The North Carolina General Assembly adjourned on June 18, 2011  and will reconvene next month on July 13th.  When it reconvenes in July, the legislature will only consider a narrow list of bills, namely redistricting, election laws, legislative appointments to boards and commissions, … Read more

When the General Assembly convened on January  26 and the Republican party held a majority in both chambers for the first time in over a century, everyone expected things to be different: new leadership, revamped procedures, and shifting legislative priorities. … Read more

Two related chapters in the North Carolina General Statutes govern the spending of money to influence state officials.  The State Government Ethics Act (G.S. Chapter 138A) sets ethical standards for the state officials themselves, and the lobbying laws (G.S. Chapter 120C) … Read more

Just like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get from the General Assembly.  The current legislative session is only a couple of months old and already we’ve gotten booze-filled chocolates, an official herring festival, and maybe … Read more

This post is co-authored with Christine Wunsche, the Director of the School of Government’s Legislative Reporting Service and Editor of the Daily Bulletin As today marks the opening day of the 150th session of the General Assembly, we wanted to … Read more

I am in the process of coordinating the Local Government Legislative Review Webinar scheduled for this Thursday, August 12 from 10-12 (it’s not too late to register!).  We have a fantastic and diverse lineup of presenters talking about everything from … Read more

UPDATE September 2013: The permit extension law was subsequently extended an additional year. For a review of the extension, click here.  The law has now expired. For a review of the impacts of the expiration, click here. One consequence of … Read more

Property tax revaluations conducted in the midst of the national economic crisis ignited an explosion of taxpayer outrage across the state in early 2009.  Assuming the local housing market woes continue, counties implementing revaluations in the next few years would … Read more