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A Senate committee approved legislation Thursday to further loosening investing rules for the state pension fund at the request of Treasurer Janet Cowell, just as the fund's former investment head has been writing some stinging criticism about states that have ramped up their alternatives investments, Scott Mooneyham at the Insider reports.

Andy Silton, who served as chief investment officer during a portion of the terms of former State Treasurer Richard Moore, has gone as far as to question the moves into private equity and hedge funds during his time on the job here. "Unfortunately, we went ahead and implemented a program of investing in hedge funds and private equity. While our program didn’t do any harm, it didn’t help anyone but the money managers," Silton wrote recently.

McCRORY TO ANNOUNCE MEDICAID SYSTEM OVERHAUL: Gov. Pat McCrory rejected a Medicaid expansion earlier this year saying the system was broken and Wednesday morning he is expected to describe how he plans to fix it. The Republican has talked frequently about the rising costs of the healthcare system for select low-income and disabled residents and issued a video preview Tuesday saying he would create a "partnership" that will help keep costs low. Check Dome later today for more details from the 10 a.m. press conference.

***It's a jam-packed day in North Carolina politics. Get the full scoop on all the big stories from the Dome Morning Memo below. Send tips and news to dome@newsobserver.com.***

It pays to be a legislative leader --- even when you're gone. Or out of prison.

Former leaders head the list of those receiving pensions under North Carolina's Legislative Retirement System.

At the top of the list: former Democratic House Speaker Jim Black of Matthews, who served time in prison for corruption. He gets $3,607 a month, according to the state Treasurer's office.

His predecessor, Republican Harold Brubaker of Asheboro, gets $3,444 a month to supplement his income as a lobbyist representing more than a dozen clients including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and GlaxoSmithKline.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Walter Dalton began his television advertising campaign Wednesday, in what could be a critical moment in his race against Republican Pat McCrory. Trailing McCrory in the polls and still not known by nearly half the state’s voters, Dalton hopes the statewide TV advertising campaign will provide his candidacy with a much needed boost.

But the fact that the sitting lieutenant governor is running his first ad in mid-September introducing himself to voters shows how far he has to go in the final eight weeks. Read more here.

More political headlines:

--Senior Republican strategist Charlie Black said Wednesday he would “love to see” his party choose Charlotte for its 2016 national convention.

UPDATED: Democratic State Treasuer Janet Cowell is facing questions about why she gave top officials who manage the state's $75 billion pension fund big raises even as most state workers didn't get a salary bump.

From the Insider: Four top officials in the treasurer's investment management division, along with an attorney who works for the treasurer's office, received raises in the 10-percent range during the 2011-12 fiscal year, state personnel records show. Most rank-and-file state workers received no raises that year. A 2008 law, though, allows Cowell to tap pension fund dollars, without going through the appropriations process, to pay top pension fund managers.

The Republican-led legislature got an atta boy this week for fully funding the state retirement system in the current budget.

The Board of Trustees of the Teachers' and State Employee' Retirement System passed a resolution this week expressing “deep appreciation and gratitude to the General Assembly ..in securing the advancement of the retirement system.”

Among those signing the resolution was the board's chairwoman, Democratic state treasurer Janet Cowell.

“The positive results discussed in this resolution were made possible by focused lawmakers and responsible budgeting in the General Assembly,” said House Speaker Thom Tillis. “Despite a multi-billion dollar budget deficit, we were able to fully fund that state's retirement system. And we did it without raising taxes.”

The North Carolina retirement system is one six plans singled out as well-funded public pension plans.

The National Institute on Retirement Security released a study that highlighted six well funded plans – the North Carolina Teachers & State Employees Retirement System, the Delaware State Employees Pension Plan, the Idaho Public Employe Retirement Fund, the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund, the New York State Teachers' Retirement System, and the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.

“A well-funded pension system means taxpayers do not have to worry about a tax increase to pay for the system,” said state Treasurer Janet Cowell. “It also means that 850,000 public servants, including teachers, police and firefighters, do not have to worry about whether they will receive their monthly pension check.”