Taxpayers will foot bill for trooper’s funeral

Lawmakers passed roughly 230 bills in the 2008 session, including 19 on Friday. Here’s a sampling of what crossed the finish line on Friday as the session came to a close:
SENATE BILL 1100: Funeral expenses up to $10,000 may be provided in cases where a trooper is killed in the line of duty up until June 1, 2009. The legislature will also hold a study to try to develop a standard policy for all state law enforcement officers on the issue. The legislation is the result of the death of Trooper David Shawn Blanton Jr., who was shot last month during at traffic stop near Asheville.