North Carolina's next governor would be able to hire more political appointees than his predecessor if the Senate's budget proposal becomes law.  The next governor would also be able to decide on pay for his Cabinet.

Current law gives a governor the ability to hire more than 400 policymakers across departments -- the Senate proposal unveiled this week would raise that total to about 1,000 people. These employees would not be subject to hiring and firing restrictions in the State Personnel Act.

The bill also would no longer set specific salaries of Cabinet secretaries in state law ... instead, starting Jan. 1st, that authority would belong to the governor. But there would be no extra salary money overall.