UPDATE: On March 23, North Carolina’s State Health Director issued a new temporary order requiring physicians to report suspected or confirmed deaths from novel coronavirus infections within 24 hours. Infections that do not cause death are still reportable under the … Read more

It’s bad enough that employment laws have such confusing acronyms – FLSA, FMLA, ADEA, ADA – but why do they have to use different terms for the same thing? Don’t “serious health condition” and “disability” refer to the same thing? … Read more

Anyone who has seen the Reese Witherspoon/Matthew Broderick classic high school satire Election knows that it is never a good idea for administrators to mess with student politics.  The recent mini-scandal out of Greenville suggests that at least a few … Read more

What services must be provided to annexed areas? State law allows cities to annex property by petition (voluntary) and city-initiated (involuntary), which now requires approval by a majority of voters in the area to be annexed. Once property is annexed, … Read more

The national Main Street Program touts “coordinated, small-scale facade improvements” in rural downtown commercial districts as having the “power to not only preserve valuable historic resources in rural communities, but also to spur economic growth in the surrounding area.” What … Read more

Consider this scenario: Carolina County conducts a reappraisal in 2018 in which Tommy TarHeel’s house is appraised at $300,000.  Tommy pays his 2018 and 2019 tax bills at that appraisal value without complaint. But in 2020 Tommy learns that back … Read more

A town’s zoning ordinance requires that all structures within a residential zoning district meet the definition of “dwelling unit.” The town ordinance defines “dwelling unit” to mean, “a building, or portion thereof, designed and arranged and used for living quarters … Read more

My colleague, Margaret Henderson, and I are excited to announce a new SOG resource – Human Trafficking of Minors and Young Adults: What Local Governments Need to Know. Youth are particularly vulnerable to traffickers. County and municipal staff in many … Read more

The breadth of the North Carolina Public Records Law and the explosion of digital public records have resulted in frequent and voluminous requests for public records. Such requests are time-consuming and often include records that exist only on the personal … Read more

What is the impact of a property tax appellate decision on tax years following the one under appeal?  That’s the dispute at issue in a recent N.C. Court of Appeals decision that required Graham County to return $45,000 in post-appeal … Read more

A new law that requires reports to law enforcement about juvenile victims of certain crimes will take effect on Sunday, December 1. Part I of S.L. 2019-245 (S 199) enacts new G.S. 14-318.6, which makes failing to report certain crimes … Read more

Economic development appropriations pursuant to G.S. 158-7.1 have long required a properly-noticed public hearing prior to approval. When the appropriations involve business location incentives, the notice and hearing requirements take on constitutional significance as a result of North Carolina Supreme … Read more

To better document our impact, the School of Government is inviting anyone who has used our services to participate in a short survey. We want to hear about your experiences with the School and learn how we can better serve you … Read more

An Act to Protect Children from Sexual Abuse and to Strengthen and Modernize Sexual Assault Laws, S.L. 2019-245 (S199) enacts and amends various laws related to crimes;* amends some civil and criminal statutes of limitations; requires mandatory training for school … Read more

I don’t write or teach much about sales taxes, because my colleagues and I here at the School of Government focus on local government issues.  Sales taxes are, for the most part, a state government issue.  The state of North … Read more

State law requires every city and every board of county commissioners to designate a clerk.  The law is clear with respect to who appoints the clerk to the board of county commissioners.  When it comes to appointment of city clerks, … Read more

This past July the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued an opinion that has provoked a wide variety of responses from local government attorneys.  Some fear that the opinion might require local governments across the state to completely revamp how … Read more

The General Assembly has enacted significant legislation affecting planning and development regulations in North Carolina. A newly released legislative bulletin summarizes the changes already enacted. The most significant land use legislation is the adoption of Chapter 160D, a new chapter … Read more

Chris McLaughlin and I are excited to announce that our publication Regulation and Taxation of Short-Term Rentals is available for purchase through the SOG website. This publication is aimed at helping local governments decide how to address the growing issue … Read more

Counties and cities are vested with broad authority to impose restrictions and prohibitions during a locally declared state of emergency (GS 166A-19.31; for more information on local state of emergency declarations, see this blog post). These restrictions and prohibitions must … Read more