After the 1975 reorganization of North Carolina state government, who actually runs the Office of State Personnel, the Secretary of Administration or the State Personnel Director?
Plain-English summary
Harold W. Webb, the State Personnel Director, asked the AG to clarify the relationship between the Department of Administration and the Office of State Personnel (OSP) after the 1975 state government reorganization. The specific question was which official controlled the management functions of OSP: the Secretary of Administration or the State Personnel Director.
The AG answered that OSP is a largely independent agency placed under the Department of Administration only for organizational purposes. The State Personnel Director, not the Secretary of Administration, controls the management functions of OSP. Those functions include planning, organizing, staffing, directing, coordinating, reporting, and budgeting.
The reasoning runs through three pieces of statutory text.
First, G.S. 126-3, the operative provision of the State Personnel Act, says: "Notwithstanding the provisions of North Carolina State government reorganization as of January 1, 1975, and specifically notwithstanding the provisions of Chapter 864 of the 1971 North Carolina Session Laws (Chapter 143A), the Office of State Personnel shall exercise all of its statutory powers in this Chapter independent of control by the Secretary of Administration and shall be under the administration and supervision of a State Personnel Director (hereinafter referred to as 'the Director') appointed by the Governor and subject to the supervision of the Commission for purposes of this Chapter."
The "notwithstanding" framing is key. The 1975 reorganization established the Department of Administration as an umbrella for many functions, with subordinate offices typically governed by Type II transfers (where the subordinate office retains its statutory powers but is under the Department's overall management direction). The General Assembly used "notwithstanding" to opt OSP out of the normal Type II structure.
Second, the 1975 reorganization act itself (Session Laws 1975, Chapter 879, codified as Article 9 of Chapter 143B) lists agencies whose functions were transferred to and vested in the Department of Administration. G.S. 143B-368 carries that list. The Office of State Personnel and the Department of State Personnel are not on the list of agencies whose functions were transferred to Administration. The State Personnel Board is listed as included in Administration (G.S. 143B-370), but the Board is the policy body, not the operating office.
Third, G.S. 126-3 specifically places OSP "under the administration and supervision of a State Personnel Director" and makes the Director subject to the supervision of the Commission. The statutory framework deliberately bypasses the Secretary of Administration for management of OSP.
Putting these pieces together: the State Personnel Director runs OSP. The Department of Administration provides only an organizational umbrella, not management direction. The signing officials were Attorney General Rufus L. Edmisten and Assistant Attorney General Norma S. Harrell.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 1979. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here. The North Carolina state government structure has been reorganized multiple times since 1979. The State Personnel Act and the structure of state human resources management have been revised significantly, including the 2013 enactment of the State Human Resources Act (which replaced the State Personnel Act). The Office of State Personnel was renamed and reorganized as the Office of State Human Resources. Current institutional relationships should be checked against current statutes.
Historical context: what the AG concluded
The opinion did several pieces of interpretive work:
It read "notwithstanding" as a deliberate carve-out. When the legislature uses "notwithstanding," it is signaling that the following provision overrides a general rule. The general rule was that subordinate offices within the Department of Administration are under the Department's management direction. G.S. 126-3 overrode that general rule for OSP specifically.
It used the structural separation in G.S. 143B-368 as confirmation. When the 1975 reorganization lists agencies transferred to Administration and OSP is not on the list, that absence supports the reading that OSP was kept distinct from the Department.
It treated the Director-and-Commission structure as the substantive control framework. The Director, appointed by the Governor, runs OSP day to day. The State Personnel Commission (now the State Human Resources Commission) supervises the Director on matters within the Commission's responsibilities. The Department of Administration is structurally outside this control chain.
It enumerated the specific management functions. "Planning, organizing, staffing, directing, coordinating, reporting, and budgeting" is the standard POSDCORB list from public administration theory. The AG used it deliberately, to make clear that the Director controls all of the core management functions, not just personnel policy.
Background and statutory framework
The State Personnel Act is the foundational North Carolina statute on state employment. It establishes a merit-based system, sets classification and pay rules, governs grievances and appeals, and creates the State Personnel Commission (later the State Human Resources Commission) as the policy body.
The Act has a long history. The State Personnel Board was created in 1949. The 1965 amendments substantially restructured the merit system and created the State Personnel Director position. The 1975 amendments responded to the simultaneous general reorganization of state government.
The Executive Organization Act of 1973, codified as Chapter 143A (later Chapter 143B), is the general blueprint for North Carolina state government structure. It created the principal departments and assigned subordinate agencies and offices to them. The Department of Administration was created as the umbrella for many administrative-services functions: state property, motor fleet, mail service, purchasing, and so on.
The 1975 reorganization (Session Laws 1975 c. 879) carried out the Executive Organization Act's blueprint by transferring specific agencies and functions to the umbrella departments. The State Personnel Commission was placed under the Department of Administration umbrella. The Office of State Personnel was not transferred. The General Assembly used the "notwithstanding" language in G.S. 126-3 to formalize OSP's status as an independent operating office, not a subordinate of the Department.
The 1979 AG opinion answers a real-world friction. With the Department of Administration and OSP both occupying space in the state government organizational chart, line-management questions came up: who decides OSP's budget, who hires OSP staff, who directs OSP's coordination with other agencies. The opinion settles those questions in favor of the State Personnel Director.
Common questions
Does this mean OSP is completely separate from the Department of Administration?
No, OSP is under the Department's umbrella for organizational purposes. The umbrella is real but limited. OSP appears in the Department's organizational chart and may share certain administrative-services functions with the Department (mail, building services). The carve-out is from management control, not from every form of organizational connection.
What does the State Personnel Commission do?
The Commission (now the State Human Resources Commission) sets personnel policy under the State Personnel Act. The Commission supervises the Director on policy matters; the Director runs the office's day-to-day operations and reports to the Governor for administrative purposes.
Could the Governor reorganize OSP under the Department of Administration?
The Governor's reorganization powers under Chapter 143A and 143B allow significant restructuring of executive branch agencies through reorganization plans submitted to the General Assembly. A reorganization plan transferring OSP could in theory be enacted, but the "notwithstanding" language in the State Personnel Act would have to be addressed by the same plan or by separate amendment. The 1979 opinion deals with the framework as it stood.
Was this opinion controversial at the time?
The opinion was a clear win for the State Personnel Director's office in a turf dispute with the Department of Administration. Bureaucratic boundary disputes are common in any large organization, and clear AG guidance can settle them efficiently. The 1979 opinion reads as a careful, dispute-resolution piece rather than as a controversial policy statement.
How does this compare to other states?
Most states have a chief human resources office of some kind, and the institutional placement varies. Some states put HR under an umbrella department; others keep it independent and direct-reporting to the Governor. North Carolina's choice in 1975 was a hybrid: umbrella for organizational purposes, independent for management. The 1979 opinion explains how that hybrid actually works in practice.
Source
- Landing page: https://ncdoj.gov/opinions/relationship-between-dept-of-administration-office-of-state-personnel/
Citations
- N.C.G.S. § 126-3
- N.C.G.S. § 143B-368
- N.C.G.S. § 143B-370
- N.C.G.S. § 143A-34 (repealed by Session Laws 1975, c. 879, s. 46)
- N.C.G.S. § 143A-6
- N.C.G.S. § 143A-84
- N.C.G.S. § 143A-368
- Chapter 864 of the 1971 Session Laws (Chapter 143A)
- Chapter 879 of the 1975 Session Laws
Original opinion text
Subject:
Requested By: Harold W. Webb, State Personnel Director
Questions: Given the provisions of General Statutes § 143B-370, 126-3, and 143A-34 (repealed by Session Laws 1975, c. 879, s. 46), what is the relationship between the Department of Administration and the Office of State Personnel?
- Which official, the Secretary of Administration or the State Personnel Director, controls management functions such as planning, organizing, staffing, directing, coordinating, reporting, and budgeting for the Office of State Personnel?
Conclusions: The Office of State Personnel is a largely independent agency placed under the umbrella of the Department of Administration for organizational purposes only.
Notwithstanding the provisions of North Carolina State government reorganization as of January 1, 1975, and specifically notwithstanding the provisions of Chapter 864 of the 1971 North Carolina Session Laws (Chapter 143A), the Office of State Personnel shall exercise all of its statutory powers in this Chapter independent of control by the Secretary of Administration and shall be under the administration and supervision of a State Personnel Director (hereinafter referred to as "the Director") appointed by the Governor and subject to the supervision of the Commission for purposes of this Chapter. The salary of the Director shall be fixed by the Governor subject to the approval of the Advisory Budget Commission. The Director shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor. (1965, c. 640, s. 2; 1975, . . . )
On June 26, 1975, after the ratification of the new Personnel Act, the General Assembly ratified a reorganization act by which the Department of Administration was placed under the Executive Organization Act of 1973. Session Laws 1975, Chapter 879. That Act, codified as Article 9 of Chapter 143B of the General Statutes, provides that all functions, powers, duties and obligations of certain agencies are transferred to and vested in the Department of Administration, but does not list the Office of State Personnel or Department of State Personnel as being one of the agencies whose functions are transferred to the Department of Administration. G.S. § 143B-368. The State Personnel Board is naturally listed as being included in the Department of Administration. G.S. § 143B-370.
§ 126-3 includes the phrases "notwithstanding the provisions of the North Carolina state government reorganization provisions as of January 1, 1975, and specifically notwithstanding the provisions of Chapter 864 of the 1971 Session Laws (Chapter 143A)." The word "notwithstanding" must indicate that the Office of State Personnel exercises its powers or authority in a way different from the normal type II transfer. The statute then specifically provides that the Office of State Personnel is under the "administration and supervision of a State Personnel Director" and that it is "subject to the supervision of the Commission for purposes of this Chapter." G.S. § 126-3.
§ 126-3, when looked at in conjunction with the statutes relating to the Department of Administration and state government organization generally, is that the Office of State Personnel shall be under the administration and supervision of the State Personnel Director, which means that the State Personnel Director controls the management functions of the Office of State Personnel. Management functions, as already noted, include such matters as planning, organizing, staffing, directing, coordinating, reporting, and budgeting.
Rufus L. Edmisten
Attorney General
Norma S. Harrell
Assistant Attorney General