This post was co-authored by Meredith Smith, Assistant Professor of Public Law and Government, UNC-CH School of Government Since our blog post, Same-Sex Marriage and Adoptions of a Minor by a Stepparent, we have received several inquiries about the role … Read more

Suppose Billy Blue Devil owes $2,000 in delinquent taxes for 2012, 2013 and 2014. Billy mails the tax office a check for $500 with no note or instructions about what taxes he is paying. What should the tax office do … Read more

The old school administration building has been renovated and there is furniture and shelving that can be sold as surplus property. A board member has raised the possibility of donating them to the local arts council. She notes that G.S. … Read more

About 80 counties have the authority under G.S. 161-31 to require a tax certification before recording a deed.  In counties that have opted into this requirement, the registrar of deeds may not record a deed unless the county tax collector … Read more

This post reviews the origin and purposes of the Chapter 160D initiative. The 2015 bill discussed below was not adopted in 2015. It was introduced again in 2017 but not enacted. However, a substantially similar bill was adopted in 2019 … Read more

“Every quasi-judicial decision shall be based upon competent, material, and substantial evidence in the record” (NCGS 160A-388(e2)). Without such evidence, the decision is arbitrary and an abuse of the discretion vested in the board (Godfrey v. Zoning Board of Adjustment, … Read more

Earlier this month a panel of three superior court judges held that the General Assembly’s appointment of a majority of members to the new Oil and Gas, Mining and Coal Ash commissions violates the state constitutional provision on separation of … Read more

It doesn’t happen every day, but it does happen regularly: a North Carolina community is affected by a public health problem that requires an urgent response. Perhaps it is an outbreak of a communicable disease, like the H1N1 pandemic that … Read more

Jean Jett has been waiting all month for the regular public comment period at the city council meeting. She signed up to speak, and after waiting her turn, she stands at the podium facing the council members and says, “I … Read more

I hope you were able to join us for our recent board of equalization and review webinar that featured input from experts at the Department of Revenue and local tax offices across the state.  Counties that did not have the chance to … Read more

It’s March, which means in addition to finalizing your NCAA bracket sheets you might also be finalizing your local government’s delinquent property tax advertisement.  These ads must be published between March 1 and June 30 in a newspaper having a … Read more

Ray Kinsella leads the nonprofit economic development corporation (the “EDC”) that was jointly formed by the county and its largest city in the early 2000s, and that is now governed by an independent board of directors. Ray has heard some … Read more

A county’s board of commissioners is required to provide “reasonable and adequate funds necessary” to support the functions of the county board of elections, “including reasonable and just compensation of the director of elections.” G.S. 163-37. In Gilbert v. Guilford … Read more

News about Hillary Clinton’s exclusive use of private emails and a “homebrew” server raised both political and legal issues. I’ll leave the political issues to the pundits, and I’m not an expert in federal records retention requirements. But I thought … Read more

Update February 2017:  In April 2016 the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled on the appeal in this case.  Its decision focused on the portion of the 2013 legislation that provided that teachers who had already achieved tenure at the time … Read more

In my post here, I described how North Carolina’s public records laws may apply to law enforcement body and vehicle video camera records. [I’ve recently updated that post to note a newly promulgated records retention standard for these records.] The push … Read more

[UPDATE:  S.L. 2015-225 limits disclosure of law enforcement officer information but does not explicitly affect county tax websites.  My colleague Frayda Bluestein blogs about the new law here.) Most of North Carolina’s 100 counties maintain tax websites that allow users to search … Read more

It will now be much easier for county social services agencies and law enforcement officials to investigate reports of suspected financial exploitation of disabled adults and older adults. The Administrative Office of the Courts just approved a new form (AOC-SP-630) … Read more

Do you have questions about North Carolina local government? Want to know what “spot zoning” really means? Confused about what kinds of annexation cities can still do? Looking for a summary of changes in the structure of mental health and … Read more

  The North Carolina General Assembly banned internet sweepstakes more than four years ago.  The North Carolina Supreme Court upheld that ban more than two years ago.  A few months later that court struck down excessive municipal privilege license taxes … Read more