Brown of Onslow County said at a July 1 meeting of the Senate Finance Committee, which endorsed the bill.

Sometimes the borders of these frames are so fat that the car dealer's name obscures part of the tag -- namely, the state name embossed in small letters across the bottom. The license number by itself doesn't fully identify a car -- there can be several states that have issued tag number ABC-1234 or whatever.

Have you ever been ticketed because of your license plate frame? What are your thoughts about this legislation? Which car dealers are causing the problem here?

Let me hear from you by e-mail or phone (919-829-4527), and don't forget your daytime contact info.

[7/10/9 correction and update:

[This blog post and today's story (see story with reader comments) gave the wrong total for campaign contributions received since 2006 by Gov. Perdue from Ralph H. Womble of Winston-Salem, one of Perdue's picks for the state Board of Transportation. Womble's contributions to Perdue totaled $7,842.23.]

Gov. Bev Perdue has picked six new members for the state Board of Transportation. All but one of them, Durham lawyer Chuck Watts, gave money to Perdue's campaign last year.

The legislature’s Joint Transportation Oversight Committee received the names earlier this month, and the new members are expected to take their seats at the Aug. 6 meeting: ...

The next time a Gulf Coast hurricane cuts down the flow of fuel to North Carolina, our governor might have new powers to decide who gets precious gas -- and who doesn’t.

The Senate approved and sent to the House today a bill authorizing the governor to ration fuel supplies in times of disasters and other emergencies when markets are disrupted.

The measure would expand on the state’s power to combat gasoline price gouging in similar situations. Last September, Hurricane Ike closed some refineries and pinched the pipeline flow of gasoline to North Carolina, causing prolonged shortages in several cities. Several retailers were fined for gouging after they sold regular gas for as much as $5.49 a gallon.

Gov. Bev Perdue has not decided whether she wants new power to ration fuel supplies.

"Gov. Perdue wants to make sure North Carolina citizens can get the fuel they need during a time of crisis," said Chrissy Pearson, her press secretary. "She is reviewing this legislation as it continues through the legislative process."

Bikers who want to ride with the wind in their hair made progress in the General Assembly today when a House committee approved a bill to peel back North Carolina’s motorcycle safety helmet requirement for some riders.

Motorcyclists would be free to go bare-headed if they’re 21 or older and riding where the speed limit is 45 mph or slower, under a bill that passed on a 9-7 vote in the House Transportation Committee. ... [MORE]

It’s crossover week! Time to throw a bunch of transportation bills against the wall, and see what sticks.

If we can’t get these bills passed through the House this week, it’ll be too late to have them considered by the Senate this year. It's now or never. [1pm update: See notes on committee actions below.]

So the House Transportation Committtee today at 9 a.m. (1228 Legislative Building) will consider whether to stomp the gas or the brakes for a motley mix of large and small, likely and unlikely transportation bills:

HB 1359: Ban skateboards from public highways  [1pm update: Withdrawn.]

HB 881: Start shifting 4,700 miles of state-owned streets inside city limits to city responsibility [1pm update: Bill passed, but after sponsor removed this provision and another that were opposed by cities.]

HB 1245: Start planning to collect tolls from drivers on all interstate highways – at our state borders  [1pm update: Approved as a study item.]

HB 1578: Spend some of our Highway Trust Fund construction money on projects that relieve the worst urban congestion  [1pm update: Defeated]

HB 286: Start calling the Highway Fund the Highway Maintenance Fund, and start calling the Highway Trust Fund the Highway Special Projects Fund  [1pm update: Reduced in scope and changed to a study proposal.]

HB 832: Reinstate a goal to have 10 percent of DOT contracts awarded to minority contractors, and 5 percent to women contractors  [1pm update: Withdrawn.]

HB 839: Allow motorcycle riders to quit wearing safety helmets when they turn 21 [1pm update: See separate blog post on this bill.]

HB 1617: Make the independent Turnpike Authority a part of DOT, and combine their boards [1pm update: approved]

Senate Bill 1001 and the identical House Bill 881, drafted by DOT officials, would make several changes aimed at easing DOT's cash flow problems and reducing state maintenance costs for city streets.

One provision would reclassify an estimated 4,700 miles of minor state-maintained roads inside city and town limits across the state, and start a process of shifting them to local government responsibility (see today's Road Worrier column).

Local elected officials have lobbied against that plan because the measure would not provide additional money to cover the additional local road maintenance expense. ... [MORE]

Durham lawyer Bo Glenn, who helped run a Triangle-wide study commission that developed the region's big plan for buses and trains, now is spearheading a western Triangle advocacy group to boost political prospects for regional transit.

Durham-Orange Friends of Transit has a cute nickname (DO-Transit) and a clunky web address (http://www.durhamorangefriendsoftransit.org), where Glenn is inviting felow travelers to sign up. Glenn was a vice chairman of the Special Transit Advisory Commission, which proposed more than 300 new buses and more than 50 miles of rail transit in a new long-range regional transit plan.

DO-Transit joins Karen Rindge's Wake-centered group, Capital Area Friends of Transit, in an effort to push for legislation -- already passed by the House and now before the Senate -- authorizing a local vote for a half-cent sales tax that would pay most of the cost of that transit plan.