By Mark Binker WRAL.com 

North Carolina lawmakers are trying to bring their 2013 legislative “long” session to a close over the next few weeks, although, as of June 24, the House and Senate are still wrangling over major policy bills along with budget and tax packages.

Unlike states such as Maryland and Virginia, there is no constitutional or legal requirement that North Carolina lawmakers finish work by any particular date. But traditionally, if North Carolina legislators are in town much past the second week of July during an odd numbered year (like 2013), it causes legislative leaders to sweat both figuratively and metaphorically.

This year, House leaders might also find themselves itching, literally, to get away, as they’ve pledged to grow their beards until business is done for the summer.

As the heat and humidity rises, so does the pace of lawmaking and the number of “non-standard” procedures employed. That makes the action all the harder to follow, as legislators try to speed up a process that is, by its nature, ponderous.

With that in mind, here are eight things to watch for and/or keep in mind as lawmaking wraps up this summer:

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