By a unanimous vote in both chambers on Monday evening (October 15th), the General Assembly quickly approved and Governor Cooper signed legislation appropriating almost four hundred million dollars in disaster relief for communities and individuals impacted by Hurricane Florence. The … Read more
It’s that time of year again. Leaves are falling and campaign signs are rising. Along with the signs come the questions about the laws and limits for regulating campaign signs. This can be a confusing topic because of the ruling … Read more
When the General Assembly enacted S.L. 2017-41 (H 630) in June 2017, it set several wheels in motion related to reform of the social services system (See legislation; SOG summary). Some of the ideas addressed in the reform conversation involve … Read more
Unless you are in desperate need of a sleep aid, I assume you don’t normally read law journals. But my friend Tom Kelley from the UNC Law School and I just published an article in the UNC Law Review on … Read more
As communities begin the long recovery process in the wake of Hurricane Florence, many residents will need temporary housing. One challenge, though, is the zoning ordinance. Most zoning ordinances strictly limit manufactured homes and recreational vehicles (RVs). As the Federal … Read more
Subdivision can make for knotty property tax problems. Here’s some help to untie them. Assume Billy BlueDevil owns Parcel A in Carolina County. In February of 2018, he subdivides Parcel A into four subparcels, A1, A2, A3 and A4. Billy … Read more
Opportunity Zones are the latest effort by the federal government to encourage investment in low-income census tracts. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, enacted at the end of 2017, grants significant tax benefits to investors who reinvest their capital gains … Read more
Discoveries are confusing, thanks to lots of special rules that apply only to these types of tax bills. I explain the basic process here. It’s not just the calculation of discovery bills that can get complex; so too are the … Read more
A 2015 North Carolina law requires that fees collected by the local “inspections department” must stay with that department. A 2018 law requires local finance officers to report to the Local Government Commission the revenues and expenditures “from building inspections.” … Read more
North Carolina law, GS 160A-70 requires city governing boards to elect from among its members a mayor pro tem. What powers does the mayor pro tem have? Does the mayor pro tem vote on all matters even in cities where the … Read more
Attempting to ban short-term rentals (STRs) by shoehorning them into existing single-family residential zoning ordinances may cause significant roadblocks for jurisdictions looking for answers on how to regulate these properties. Relying on preexisting residential zoning ordinances to ban STRs The … Read more
In June the General Assembly enacted Session Law 2018-69, which directs municipalities, counties, and metropolitan sewerage districts to submit ordinance-related information to two legislative committees by December 1, 2018. This blog post examines the law and considers how local government … Read more
January 1 is the key date for property tax exemptions. That’s the date on which the assessor takes a theoretical snapshot of a property’s ownership and use, the two primary criteria for property tax exemption eligibility. If a property doesn’t … Read more
This blog post will bring you up to date on redistricting in North Carolina. It has been a wild decade, but it looks like things have mostly shaken out. Every 10 years, after each federal census, the North Carolina General … Read more
The 2018 legislative session brought about several significant changes to public school funding, including school capital projects funded with lottery proceeds. Section 5.3(e2) of the 2018 Appropriations Act (S.L. 2018-5) authorizes counties (not local school boards) that receive Needs-Based Public … Read more
This past Friday, the NC General Assembly adjourned for several months. According to the adjournment resolution, the plan is for the legislators to return to Raleigh on November 27. Unlike many previous adjournment resolutions (see S.L. 2017-12 for example), this … Read more
In 1987, the legislature enacted the School Facilities Act, which created the Public School Building Capital Fund (PSBCF). The PSBCF was established to provide aid to all counties for school construction projects. It is currently funded with state lottery proceeds. … Read more
As detailed here and here, if a local school board believes that it has not received sufficient funding from the county for the fiscal year, for either capital or operating expenses, the local school board may initiate a dispute resolution … Read more
In the 2017 legislative session, the General Assembly specifically authorized all local government utility providers to charge upfront fees for water and wastewater services. The legislation, however, limited the types of upfront charges that could be assessed on new development … Read more
In North Carolina, the majority of funding (approximately 63 percent in aggregate, according to the 2018 Highlights of the North Carolina Public School Budget) for public school operations derives from the state income tax and sales tax proceeds, as appropriated … Read more