Divided government in the state’s capital has led to plenty of debate but few major bills becoming law as the General Assembly nears its fifth month of the 2011 session.

Some of that is due to Gov. Bev Perdue’s veto pen. The first-term Democrat has vetoed five bills, including high-profile legislation exempting North Carolinians from federal health care mandates. In each instance, House Republicans initially have failed to cull enough Democratic support to overcome the veto.

A minor turning point may have arrived Wednesday, when GOP leaders and Perdue worked out a deal on a bill rescuing the State Health Plan, which faced a $515 million deficit. In April, Perdue vetoed Senate Bill 265, a measure forcing state employees for the first time to pay premiums for health insurance and boosting deductibles and co-payments. The bill also would have shifted governance of the State Health Plan from the General Assembly to the state treasurer.

The General Assembly announced this week that the health plan had spent $55 million less than expected, providing a cushion so that the state could continue requiring no premiums to employees with the most basic, 70/30 policies. State workers with more expensive, 80/20 coverage would pay modest premiums. Perdue supports the compromise measure, which passed the Senate 33-16 and is on its way to the House.

On the other side of the coin, Perdue has signed several less controversial bills into law, among them a measure to recognize a separate, unborn victim in the event of a violent attack on a pregnant woman, which passed both chambers by veto-proof margins.

Another bill signed by Perdue reverses a local land-transfer tax that’s proven dramatically unpopular with voters, and a third suspends a plastic-bag ban in certain coastal communities.

David McLennan, a political science professor at Peace College in Raleigh, said it’s too early to gauge whether voters are more satisfied with Republicans in the legislature or their Democratic foes. He said the public’s approval, or lack thereof, would boil down to the budget.

“As we see that play out in the next month, that will be a stronger indication of how the session is going to be perceived by voters,” McLennan said.

Many times, Republicans have moved bills out of one chamber but left them dormant, so far, in the other. In other instances, both chambers passed differing versions of the same bill, requiring a conference committee to work out the kinks.

Two prominent bills remain in conference. The first would reform North Carolina’s charter-schools law, and the second would overhaul medical liability laws in the state.

“So much of what is going to be written and said and thought about the General Assembly this year is still left [to be seen],” McLennan said. “The budget is the driver of all these other things.”

MAJOR BILLS PASSED BY ONE CHAMBER, BUT NOT THE OTHER

• House Bill 61, Speaker/Pro Tem Term Limits: Passed the House, 72-46, April 7. Assigned to the Senate Judiciary I Committee.

• House Bill 8, Eminent Domain: Passed House, 98-18, April 28. Assigned to the Senate Judiciary I Committee.

• House Bill 422, Federal Rail Money/Report, Consult, Approve.: Passed the House, 65-48, April 28. Assigned to the Senate Transportation Committee.

• House Bill 546, Alternative Salary Plans/Charlotte-Meck.Sch.: Passed the House, 72-42, April 28. Assigned to the Senate Rules Committee.

• House Bill 34, The Castle Doctrine: Passed the Senate, 35-13, February 28. Assigned to the House Judiciary Committee.

• House Bill 111, Hangun Permit Valid in Parks & Restaurants: Passed the House, 74-42, March 30. Assigned to the Senate Judiciary II Committee.

• House Bill 153, No Public Retirement for Convicted Felons: Passed the House, 116-1, April 6. Assigned to the Senate Committee on Pensions & Retirement and Aging.

• House Bill 483, DNA Samples/Additional Felonies: Passed the House, 83-34, May 9. Assigned to the Senate Judiciary I Committee.

• House Bill 498, Wake School Board Presiding Officer Voting: Passed the House, 70-46, April 13. Assigned to the Senate State and Local Government Committee.

• Senate Bill 27, Involuntary Annexation Moratorium: Passed the Senate, 36-12, March 7. Assigned to the House Rules Committee.

• Senate Bill 709, Energy Jobs Act: Passed the Senate, 38-12, May 10. Assigned to the Senate Committee on Public Utilities.

MAJOR BILLS PASSED BY BOTH CHAMBERS, IN CONFERENCE COMMITTEE

• Senate Bill 110, Permit Terminal Groins: Passed the Senate, 41-6, March 14 and the House, 41-46, April 26.

• Senate Bill 33, Medical Liability Reforms: Passed the Senate, 36-13, March 2 and the House, 91-27, April 20.

• Senate Bill 8, No Cap on Number of Charter Schools: Passed the Senate, 33-17, February 24 and the House, 68-51, April 11.

MAJOR BILLS SIGNED BY PERDUE

• House Bill 92, Repeal Land Transfer Tax: Passed the House, 76-42, March 7 and the Senate, 40-8, March 21. Signed by Perdue March 31.

• Senate Bill 146, Suspend Plastic Bag Ban/Supply Disruption: Passed the Senate, 47-2, March 16 and the House, 116-0, April 19. Signed by Perdue April 20.

• House Bill 316, Modify NCGA Police Powers: Passed the House, 113-3, March 17 and the Senate, 31-18, April 20. Signed by Perdue May 3.

• Senate Bill 22, APA Rules: Limit Additional Costs: Passed the Senate, 49-1, Feb. 9 and the House, 74-40, March 10. Signed by Perdue March 25.

• Senate Bill 406, Repeal Crossbow Purchase Permit Requirement: Passed the Senate, 50-0, March 30 and the House, 69-48, April 19. Signed by Perdue April 28.

• Senate Bill 464, Debt Reduction Act of 2011: Passed the Senate, 47-2, April 13 and the House, 64-48, April 28. Signed by Perdue May 3.

• House Bill 215, Unborn Victims of Violence Act/Ethen’s Law: Passed the House, 75-34, March 24 and the Senate, 45-4, April 14. Signed by Perdue April 29.

MAJOR BILLS VETOED

• House Bill 383, Extend UI Benefits/Continuing Resolution: Passed the House, 107-8, April 5 and the Senate, 30-17, April 14. Vetoed by Perdue April 16.

• House Bill 2, Protect Health Care Freedom: Passed the House, 66-50, Feb. 2 and the Senate, 30-18, Feb. 16. Vetoed by Perdue March 5.

• Senate Bill 13, Balanced Budget Act of 2011: Passed the Senate, 31-16, Feb. 7 and the House, 66-51, Feb. 10. Vetoed by Perdue Feb. 22.

• House Bill 7, Comm. Colleges/Opt Out of Fed’l Loan Program: Passed by the House, 69-47, March 8 and the Senate, 31-18, April 4. Vetoed by Perdue April 13.

David N. Bass is an associate editor of Carolina Journal.