North Carolina lawmakers have concluded their work for the year, after passing a $19 billion state budget, ethics reform and film industry tax breaks, along with scores of other bills and resolutions.

So what's it like to be the eyes and ears within the legislature for thousands of North Carolina citizens?

To find the answer to that and to get an insider's insight into this year's legislative session, we speak with Mark Binker, state government reporter for the Greensboro News & Record and author of the Capital Beat blog.