Another McCrory priority on hold
A bill rewriting the state's personnel law now has the backing of state government's largest employees union, but Senate leaders aren't in a rush to move it along.
Posted — Updated"The governor and I and the Senate leadership and the House leadership have all sat down at the table and negotiated the entire bill, came up with a resolution and it's ready to go," SEANC Executive Director Dana Cope said.
The number of "exempt" employees that the governor can hire or fire at will will still rise from a current ceiling of 1,000 to 1,500. But other state employees would still have access to much the same appeals process they have now, Cope told WRAL-TV's Cullen Browder.
"We think it's right, but we want the lawyers to sign off on it," Sen. Tom Apodaca, R-Henderson, the Senate Rules chairman, said with a grin.
It's worth noting that McCrory is a key player in tax and budget negotiations with the House and Senate. Withholding passage of unrelated bills that are key priorities for those you are negotiating with is a time-honored legislative tactic. And McCrory's budget and tax proposals have much more closely lined up with the House position than proposals put forward by the Senate. That may have lead the Senate to seek some extra leverage in the discussions.
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