UPDATE May 30, 2020: As detailed in this post, Governor Cooper issued EO 142 on May 30, 2020, which extends the effective period of EO 124 through July 29, 2020. Updated May 2020: The Attorney General’s Office has modified the … Read more

In response to the escalating COVID-19 crisis, Governor Roy Cooper issued Executive Order 121 imposing a series of statewide restrictions, prohibitions, and directives referred to as a Stay-at-Home Order (“EO121” or “the Order”).  The Order goes into effect on Monday, … Read more

Local tax officials from across the state continue raise important questions about the pandemic.  I don’t have perfect answers to all of those questions, but I’ll do my best to respond to many of them in today’s post.  Please also … Read more

The COVID-19 public health crisis is giving rise to an unprecedented economic crisis. Economic activity across the nation has slowed considerably, and many small businesses—which were operating successfully only one month ago—are now struggling to survive. As their bills pile … Read more

UPDATE (May 13, 2020): On May 4, changes to North Carolina’s communicable disease confidentiality law went into effect, including important modifications to the parts of the law that permit information to be released to law enforcement officials. Please see this … Read more

UPDATED August 3, 2022 Quasi-judicial evidentiary hearings are subject to formal procedural limits. Such hearings must adhere to the core elements of a fair trial and protect the due process rights of the parties. These issues heighten the concerns (and … Read more

Even in ordinary times, and especially during times of emergency, no single organization has all the power, resources, or authority required to solve a public problem. Right now, local governments are hard at work developing community-specific responses in keeping with … Read more

As state and local government officials across the country struggle to respond to the rapidly escalating coronavirus pandemic, some are exploring the need for increasingly stringent measures, including what are being referred to as “stay-at-home” restrictions (I’ll address the important … Read more

When a local government is functioning normally, there are a number of statutory and regulatory duties that it’s finance office must carry out. Further, there are numerous internal control processes and practices that local finance professionals follow in order to … Read more

As local officials in our state continue to respond to the rapidly evolving and ever-changing COVID-19 pandemic, counties and cities wrestle with difficult decisions about imposing restrictions and prohibitions under a local state of emergency declaration to address the public … Read more

Economic activity can be disrupted by any number of unanticipated emergencies, ranging from natural disasters to virus outbreaks like COVID-19. When these events threaten the survival of small businesses, the owners may turn to government for assistance. One legal and … Read more

COVID-19 has arrived in North Carolina and units of local government across the state are facing tough questions as they purchase goods and services.  This post addresses some of the legal issues under North Carolina law confronting local procurement officials.

[Updated May 2020 to reflect the impact of the COVID-19 relief bill, S.L. 2020-3.] Tax administration is obviously not at the top of any local government’s list of pandemic concerns.   But social distancing and other remedial measures made necessary by … Read more

UPDATE: Please note that the state has provided a hotline to help essential workers find childcare. NC local governments are increasingly taking operations remote to encourage social distancing among personnel and the public. By Executive Order, Governor Cooper closed all … Read more

As NC governments prepare for telework, the Center for Public Technology at the School of Government has put together a resource page to assist you with some of the most common technical questions related to telework and/or remote access. The … Read more

[UPDATE: Section 4.31 of Session Law 2020-3 addresses electronic meetings held during a state of emergency declared by the Governor or General Assembly. The new law’s provisions aren’t reflected in this post, which was written before its enactment. For a … Read more

As state and local government officials deal with the rapidly evolving COVID-19 pandemic, local governments are raising questions about who has the authority to take action at the local level and what actions they can take. My colleague Jill Moore’s … Read more

UPDATE: Please note that local government water and wastewater utilities are not subject to regulation by the State’s Utilities Commission. That means that the Utilities Commission’s March 19, 2020 order suspending disconnections does not apply to local government water and … Read more

As the COVID-19 epidemic continues to unfold in the U.S. and around the world, the media and scholars are increasingly talking about isolation, quarantine, and social distancing. Sometimes the words are used as if they are interchangeable, but they’re not: … Read more

The first case of COVID-19 in North Carolina was announced on March 3, in a press conference that can be viewed here. A press release from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services is available here. Based on the … Read more