Every year, county departments of social services investigate thousands of reports of child abuse and neglect across North Carolina. Tragically, some of those cases of abuse or neglect end in the death of a child. After one of these fatalities … Read more

Imagine that the Wonka Chocolate Factory is the largest employer in your county.  They list substantial amounts of business personal property (“BPP”) for taxation every year.  In January 2023, Wonka lists BPP totaling $65,000,000, which is roughly $25,000,000 more than … Read more

On August 16, 2023, Session Law (S.L.) 2023-106, which included the Parent’s Bill of Rights, was passed after a legislative override of the Governor’s veto. Part 3 of the law, which goes into effect on December 1, 2023, requires health … Read more

NOTE: This post has been updated to reflect developing case law.  When can local governments charge for responding to public records requests? How much can they charge and for what services? While certain aspects of public records law provide a … Read more

Headline: City finance employee embezzles public money. While the facts may differ, the story underlying this all-too-common headline is usually one in which a trusted employee slowly pockets money by writing checks or electronically transferring funds to a personal bank … Read more

As discussed in previous posts, the system development fee (SDF) law, G.S. Ch. 162A, Art. 8, allows a local government utility provider to assess certain costs of developing and maintaining its water and/or wastewater systems on new development that benefits … Read more

On August 16, 2023, Session Law (S.L.) 2023-106, which included the Parent’s Bill of Rights, was passed after a legislative override of the Governor’s veto. Part 3 of the law, which goes into effect on December 1, 2023, requires health … Read more

The religious exemption created by G.S. 105-278.3 may produce more difficult questions than the rest of the Machinery Act combined.  This post summarizes the religious exemption’s legal requirements and tries to answer some of those thorny eligibility questions. Ownership and … Read more

North Carolina local governments and public authorities (collectively “local units”) are subject to oversight by the State in various ways. The Local Government Commission monitors the fiscal health of all local units, sets rules for financial management and audit compliance, … Read more

As the 2023 Legislative Session continues, many session laws that amend child welfare statutes, including abuse, neglect, dependency; termination of parental rights (TPR); adoption of a minor; and foster care licensing became effective on various dates. Some of these changes … Read more