The session has been kept alive since the N.C. General Assembly adjourned its regular session in October. Both the House and the Senate have held skeleton floor sessions every three days, with only a few lawmakers attending to meet a constitutional requirement.
Senate leaders have placed a joint resolution on the floor calendar to adjourn the session Tuesday. "I'm happy we're adjourning," said Senate President Pro Tem Marc Basnight, D-Dare, on Thursday.
House leaders also have agreed to adjourn. "I really never knew why it was being held open," said House Majority Leader Phil Baddour, D-Wayne, about the special session. "I think it's great it's being closed."
Republicans have charged that Democrats were keeping the special session alive until after the elections to allow a lame-duck legislature controlled by Democrats to redraw legislative districts or to take other steps in response to court rulings in a lawsuit over redistricting.
"Keeping (the session) open demonstrated to what great ends the Democrats will go to keep power," said Rep. Sam Ellis, R-Wake, who had repeatedly motioned to have the session closed.
Ellis said the Democrats' closing the session is insignificant now because they decided to close the session only after they determined the party alignment in the courts would not shift in their favor.
"They've adjourned it because they know they don't have a chance in court," he said.
But Basnight and other Democratic leaders said the session was kept open only because of pending litigation. Basnight previously has said that he has wanted to end the session for weeks.
Though the special redistricting session is slated to end Tuesday, lawmakers still will be faced with the task of drawing district lines when they head back to Raleigh in January.
