North Carolina Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in North Carolina, with full citations and the original source on every page.
Under the 2010 NC public-records amendments, what salary, promotion, and disciplinary-dismissal records do public employers have to keep open for inspection, and do they have to dig up information from before October 1, 2010?
Public employers must now keep open for inspection each employee's full salary and position-classification history with that employer, plus a general description of the reasons for each promotion. For…
Can NCDOT enter design-build contracts with delayed payment terms that stretch beyond project completion to expedite I-485?
Yes. The AG concluded N.C.G.S. § 136-18(39) gave NCDOT broad authority to enter financing agreements with private entities for transportation infrastructure construction. Extending payments over a ten…
Can NCDOT enter into a 'design-build-finance' road construction contract where the contractor accepts payment stretched over years after the road is finished, as a way to speed up construction?
Yes. The NC AG concluded that N.C.G.S. § 136-18(39) gives NCDOT broad authority to enter into financing-style construction agreements with private contractors, including arrangements where part of the…
When and how can a NC public body go into closed session, and what records of that closed session must be kept?
The AG's open-government guidance: a public body may close a session only during an open meeting by motion citing the specific statutory ground; the closed session covers only that purpose; the body m…
Do you have to be a licensed lawyer to run for or be appointed to a judgeship in North Carolina?
Yes, with one narrow exception. Article IV, Section 22 of the North Carolina Constitution requires anyone elected or appointed to the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Superior Court, or District Court…
Are state employees' accrued sick, vacation, and bonus leave balances a public record that anyone can ask to see?
Yes. The North Carolina AG concluded that accrued sick leave, vacation leave, compensatory time, and bonus leave balances are 'current benefits' under N.C.G.S. 126-23 and must be made available for pu…
When North Carolina expanded public access to state employee 'salary' to include benefits, did that mean retirement benefits become public too, even though they are paid by the state Retirement System and not the employee's own department?
Yes. The NC AG concluded that retirement benefit information for state employees is public under the 2007 amendment to § 126-23, which expanded 'salary' to include benefits and other compensation. The…
Are NC public employee retirement benefits part of the public salary information that must be open to inspection, or are they confidential personnel data?
Public. The AG concluded Session Law 2007-508 expanded the definition of public 'salary' to include benefits and all other compensation. A literal reading would have excluded retirement benefits becau…
Are NC state employee leave balances public records under the Public Records Act?
Yes. The AG concluded accrued leave balances are 'current benefits' within the 2007 expanded definition of 'salary' in § 126-23, and must be released on request. This is a duplicate NCDOJ archive entr…
Are NC state employee sick, vacation, bonus, and compensatory leave balances public records the UNC system must disclose?
Yes. The AG concluded that the 2007 amendment expanding § 126-23's definition of 'salary' to include 'benefits' covered leave time. 'Current benefits' includes accumulated leave balances available to …
Does the federal motor carrier preemption law block North Carolina from requiring trucking companies to make sure independent truckers have workers' compensation coverage?
No. The NC AG concluded that N.C.G.S. § 97-19.1, which makes principal contractors and intermediate motor carriers liable for workers' compensation benefits when the trucker below them does not have c…
Does NC's Workers' Compensation statute making motor carriers liable for trucker compensation violate federal motor-carrier preemption under 49 U.S.C. § 14501(c)?
No. The AG concluded N.C.G.S. § 97-19.1 falls within § 14501(c)(2)(A)'s express exception for state regulation of motor carriers' minimum amounts of financial responsibility related to insurance requi…
Did the NC State Personnel Commission have the legal authority to roll out 'career banding' (a system that collapses many narrow job classes into a small number of broad classes with wide pay ranges)?
Yes. The NC AG concluded that the General Assembly delegated to the State Personnel Commission plenary authority under Chapter 126 to design and adopt classification plans (G.S. 126-4(1)), compensatio…
When someone files a public-records request for the names of private equity, hedge fund, and real estate funds the NC State Treasurer has invested public money in, the management fees paid, and information about the underlying portfolio companies, which of those does the Treasurer have to disclose?
Most of it, but not portfolio-company information. The NC AG concluded that fund names, investment amounts, annual returns, and management-fee data are public records that must be released. Informatio…
When the NC Secretary of State gathers documents to report a possible lobbying violation, are those documents secret criminal investigation files or are they regular public records?
Public records. The NC AG concluded that the Secretary of State, when limited to reporting apparent lobbying violations to the AG under § 120-47.10, is not a 'public law enforcement agency' and its re…
Are records the NC Secretary of State gathers to refer apparent lobbying violations to the Attorney General confidential criminal-investigation records?
No, under the 2006 law. The AG concluded that under the then-current N.C. Gen. Stat. § 120-47.10 the Secretary of State was not a 'public law enforcement agency.' The Secretary's role was limited to r…
How does a North Carolina public body legally go into closed session at a meeting, and what can it actually do once it's in there?
A public body must vote in open session on a motion that cites a specific statutory ground for closing the meeting. The motion can include only the limited topics the Open Meetings Law authorizes (pri…
When UNC Health Care System (a state entity) and Rex Hospital (a private nonprofit) jointly form a 50/50 LLC to employ shared workers, are those LLC employees considered state employees for retirement-system purposes, and can current state retirees who work for the LLC keep their full state pensions?
No state-employee status for LLC employees, and yes, retirees keep full pensions. The NC AG concluded that a 50/50 LLC between UNCHCS and Rex Hospital is not a state agency, even though UNCHCS sits on…
Was it legal for NC legislative leaders to direct how millions of dollars in 'Reserve Fund' grants got distributed by executive branch agencies, after the regular appropriations process was over?
The NC AG concluded that the Reserve Fund process described by the State Auditor did not clearly violate the state Constitution or N.C.G.S. § 143-16.3, but flagged that the practice contravened legisl…
Did NC legislative leaders directing executive branch agencies to disburse Reserve Fund grants violate separation of powers or § 143-16.3?
Mostly no, but the process invited reform. The AG concluded individual legislator direction did not violate separation of powers because Executive Branch officials were not legally required to follow …
Are the NC Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 'local educational agencies' under No Child Left Behind, so that the schools they operate inside their facilities qualify for the LEA-tied federal funds?
No. Neither DHHS nor DJJDP is an LEA. They are State agencies that happen to operate schools inside residential and detention facilities, not local entities controlling or serving public schools withi…
After the 2004 NC law that pushed the school year between August 25 and June 10, which schools still get to operate outside those dates as 'modified calendar' schools, and how does the 5-day reduction in the school year affect teacher and staff pay?
A school qualifies for the 'modified calendar' exception only if (1) it operated under a calendar different from its district's regular calendar during 2003-04, AND (2) that calendar actually required…
Must NC DMV redact personal information from accident reports under the federal Drivers Privacy Protection Act, and what about local law enforcement copies and tax records?
Yes for DMV-released accident reports. The AG concluded DMV must redact DPPA-protected personal information before releasing accident reports. Local law enforcement agencies, however, were not directl…
When the public asks the DMV or a local police department for a copy of a NC traffic accident report, what has to be redacted under the federal Drivers Privacy Protection Act, and what stays public?
Accident reports are public records, but the DMV has to redact 'personal identifying information' (photographs, SSNs, driver license numbers, addresses, phone numbers, medical/disability information) …
What does NC Constitution Article IV, Section 22 require of someone seeking to serve as a NC judge?
Bar membership. The AG concluded the only qualification under Article IV, § 22 is being duly authorized to practice law in North Carolina courts. The second sentence is a complete grandfather clause e…
A current NC school district employee won an election to that same school board. State law says board members can't also be employees. He won't retire until February. Can he take office in December anyway, and if not, who gets the seat?
No. § 115C-37(g) forces him to resign his employment before he can take the oath. If he doesn't resign by the December organizational meeting, his failure to qualify creates a vacancy. Under the Nash-…
If a North Carolina District Court Judge-elect dies before taking office, when does the vacancy arise and who fills it?
The vacancy arises when the election is certified, not when the judge-elect dies. The AG concluded the District Bar then has 30 days to submit three names to the Governor under § 7A-142, the Governor …
If a candidate wins a North Carolina district court judgeship and then dies before taking office, who fills the seat and when does the vacancy actually arise?
The vacancy arises when the State Board of Elections certifies the election. After certification, the district bar nominates three candidates within 30 days, and the Governor appoints one within 60 da…
Are NC Tax Review Board hearings open to the public, and can board members publicly discuss the taxpayer information they see?
The Tax Review Board's hearings are open. The Open Meetings Law applies, with a narrow exception for the Board's deliberative session when it is meeting 'solely for the purpose of making a decision' i…
If a NC notary public is being reappointed, can they take the oath of office before the effective date of the new commission, or do they have to wait until the new term starts?
They can take the oath any time within 90 days of commissioning, before or after the effective date. Under the current Notary Public Act (Chapter 10A), there's no statutory requirement to wait for the…
When the Cherokee Boys Club (a nonprofit corporation owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, operating on the Cherokee reservation) buys surplus lines insurance, can NC charge them the 5% premium tax, or does federal Indian law preempt the tax?
NC cannot impose the tax. The NC AG concluded that the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is a federally recognized tribe whose reservation is held in trust by the United States. Federal Indian law pree…
Under the NC Mortgage Lending Act, can a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community development corporation broker mortgage loans without a state license?
Only in a limited way. A qualified 501(c)(3) nonprofit can make mortgage loans for the disadvantaged without a license under G.S. § 53-243.01(8)(h), and can incidentally solicit or broker loans, but o…
Does the NC Commissioner of Motor Vehicles count as a 'law-enforcement officer' eligible for State 401(k) employer contributions?
Yes, on these facts. The AG concluded that the Commissioner's statutory duties include prevention and detection of crime, and the specific Commissioner at the time (George Tatum) held an active law-en…
When the NC General Assembly later passes a general law about school board vacancies, does it override an older local act that set its own rules for one specific district?
Not unless the later general law plainly manifests legislative intent to repeal the local act. For the Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Board of Education, the 1967 local act remains controlling: vacancies a…
When someone is appointed to fill a vacancy on the Brunswick County (NC) Board of Education, do they serve the rest of the original term or only until the next election?
Only until the next election. The AG traced the legislative history from 1966 through 1981 and concluded that, absent a local act saying otherwise, the General Assembly has always intended appointed s…
In 2004, could a NC register of deeds issue a marriage license to a same-gender couple, and what penalties applied?
No. The AG concluded NC marriage statutes at the time defined marriage as between a male and female; a same-gender license would violate state law. Under State v. Snuggs, a register acting in good fai…
In 2004, could a North Carolina register of deeds issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple, and what penalties would apply if they did?
No, under the law as it stood in 2004. The NC AG advised that issuing a license to a same-sex couple would violate N.C.G.S. § 51-1.2, which then declared same-gender marriages invalid in NC. A registe…
When the NC Employment Security Commission settles with an employer accused of 'SUTA dumping' (shifting employees to shell companies to dodge unemployment taxes), is that settlement agreement confidential or a public record?
Public. The NC AG concluded that once an employer appeals an unemployment-tax assessment, the matter becomes a 'proceeding before a hearing officer' under § 96-4(t)(5), and the settlement agreement th…
When a NC incompetency proceeding starts and the respondent needs a court-appointed lawyer to serve as guardian ad litem, who has the authority to make that appointment, the Clerk of Superior Court or the state's Indigent Defense Services?
Indigent Defense Services (IDS), not the Clerk. § 35A-1107 and § 35A-1130 specifically say guardian ad litem appointments in incompetency and competency-restoration proceedings are made 'in accordance…
Are NC Tax Review Board meetings subject to the Open Meetings Law, and what tax information can board members discuss publicly?
Yes for general meetings, no for deliberations. The AG concluded the Tax Review Board was a public body subject to the Open Meetings Law, but the § 143-318.18(7) exemption let it deliberate in closed …
Can NC electric membership corporations (rural co-ops) restructure their wholesale power purchases by buying less from the statewide co-op (NCEMC) and more from a third-party Energy Supplier, including reselling any excess power back to the Energy Supplier?
Yes. The NC AG concluded that Chapter 117 gives EMCs the authority to enter into these wholesale Purchase Agreements. § 117-18 specifically lets EMCs buy and sell energy by contract with any person. §…
When a legislative appointee to NC Centennial Authority holds over past his term and then resigns, who fills the vacancy?
The remaining Authority members. The AG concluded the legislature divided two powers in § 160A-480.3(b). Appointment of members went to the General Assembly. Vacancy-filling went to the remaining boar…
When a holdover board member resigns from the NC Centennial Authority, do the remaining members fill the vacancy or does the legislature?
The remaining members. The NC AG concluded that § 160A-480.3(b) splits the Centennial Authority appointment power: the legislature appoints to four-year terms (and reappoints at term end), but vacanci…
Can NC let waterfront homeowners lease the water under their docks to grow oysters for personal use?
No, not under existing statutes. The AG concluded that the Division of Marine Fisheries and the Marine Fisheries Commission have no authority to grant exclusive leases of the bottom or water column fo…
When must a child turn 5 to enter North Carolina public kindergarten, and can a principal admit a younger child?
The AG concluded a child had to reach age 5 on or before October 16 of the kindergarten year to be entitled to initial entry. A principal had no discretion to admit a younger child unless the child ei…
When does a North Carolina child have to be five years old to start public kindergarten, and can a principal override that cutoff to put a child in first grade instead?
A child must reach age 5 on or before October 16 of the kindergarten year to be entitled to initial entry into NC public school. The principal has no discretion to bend that age cutoff. There are two …
If Emerald Isle moves the Bogue Inlet navigational channel and creates new land by dredging or accretion, who owns the new beach: the State or the adjoining property owners?
The adjoining property owners. Under G.S. § 146-6(a), land raised above the high water mark by accretion vests in the owner of the land that immediately adjoined the navigable water. Under § 146-6(d),…
Can a North Carolina county social worker doing a child protective services assessment legally ask a parent for a urine sample to test for drugs?
Yes, but only with truly voluntary consent. The NC AG concluded that a CPS social worker can ask a suspected substance-abusing parent or caretaker to consent to a urine screen during an assessment, be…
Can a NC county social worker doing a child protective services assessment legally test a parent's urine for drugs if the parent consents?
Yes, if consent is truly voluntary. The AG concluded a CPS urine test is a Fourth Amendment search and requires a warrant, but voluntary consent is an established exception. Social workers must avoid …
Can a NC Parks and Recreation Authority member who is also a community college trustee also hold an elective town office?
Yes. The AG concluded N.C. Gen. Stat. § 115D-16 specifically lets a community college trustee hold offices 'in addition to and concurrently with' those permitted by § 128-1.1. Because § 128-1.1 lets a…
Can someone serve simultaneously on three NC public bodies (Parks and Recreation Authority, community college board of trustees, and town council)?
Yes, in this specific combination. The NC AG concluded that N.C.G.S. § 128-1.1 lets an elected official also hold one appointive office, and § 115D-16 then permits the same person to hold a community …
Can the NC State Treasurer use money in the Escheats Fund to pay for newspaper ads listing the names of people who may have unclaimed property, beyond the bare-minimum notices the statute specifically requires?
Yes. § 116B-6(h) authorizes the Treasurer to expend Escheats funds for 'costs of notice and publication,' and the statutory language is not limited to the specific publications required by § 116B-62(b…
When non-lawyers (especially third-party pension administrators) advise NC employers on what kind of pension plan to set up and help draft ERISA plan documents, can the NC State Bar prosecute that as unauthorized practice of law, or does federal law block the prosecution?
Mixed. The NC AG concluded that NC's UPL statutes (§ 84-8 is a criminal statute) probably are NOT preempted by ERISA itself, because ERISA's preemption clause (29 U.S.C. § 1144(a)) has a savings claus…
When the NC Insurance Commissioner approves a hospital/medical service corporation's conversion to a for-profit insurance company, can he attach conditions to that approval?
Yes, but the conditions have limits. The AG concluded that the express statutory power to approve a conversion plan carries with it the implied lesser power to approve with conditions. However, any co…
Are NC public university athletic coaches' employment contracts and related vendor contracts public records subject to disclosure?
Yes. The AG concluded coaches' employment contracts contained policy/standard/duties information not covered by the personnel-file exception in § 126-22. Vendor contracts involving coaches were not co…
Are UNC system coaches' employment contracts and the related vendor/sponsorship contracts public records that the school must turn over on request?
Yes, on both fronts. The NC AG concluded that the coaches' employment contracts are public records because they contain general institutional policies and standards plus the coach's salary (which is p…
Can the Town of Seven Devils, which straddles two counties, levy a 6% occupancy tax authorized only for 'cities in Avery County'?
Probably not without risk. The AG concluded the legislative grant to 'cities in Avery County' likely did not extend to the part of Seven Devils in Watauga County, and a tax levied only on the Avery si…
When a NC town sits in two counties, and the legislature gives 'cities in Avery County' authority to charge a 6% hotel occupancy tax, does that town get to charge it across both counties or only in the Avery County portion?
Probably only in the Avery County portion, and even that is constitutionally shaky. The NC AG concluded that the legislature's grant of taxing authority to 'cities in Avery County' likely does not ext…
How independent is the NC State Treasurer from the Governor's Executive Budget Act, and what is his authority over investment-program staffing, commission rebates, contracts, and derivatives?
The State Treasurer is independent of fiscal control by the Director of the Budget or Department of Administration under G.S. § 147-68(e), but not from G.S. § 143-16.3's bar on funding items the legis…
Can North Carolina State University finance a hotel, conference center, and golf course on its Centennial Campus through a non-profit LLC's bond issuance backed by a university usage-purchase commitment, without violating the State Constitution's public-purpose and credit-of-the-state limits?
Probably yes, given the financing structure NCSU built. The Project has a plausible public purpose under Maready (university-related uses primarily benefiting public interests). The bond structure doe…
When the NC legislature moved the DMV Enforcement Section from DOT to the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety in 2002, did it also move the special tax-information exception that let DMV exchange tax data with the Department of Revenue?
Yes. Even though the General Assembly forgot to update G.S. 105-259(b)(7) in the laundry list of statutes it specifically rewrote, the omnibus 'successor in interest' language in Section 1 of Chapter …
When the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority lets a construction contract that uses federal Department of Transportation money, must it apply North Carolina's 10% minority business goal under § 143-128.2 and the related HUB reporting rules, or can it elect the federal DBE program under 49 C.F.R. Part 26?
The Authority can elect. N.C.G.S. § 63-54(c) gives airport authorities the discretionary right to let federally-assisted contracts under federal law, which overrides the conflicting state MBE statute.…
If the NC General Assembly abolishes the Ports Railway Commission and transfers its rail assets and liabilities to the State Ports Authority, will the SPA become a 'common carrier' subject to the federal Railway Labor Act?
No. The legislation rewrites N.C.G.S. § 143B-454(a)(4) to prohibit the SPA from operating rail facilities even though it may own them. Continued rail service at Wilmington and Morehead City will run t…
May members of the NC Information Resources Management Commission (and their delegates) attend closed-session committee meetings where the State Auditor reports detailed IT security audit findings about specific State agencies, without waiving the statutory confidentiality of those findings?
Yes. Members of the IRMC and the Information Protection and Privacy Committee, whether their own agency was audited or not, may be present in the closed session and the confidentiality of the audited …
Does NC's Junkyard Control Act apply to Ashe County (which has no interstate or federal-aid primary highway), can the county enforce it through a misdemeanor warrant when the state hasn't acted, and do affected neighbors have any private enforcement rights?
Yes the Act applies, even though Ashe County has no interstate or federal-aid primary highway: the 1,000-foot ban extends to 'a North Carolina route' in counties without those federal highways. So jun…
Can the public get copies of private admonitions the NC Judicial Standards Commission has issued to judges, and the documents about the rule that authorizes private admonitions?
Two different answers. (1) Records about the development and adoption of the Commission's *rules*, including the rule that authorizes private admonitions, are public records under the NC Public Record…
Under NC's Chapter 122C mental health law (as amended by HB 381 in 2001), can a county opt out of running mental health services through an 'area authority' and govern services directly? And does the older § 153A-77(a) provision (which lets only counties over 425,000 people take direct control) violate the state constitution's prohibition on local acts about health?
No exemption from service mandates. The NC AG concluded that HB 381 lets counties choose to operate mental health programs themselves rather than through an area authority, but every county must still…
When the NC General Assembly changed the appointing authority for public members of the State Board of Mortuary Science from the Governor to a mix of Governor, Speaker, and President Pro Tempore, can the legislature also use a specific appointment to displace an existing Governor's appointee mid-term, even if the new appointee is a licensee whom the general statute would otherwise bar?
Yes on all counts. George Parrott was validly appointed by the General Assembly under S.L. 2001-486 for a term that runs through Dec. 31, 2003, and his appointment displaces the existing Governor-appo…
When the City of Jacksonville accepts a $2 million state grant from DENR to build wastewater collection facilities in an annexation area, must the City comply with NC's 10% minority business participation goal under § 143-128.2 even if a sewer system is not literally a 'building project'?
Yes, because of how the grant assurances work. The DENR grant required Jacksonville to assure compliance with § 143-128's MBE participation rules as a condition of accepting the money. Under § 160A-17…
When the State diverted some quarterly franchise-tax distributions from cities to cover a budget deficit in 2001-2002, did cities regain the right to levy their own local franchise taxes on electric power companies starting July 1, 2002?
No. § 105-116(e) bars municipal franchise taxes 'so long as there is a distribution to cities from the tax imposed by this section.' Cities received the September and December 2001 distributions even …
Can Jackson County, NC use an ordinance to ban helicopter sightseeing operations or confine them to the public airport, when federal law extensively regulates aircraft altitude and flight routes?
No, for the most part. Federal aviation law preempts most county-level efforts to regulate flight altitudes and sightseeing routes. The U.S. Supreme Court's Burbank decision and the Second Circuit's N…
Does a federal conviction for sexual abuse of a ward under 18 U.S.C. § 2243(b), where the defendant was a drug treatment specialist at a federal prison and had a sexual relationship with an inmate enrolled in her program, require registration under North Carolina's sex offender registry?
Yes. The federal offense is 'substantially similar' to NC's offense of sexual intercourse or sexual act with a custodial victim under § 14-27.7, which is listed as a 'sexually violent offense' under §…
Does the grandfather clause in § 58-47-65(c), which exempts pre-1995 group workers' compensation self-insurance funds from the 1997 licensing rewrite, still protect a fund that was organized in 1993, filed dissolution articles in 1998, but never completely wound down before deciding to resume operations?
Yes, on the facts as presented. The fund was organized and approved before July 1, 1995, so it qualifies as a 'pre-1995' fund. Its 1998 dissolution paperwork did not terminate its existence (operation…
Can the NC Department of Transportation fund the proposed Northern Durham Parkway, which includes improvements to existing inner-city roads like Roxboro Road and Duke Street, with Highway Trust Fund 'urban loop' money under § 136-176(b)(2)?
No. The Trust Fund's statutory description of the Durham Northern Loop specifies a 'multilane facility on new location from I-85 west of Durham to U.S. 70 east of Durham.' Improvements to existing inn…
When the EPA delegated NPDES general permit authority for concentrated animal feeding operations to NC's Environmental Management Commission, can NC use its own stricter 'storm event more severe than the 25-year, 24-hour storm' standard from § 143-215.10C(b), can DENR co-permit swine integrators, and can DENR include bypass-and-upset provisions and other more-stringent conditions?
Yes to all the main questions. NC's § 143-215.10C(b) standard is more stringent than federal law, not less, and DENR must not authorize discharges under EPA's broader 'chronic rainfall' or 'catastroph…
Does the Office of State Personnel's career banding project, which regroups job classifications into bands with associated salary ranges for State Personnel Commission positions, require formal APA rulemaking before implementation?
No. § 150B-2(8a)(i) excludes 'job classification standards, job qualifications, and salaries established for positions under the jurisdiction of the State Personnel Commission' from the APA definition…
Can the University of North Carolina (or some of its constituent campuses) offer a cafeteria-style flexible benefits plan that lets employees pay dependent health coverage premiums on a pre-tax basis, when state law forbids state employee benefit plans from duplicating coverage offered by the State Health Plan?
No. § 116-17.2 and § 143-34.1(d) prohibit UNC benefit plans from including benefits that duplicate those provided to employees under Chapter 135, including the State Health Plan's dependent coverage. …
Under North Carolina's 2001 MBE construction-contracting law, does each state agency receiving construction money have to develop its own minority-business outreach plan, or can the Department of Administration write one plan covering all of them?
Each public entity must develop its own outreach plan. The 2001 Session Laws use 'public entity' to mean every elected or appointed authority with legislative, policy-making, quasi-judicial, administr…
Can North Carolina local school boards pool their risk through the NC School Boards Trust, and does joining that pool waive their governmental immunity for tort claims?
Yes, school boards can join the NC School Boards Trust as a joint agency under Chapter 160A, Article 20. Participation in the self-retained portion of the pool does not waive governmental immunity und…
Can a public hospital system in North Carolina lend operating revenues to a nonprofit hospital corporation it created to run a long-term acute care hospital?
Yes. The Municipal Hospital Act (G.S. § 131E-7(b)) lets public hospitals contract with nonprofit corporations to provide health care and use hospital revenues to fund those contracts. A $1.825 million…
Are a North Carolina legislator's emails and other written communications about redistricting public records the public can inspect, and who is the legal custodian of those records?
It depends on who the communication was with. Communications between a legislator and a legislative employee, including a staff lawyer, are confidential before enactment of a redistricting plan and be…
Can a nonprofit economic development corporation claim a North Carolina property tax exemption on raw, unimproved land it owns for future redevelopment?
No. North Carolina's charitable property tax exemption in G.S. § 105-278.7 covers only buildings, the land they actually occupy, and adjacent land convenient to their use. Unimproved tracts held for f…
Are draft redistricting plans drawn by a North Carolina legislator personally, using the legislature's computer system but without staff help, public records the public can demand to see?
The statutes do not clearly answer the question. G.S. §§ 120-130, 131, and 133 protect plans drawn by legislative employees but say nothing about plans drawn by legislators themselves. Two competing c…
Can North Carolina's NC Flex flexible-benefits program offer state employees a voluntary indemnity health plan that pays fixed-dollar amounts for hospitalization, heart attack, and similar events, and can it offer alternative dependent health coverage?
Yes for the fixed-dollar indemnity plan; depends-on-details for dependent coverage. N.C.G.S. §§ 116-17.2 and 143-34.1(d) prohibit NC Flex from duplicating benefits provided by the State Health Plan, T…
When someone is arrested for a domestic violence crime in North Carolina, can a magistrate set bail right away, or does the defendant have to stay in custody until a judge can act?
A magistrate cannot set conditions of pretrial release during the first 48 hours after arrest for a covered domestic violence crime. Only a judge may set those conditions during that window. If no jud…
Who has the legal authority to select and contract with the midway operator for the North Carolina State Fair: the Department of Agriculture or the Board of Agriculture?
The Department of Agriculture. G.S. § 106-503 says the Board manages the State Fair, but the Executive Organization Act of 1971 transferred the Board to the Department by Type II transfer, putting the…
Does North Carolina law require a county to let the public monitor its 800 MHz radio system in real time, or to record radio traffic that the county is not already recording?
No. The Public Records Act covers records that exist; it does not force a county to create a record. If a county chooses not to record 800 MHz radio traffic, no statute requires it to start, and no st…
When a regional transportation authority asks a North Carolina county to approve a 5% rental vehicle tax, can the county add provisions or amend the tax before approving it?
No. Under G.S. § 105-551, the regional transportation authority sets the tax rate, terms, and effective date. County commissioners must approve or decline the proposal as submitted; they may not amend…
Does the North Carolina Secretary of State have to file a patentable-intellectual-property report before licensing its homegrown business-registration software to other states?
Probably not for the older program, possibly yes for the newer module, and the safer course is to disclose either way. The NC AG concluded in 2002 that the Secretary of State's existing SoSKB software…
How many state employees can a North Carolina agency designate as legislative liaisons after the 2001 lobbying reform law?
Only two. Session Law 2001-424 amended Article 9A of Chapter 120 to (a) define 'legislative liaison personnel' as a state officer or employee whose principal duties in practice or in their job descrip…
Can North Carolina counties be forced to get federal stormwater permits even though the state, not the counties, owns the roads where most stormwater drains?
Yes. Counties can be required to obtain a Phase II NPDES stormwater permit in four scenarios: (1) the county owns or operates an MS4 in an urbanized area discharging directly to receiving waters; (2) …
Can UNC system audiology clinics fit and sell hearing aids to the public, or does the Umstead Act ban that as competition with private hearing aid dealers?
Yes, UNC audiology clinics can fit and sell hearing aids without violating the Umstead Act. Hearing aid fitting is an integral part of the graduate education required for ASHA certification and NCHADF…
Is North Carolina's SB 991 banning purse seine menhaden fishing in Dare County a general law or a local act, and would it survive constitutional review?
It depends on the legislative record. The AG concluded SB 991 could be sustained as a general law under Town of Emerald Isle if the legislative record showed the menhaden-fishing ban addressed a state…
When a North Carolina ferry company has docks in two towns but its principal business in just one, which town can tax the ferry boats?
The town where the company has its principal place of business. Bald Head Island Transportation, Inc.'s ferries were taxable on Bald Head Island, not in Southport, even though the ferries docked in So…
When a North Carolina state agency reduces its workforce, who decides whether an affected employee gets discontinued service retirement (DSR) or severance pay: the State Budget Officer or the agency head?
Both have to approve DSR. The State Budget Officer chooses between DSR and severance wages and must consider (but is not bound by) the agency head's recommendation and the State Personnel Director's r…
Under the 2001 North Carolina law authorizing private correctional officers to use force and make arrests, what training do their employers need, how much insurance must they carry, and what powers do these officers actually have?
Private correctional services providers must adopt the same minimum pre-employment and training standards used for State correctional officers (whether from DOC, CJETSC, or State Personnel Commission)…
When the North Carolina Utilities Commission orders a public utility to pay for an audit of itself, does the Commission have to follow the state's purchasing and consultant-contract procedures to pick the auditor?
No. When the Commission acts in its quasi-judicial capacity by issuing an order under N.C.G.S. § 62-37(b) requiring an auditor at the utility's expense, no state funds are spent and the utility pays t…
If a young pregnant girl in North Carolina got a marriage license before the October 1, 2001 age-raise but tried to use it after that date, was her marriage valid?
If the parties solemnized the marriage on or after October 1, 2001, the new age rules in N.C.G.S. § 51-2 (as amended by Session Law 2001-62) applied, even if the license was issued before that date. T…
When the North Carolina Insurance Commissioner retains experts at an insurance acquirer's expense to review a proposed acquisition of control, does the state's consultant contracting law apply?
Yes. Article 3C of Chapter 143 (state consultant services) applies to contracts the Insurance Commissioner makes under N.C.G.S. § 58-19-15(f) to retain attorneys, actuaries, economists, accountants, o…
Can North Carolina charter schools use the state's Private Capital Facilities Finance Act to raise capital for school buildings?
Yes. Charter schools are eligible to participate in Article 2 of Chapter 159D, the Private Capital Facilities Finance Act. The Act applies to 'institutions for elementary and secondary education,' def…
After the U.S. Supreme Court took federal jurisdiction off isolated North Carolina wetlands, can the state's Environmental Management Commission step in with its own permit rules, and can it do so on an emergency temporary-rule basis?
Yes to both. The NC AG concluded in 2001 that the Environmental Management Commission has statutory authority under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 143-215.1 and § 143B-282 to require permits for activities impacti…
Does a newly incorporated North Carolina town have to actually deliver four municipal services to qualify for Powell Bill street-aid money, or is budgeting for them enough?
Budgeting is enough. The NC AG concluded in 2001 that N.C. Gen. Stat. § 136-41.2(c) requires only that 'funds have been appropriated' for at least four of eight designated services, not that services …
When a North Carolina insurance corporation files a conversion plan, can the Commissioner of Insurance hire outside experts to review it without going through the state's normal consultant-contract approval process?
Yes. Section 58-65-131(e) of the NC General Statutes specifically exempts the personal professional service contracts the Commissioner uses to review insurance corporation conversion plans from Articl…
Does the North Carolina State Health Plan have to get the Governor's written approval before hiring outside consultants to help negotiate its preferred provider networks?
No, not when the consultant is helping with preferred provider work. The NC AG concluded in 2001 that N.C. Gen. Stat. § 135-40.4(a) exempts the Teachers' and State Employees' Comprehensive Major Medic…
Can a North Carolina district bar use mandatory dues from every attorney in the district to pay for a counseling program that also helps attorneys' family members?
Only in a limited form. The NC AG concluded in 2001 that a district bar can lawfully fund BarCARES with mandatory dues only if the program is restricted to attorney members and is directly related to …
Can a licensed North Carolina attorney notarize a document for a client and then represent that client in a legal matter about the same document?
Yes. The NC AG concluded in 2001 that no statute prevents this practice. An older 1988 AG opinion (58 N.C.A.G. 35) had advised against it, but that opinion rested on N.C. Gen. Stat. § 47-8, which the …
When North Carolina's Department of Health and Human Services and its mental health Division work alongside locally-run area mental health programs, who is the HIPAA covered entity and who is responsible for compliance with the federal medical privacy rules?
The 2001 NC AG opinion concluded that DHHS as a whole is a HIPAA 'hybrid entity' because some of its components (notably Medicaid and the state psychiatric hospitals) perform 'covered functions' under…
Are the licensing fees collected by the North Carolina Board of Nursing considered 'State funds,' and if so, does that mean Board members must be paid the standard $15-per-day per diem that applies to state board members generally?
Yes and no. The 2001 NC AG opinion concluded that fees the Board of Nursing collects are 'State funds' under the Executive Budget Act, N.C.G.S. § 143-1, because that statute defines State funds to inc…
Does HIPAA's 'health plan' definition cover North Carolina state agencies like the Divisions of Aging, Vocational Rehabilitation, and Services for the Blind?
No, not most of them. The NC AG concluded in 2001 that after the federal HIPAA Privacy Regulations took effect on April 14, 2001, the definition of 'health plan' specifically excluded government-funde…
Does the Good Funds Settlement Act let a North Carolina closing attorney disburse loan proceeds right away when the funds come in on a check from Carolina Farm Credit or another federally chartered agricultural credit association?
Maybe. The NC AG said in 2001 that the statute was ambiguous. The Good Funds Settlement Act allows immediate disbursement on checks drawn on the State of North Carolina, the United States, or a 'polit…
Can the North Carolina Governor sweep money from a dedicated wireless 911 fee fund to plug a state budget hole?
Yes. The NC AG concluded in 2001 that the Governor has constitutional authority under Article III, Section 5 to keep the state budget balanced, and that authority extends to ordering a transfer from t…
Do North Carolina's qualifications-based selection rules for architects and engineers reach private subcontracts and design-build projects?
No on both. The NC AG concluded in 2001 that the Mini-Brooks Act (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 143-64.31) applies only to procurement by state and local government entities, not to subcontracts let by private fi…
Can North Carolina insurance companies just decide not to sell insurance in certain ZIP codes or counties, and can the General Assembly force them to cover the whole state?
Yes companies can choose, and yes the legislature can force them to write statewide, with limits. The NC AG concluded in 2001 that insurance companies can choose not to write insurance or appoint agen…
If a North Carolina court expunges a DWI charge that was dismissed, does the Division of Motor Vehicles have to wipe out the 30-day civil license revocation too?
No. The NC AG concluded in 2001 that the criminal expungement statute, N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-146, did not reach civil drivers license revocations under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-16.5. The criminal case and…
Does North Carolina's old swine-keeping ban around state institutions also keep hog farms a quarter-mile away from local public schools and churches?
No, on both counts. The NC AG concluded in 2001 that N.C. Gen. Stat. § 143-153, enacted in 1909, did not apply to churches because they are not 'State' entities, and likely did not apply to local publ…
When a state agency's incentive bonus program produces budget savings, and the underlying funding source is a 'Special Fund' rather than the General Fund, where do those savings go: back to the Special Fund per its own statute, or to the General Fund under the general incentive-bonus statute?
It depends on what the Special Fund statute says. If the Special Fund statute directs how surplus or unspent money is to be handled, that direction controls. If the Special Fund statute is silent on w…
If a North Carolina city's attorney gave the council legal advice about an employee five years ago, does the local newspaper have a right to see that advice now?
Not if the advice contains confidential personnel information. The NC AG concluded in 2001 that N.C. Gen. Stat. § 160A-168(a), the municipal personnel-file confidentiality statute, supersedes the thre…
Can the North Carolina Rural Internet Access Authority give grant money to for-profit companies to set up telecenters in rural counties?
Yes. The NC AG concluded in 2001 that the Rural Internet Access Authority (RIAA), a state agency, can award telecenter grants from its MCNC contributions to for-profit applicants. North Carolina const…
When an asphalt plant company started construction work before getting its air quality permit from the Division of Air Quality, did Henderson County's local building inspector have to revoke the building permit under the mandatory-revocation provisions of state law?
No. The 2001 NC AG opinion concluded that the local Inspections Department was not required to revoke Tar Heel Paving's building permit for its asphalt plant. The reasoning rested on two definitional …
Can the Governor of North Carolina appoint people who already work for the state to the State Board of Education, or are state employees disqualified the way they are from the UNC Board of Governors?
Yes, the Governor can appoint state employees to the State Board of Education. The 2001 NC AG opinion read N.C.G.S. § 115C-10 carefully and found that it disqualifies only a narrow set of people: (1) …
Can a school nurse in North Carolina refer a student to the local Health Department for confidential medical care (like STI testing, pregnancy services, substance abuse help, or mental health care) without notifying the student's parents, and can a school board prohibit those referrals?
Both yes. The 2001 NC AG opinion concluded that N.C.G.S. § 90-21.5 lets a minor consent on their own to medical services for venereal disease, pregnancy, substance abuse, and emotional disturbance, an…
When a North Carolina citizen review board reviews a police disciplinary case, can the city release the officer's prior misconduct records and the underlying facts to the board and to the complainant?
Partly. The NC AG concluded in 2001 that the local Act creating the Charlotte/Mecklenburg Citizen Review Board permits (but does not require) the City Manager or Chief of Police to disclose to the CRB…
Are landscape architects in North Carolina legally allowed to design street and storm water drainage systems for subdivision developments, or is that work limited to licensed professional engineers?
Engineering work, generally. The 2001 NC AG opinion concluded that detailed drawings and accompanying calculations for street design and storm water drainage systems, including subsurface piping and c…
Can a Smart Start local partnership board member vote on a grant to a nonprofit if she also sits on that nonprofit's board?
Generally yes, when the dual-service is institutional rather than personal. Smart Start board members serving on a nonprofit's board because of their county jobs (and gaining no personal financial ben…
Can a public hospital trustee also serve on a nonprofit's board if the public hospital is considering making a grant to that nonprofit?
Generally yes, as long as no individual personally pockets money from the grant. The criminal conflict-of-interest statute (N.C.G.S. § 14-234) is triggered by personal financial benefit to the public …
When a NC council of governments dissolves and gives up federally funded equipment bought with Older Americans Act subgrants, who decides what happens to the equipment: the state Division of Aging or the COG?
The state, applying state surplus property rules. The AG concluded that 45 C.F.R. § 92.32(b) controlled because the federal grant from HHS had gone to the State of North Carolina (the Division of Agin…
Can a NC county board abolish its statutorily-created county police department and roll its duties into the sheriff's office?
No. The AG concluded that the Gaston County Board of Commissioners cannot abolish the Gaston County Police Department or assign its duties to the sheriff's office without a new act of the General Asse…
When a small NC town contracts with a private 'special police' company instead of hiring its own officers, can those private officers enforce traffic laws on town streets?
No. The AG concluded that NC Special Police (NCSP) officers, who hold their authority as company police officers under Chapter 74E, are limited by § 74E-6(c) to law enforcement on their employer's rea…
Can a North Carolina county adopt a local ordinance adding its own late-payment penalty or administrative fee on top of the statewide property tax interest schedule?
No. The AG read the Machinery Act in Subchapter II of Chapter 105 as a comprehensive, integrated statewide scheme that fully occupied the field of delinquent property tax penalties. The Act already im…
Can a North Carolina state senator take a marketing job with a nonprofit institute and earn commissions on sales it makes to local governments, other states, and private parties without violating the state's public-contracting conflict-of-interest law?
Yes, likely. The NC AG concluded in 2001 that Senator Stephen Metcalf could probably accept a Director of Development position with Mars Hill Institute and receive compensation tied to sales of the In…
When does a business in North Carolina need to have an air-pollution permit in hand: when it finishes building a new pollution source, or when it starts construction?
Start of construction. The 2001 NC AG opinion interpreted N.C.G.S. § 143-215.108(a)(2) to require an air-permit before any on-site assembling of materials that will constitute a 'source' of air contam…
Can a North Carolina town hire a private company police agency, by contract, to act as the town's police force on public streets and inside private businesses, or are those officers limited to their employer's own property?
No. AG Mike Easley's office concluded that company police officers, as defined in N.C.G.S. § 74E-6(c), have law enforcement authority only on the real property of their employer (or property the emplo…
Can a North Carolina county require carbon monoxide alarms in new homes if the State Building Code does not, or does state law preempt that?
Only partly. The NC AG concluded in 2001 that Mecklenburg County's ordinance requiring carbon monoxide alarms was likely unenforceable as applied to new construction because the State Building Code fr…
When the federal Environmental Protection Agency shares draft hazardous-site rankings or other pre-decisional documents with North Carolina's environmental department, do North Carolina's open records laws require the state to release them to the public, or can the state keep them confidential under federal Freedom of Information Act exemptions?
The state can keep them confidential, but only by using a specific statutory channel. The 2001 NC AG opinion explained that N.C.G.S. § 130A-304(a)(2), added in 1991 at the EPA's request, makes informa…
Could North Carolina successfully challenge the federal open-container law in court, on the theory that Congress overstepped its spending power by conditioning federal highway funds on states adopting that specific drunk-driving rule?
No, the 2001 NC AG opinion concluded that a constitutional challenge to the federal open container requirements in 23 U.S.C. § 154 would not likely succeed. The 1987 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Sou…
Can the North Carolina Board of Mortuary Science still enforce its long-standing rule against funeral home advertising of discounts and credits, given recent U.S. Supreme Court cases protecting commercial speech under the First Amendment?
Yes, but only carefully. The 2000 NC AG opinion drew a sharp distinction. When N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-210.25(e)(1)f is applied to prohibit funeral home licensees from paying actual referral fees or comm…
When a Mecklenburg County Superior Court judge is elected in 1998 to fill a vacancy left by a retiring judge, is the elected term eight years or only the unexpired remainder of the prior judge's term?
Eight years. AG Mike Easley's office concluded that under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 163-9(b)'s second paragraph, when a vacancy occurs in a multi-judge superior court district located entirely in a county not…
Can the elected mayor of a North Carolina town also serve as Tribal Chairman of the Lumbee Indian Tribe, or does North Carolina's dual office holding rule force the mayor to give up one of the positions?
Yes, the mayor can do both. The 2000 NC AG opinion concluded that Mr. Milton R. Hunt, the elected mayor of Pembroke, could also serve as Tribal Chairman of the Lumbee Tribe without violating North Car…
When a county board fires an entire hospital authority and there are no remaining hospital commissioners to nominate replacements, who can appoint the new commissioners?
The AG declined to issue an advisory opinion because the same issue was already being litigated in Onslow County Superior Court. The AG's office said it ordinarily declines to opine on matters that ar…
If six Chapel Hill police officers should have been enrolled in their retirement system in mid-1984 but weren't enrolled until November 1984 by mistake, can they now buy that omitted service and retroactively qualify for the Bailey tax exemption on their retirement benefits?
No. AG Mike Easley's office concluded that the Bailey tax exemption depends on whether the employee was vested in the retirement system on August 12, 1989, when the General Assembly first taxed those …
Can Watauga County use its zoning ordinance to regulate the height and fall zone of a UNC-TV transmission tower located in the county, or is a state-owned television tower outside the county's authority?
Outside the county's authority. AG Mike Easley's office concluded that statutes are not presumed to bind the State unless the State is expressly mentioned, that G.S. § 153A-121's general police power …
When a child reports being abused while held in a county-operated juvenile detention facility, does the local Department of Social Services have the authority to investigate the abuse claim, or is the case outside DSS's jurisdiction because secure detention facilities are licensed by the Office of Juvenile Justice rather than DSS?
Yes, DSS has the authority to investigate. The 2000 NC AG opinion concluded that a county-operated secure juvenile detention facility is a 'residential child care facility' as that term is used in N.C…
Are members of the North Carolina Emergency Response Commission, and members of Local Emergency Planning Committees the commission appoints under Executive Order 125, protected by the state's tort claims coverage, defense by the Attorney General, and statutory immunities when they act in their commission roles?
Yes, all of them. AG Mike Easley's office concluded that state employees on the commission have full state coverage; non-state-employee commissioners appointed by the Governor are 'agents of the state…
When North Carolina's State Highway Patrol or other state law enforcement agencies collect statistics on traffic stops, is the identity of the officer who made each stop a public record, or can the state keep officer names confidential?
The 2000 NC AG opinion concluded that, under the freshly enacted HB 1840 (Session Law 2000-67), the identity of the law enforcement officer making a traffic stop is NOT a public record. The General As…
Can North Carolina pay its current state employees a 'Referral Incentive Award' for identifying and recommending people for hard-to-fill state positions, or does the state employment-agency statute prohibit that kind of payment?
Yes, the state can pay the referral incentive. The 2000 NC AG opinion concluded that N.C. Gen. Stat. § 126-18 does not bar an Office of State Personnel-administered Referral Incentive Award program th…
Can North Carolina's Massage and Bodywork Therapy Board require massage schools to post a guaranty bond as a condition of approval, charge schools fees for the approval process, and require approval as a prerequisite to operating?
The 2000 NC AG opinion gave three answers. (1) NO bond: The Board cannot require schools to post a guaranty bond as a condition of approval, because the Massage and Bodywork Therapy Practice Act does …
What does 'adequate' mean when North Carolina law requires county commissioners to provide 'adequate' funding to a community college?
'Adequate' meant 'sufficient to meet specific requirements,' a standard imported from a 1951 NC Supreme Court decision and consistent with both Black's Law Dictionary and the American Heritage College…
Can a NC hospital authority sell vacant land to a doctor without following the special hospital-property sale procedures in § 131E-13?
Yes, if the vacant land is not 'necessary, convenient, or related' to the operation of any hospital facility owned by the authority. The AG concluded that the term 'hospital facility' in both the Muni…
Can North Carolina warehouses legally store video poker machines that would be illegal to operate in the state?
No. The NC AG concluded in 2000 that even storing or warehousing video poker machines that would be illegal to operate is itself unlawful. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-304 makes it unlawful to 'manufacture, o…
Could a North Carolina home-schooled teenager who used a hunting rifle on family property under a parent's supervision lose their learner's permit or driver's license under the 'Lose Control, Lose Your License' law?
No. The AG read the statute literally and concluded that 'enumerated student conduct' triggering license revocation required the conduct to actually 'result in disciplinary action.' Disciplinary actio…
Can the NC Department of Transportation award engineering and surveying contracts to the lowest bidder instead of selecting based on qualifications?
Mostly no, with narrow exceptions. The AG concluded that for federal-aid highway projects, the federal Brooks Act and 23 U.S.C. § 112 required qualifications-based selection (QBS), period. Low-bid awa…
Can the Governor reappoint Environmental Management Commission members to consecutive terms, and if not, are the Commission's decisions still legally binding?
The AG concluded yes on both questions. The EMC statute § 143B-283(b) is ambiguous on reappointments; it lacks the express prohibition that the General Assembly used in other commission statutes (Sedi…
Can the NC State Education Assistance Authority advance state student loan funds to colleges so the colleges can directly make federal student loans to their graduate students?
Yes. The AG concluded that the State Education Assistance Authority had statutory authority under G.S. §§ 116-201, 116-204(8), and 116-209.3 to advance funds from the NC Student Loan Fund to NC colleg…
Could the State of NC set up a nonprofit corporation to issue tax-exempt Certificates of Participation to buy prison facilities, where the lease payments back the bonds?
No. The AG concluded the public bidding requirements of Article 8 of Chapter 143 do NOT apply to private construction of the three new close security prisons authorized by S.L. 1999-237 § 18.20(a) / N…
Can a North Carolina county board of elections force a public school, town hall, or other tax-supported building to be used as a polling place against the wishes of the people who run it?
Yes. The AG read G.S. § 163-129 to give county boards of elections clear power to demand and use any school or other tax-supported building, or part of one, as a voting place, even over the objection …
Are officers and directors of a university foundation, athletic foundation, or alumni association protected by the State's Defense of State Employees Act if they're sued?
No. The AG concluded that the officers, directors, and employees of the Foundation of UNC Charlotte, the Athletic Foundation of UNC Charlotte, and the UNC Charlotte Alumni Association are not 'State e…
Can North Carolina prohibit or regulate private prisons that house federal or out-of-state inmates, and what authority do private prison employees have to make arrests?
The AG concluded that NC cannot prohibit a private prison from being built in NC to house federal inmates (the Supremacy Clause forecloses that), but NC can regulate matters like firearms, use of forc…
Can a North Carolina town accept up to $400,000 in private contributions from some property owners, hold it in escrow, and use it to fund the costs of condemning right-of-way from other (resisting) property owners along a state secondary road that the town wants widened and improved?
Yes, it appears so. AG Mike Easley's office concluded that nothing in North Carolina law prohibits a town from accepting private contributions to fund road-improvement condemnation costs along a state…
If a NC crime victim's claim is under $7,500 but the victim was committing a misdemeanor or engaged in contributory misconduct, who decides whether to pay the claim: the Commission or its Director?
The full Commission. The AG resolved an apparent conflict between two crime-victim-compensation statutes. G.S. § 15B-10(a) gave the Director authority to decide claims of $7,500 or less. G.S. § 15B-11…
When a NC town leases private land for public parking and beach access, can the town claim the property is tax-exempt as 'municipal property'?
No. The AG concluded that Ocean Isle Beach's leasehold interest in privately-owned land did not qualify for the § 105-278.1(b) municipal property tax exemption. The words 'belonging to' in that exempt…
If NC adopts the new Uniform Commercial Code Article 9 revisions, will the Department of the Secretary of State and its employees face new tort liability exposure?
Yes. The AG concluded that the General Statutes Commission's pending Article 9 revisions would substantially increase the liability exposure of the Secretary of State's filing office and its employees…
When a North Carolina farm or forestland loses its present-use property tax break, how many years of back taxes does the county collect?
Three years, plus the current fiscal year. The AG concluded that G.S. § 105-277.4(c) operated in two sequential steps. First, the current fiscal year's taxes were computed as if the property had never…
When NC created a Board of Massage and Bodywork Therapy in 1998, did the new board take over school licensing from the State Board of Community Colleges?
Yes, but with a wrinkle. The 1998 NC Massage and Bodywork Therapy Practice Act created a Massage Board with authority to approve (not license) massage and bodywork schools. The AG concluded that the a…
Could the UNC Health Care System legally spend $163 million in public funds to acquire control of Rex Healthcare, a private nonprofit hospital, without specific authorization from the General Assembly? Would Rex employees become state employees? Would Rex get state immunities?
The AG concluded yes the System had authority, no Rex employees would not become state employees, and no Rex would not get state immunities. The acquisition was structured as a corporate-control trans…
Can a physician assistant attend a birth in a North Carolina hospital instead of a doctor or a certified nurse midwife?
No. The AG read 10 NCAC 3C .4302(a) at face value: the rule said each birth had to be attended 'by a physician or certified nurse midwife' with documented current competence and appropriate privileges…
Is it constitutional for North Carolina to make you pay the use tax on out-of-state purchases on your state income tax return?
Yes. The AG concluded that bundling use-tax collection with the individual income tax return did not run afoul of the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act or the dormant Commerce Clause restrictions in *Q…
Does the UNC Health Care System have the legal authority to become Rex Healthcare's sole corporate member, and if it does, will Rex employees thereby become state employees?
Yes the System has authority through its broad statutory delegation under G.S. 116-37(b)(4). No Rex employees will not become state employees. Rex stays a private 55A nonprofit even with the System as…
When the NC Department of Insurance collects restitution from a regulated insurer but the affected consumers cannot be identified or each share is too small to mail, does that money have to be turned over to the State Treasurer under the unclaimed property law?
It depended on the facts. The AG drew a line between three situations. First, when a specific consumer was identified and the Department was holding a fixed sum owed to that consumer but could not del…
When NC police seize a car under the DWI-while-license-revoked statute and tow it through the local rotation instead of the school board's tow contractor, who pays the towing bill?
The county board of education paid the bill, and had only 10 days to retrieve the vehicle. The AG read G.S. § 20-28.3(d) as putting the retrieval and payment duty on the local school board whenever th…
When a county board creates a hospital authority, can the county reserve the right to change the size of the authority's board later, or does only the hospital authority itself have that power?
Only the hospital authority itself. The AG concluded that § 131E-18(a) expressly grants the power to increase or decrease the number of hospital authority commissioners to 'the commissioners' (meaning…
Can the NC legislature constitutionally give direct cash grants and low-interest loans to homeowners, farmers, and small businesses devastated by a hurricane?
Yes, in the AG's view. After Hurricane Floyd flattened eastern North Carolina, Senate leader Basnight and Speaker Black asked whether direct grants and below-market loans to individual victims would v…
Can the Governor of North Carolina, after declaring a state of disaster, create new flood-relief programs for citizens not eligible for federal aid, and pay for those programs by shifting money out of regular state agency budgets, or does that have to wait for a legislative appropriation?
The Governor may do it, but only out of regular agency appropriations and with Council of State concurrence. AG Mike Easley's office concluded that G.S. § 166A-6(c)(5) lets the Governor, during a decl…
Did the new SBI Director, Bryan Beatty, have legal authority to take the North Carolina criminal justice officer's oath of office, given that he had not completed the Chapter 17C certification requirements that other certified officers must meet?
Yes. AG Mike Easley's office (through General Counsel Andrew Vanore) concluded that N.C.G.S. §§ 114-12 and 114-14, enacted in 1937, make the Director of the SBI a law enforcement officer by statute, w…
After a hurricane, can the NC Governor reshuffle agency appropriations to create new direct-aid programs for flood victims without going back to the General Assembly?
Yes, with two conditions. The Governor must have declared a state of disaster (or the General Assembly must have done so), and the Council of State must concur. Once those boxes are checked, G.S. § 16…
Can a state agency hand an employee's bank account information to a private third-party administrator that runs the agency's flexible spending account program?
The AG concluded yes. Because Aon Consulting was acting as NC Flex's contractual agent (not an outside entity), giving Aon the direct-deposit data needed to pay claims wasn't a disclosure prohibited b…
Could the NC Private Protective Services Board start issuing 'temporary' private-investigator trainee permits so applicants didn't have to wait two months for the next board meeting?
The AG said no on all three sub-questions. The Board had no statutory authority to issue temporary trainee permits before vetting an applicant, so it could not delegate that nonexistent authority to i…
Does a nonprofit research organization like Research Triangle Institute have to register with the NC Engineering Board before doing engineering work in the state?
Yes, if the nonprofit is actually engaged in the 'practice of engineering' as the statute defines it. The opinion drew a line between pure research or teaching (exempt) and contractual engineering ser…
Can a 17-year-old who will turn 18 by the November 2000 general election file for the NC House of Representatives, or does the candidate have to be older?
No. A candidate for the NC House must be at least 21 years old by the date of the general election. The 18-year-old voting-age threshold in Article VI, Section 1 doesn't override the 21-year-old offic…
Was the 1999 NC law giving Charlotte/Mecklenburg schools more flexibility on construction contracts an unconstitutional 'local act' regulating trade?
The AG concluded no. Sections 2 through 6 of Chapter 207 only regulated the bidding process for Charlotte/Mecklenburg, not the contracting industry as a whole. Local acts regulating the bid process ar…
When the NC Insurance Commissioner collects money from a regulated insurance company, does that money go to the public schools or can the Department of Insurance keep it?
It depends on the nature of the payment. Civil penalties and cease-and-desist forfeitures are punitive, so under Article IX, Section 7 of the NC Constitution their clear proceeds go to local school sy…
Can the NC Marine Fisheries Commission sue or file a contested case against another state agency (the Department of Environment and Natural Resources) over a permit decision that the Commission thinks harms fisheries?
Almost certainly no. The Marine Fisheries Commission's statutory authority lets it 'comment on and otherwise participate in' permit decisions of other agencies, but does not authorize it to file a law…
If the NC General Assembly abolishes the Ports Railway Commission and lets the State Ports Authority lease port switching operations directly to private operators, would the State Ports Authority become subject to the federal Railway Labor Act?
Highly unlikely. In June 1999 the National Mediation Board ruled that the Ports Railway Commission was no longer a railway 'carrier' under the RLA, mooting the long-running dispute between the State P…
Can a researcher force the NC Employment Security Commission to rebuild its workforce-tracking database to use anonymized identifiers so the data can be analyzed without exposing Social Security numbers?
No. NC's Public Records Act does not require a state agency to create a new database it does not already maintain. The Common Follow-Up System links student and worker records by Social Security numbe…
When calculating an NC Supreme Court Justice's longevity pay, does service as Administrative Office of the Courts director or assistant director count? What about service as an assistant district attorney?
The AG concluded that AOC director and assistant director service counts toward longevity for a NC Supreme Court Justice, because those positions were already explicitly equated with superior-court-ju…
Can a dental practice pay a management company a percentage of practice revenues, or must the fee be tied to specific services? And what contract terms cross the line into the unlicensed practice of dentistry?
Revenue-based fees turn the management company into a participant in the practice (illegal). Fee-for-service compensation, where the management company is paid based on the value of services delivered…
If a North Carolina statute (G.S. § 7B-3400) says minors are subject to their parents' supervision and control 'notwithstanding any other provision of law,' does that wipe out the separate minor-consent statute (G.S. § 90-21.5) and let parents stop a county health department from giving birth control to a teenager without their consent?
No. AG Mike Easley's office concluded that the two statutes address different subjects and do not actually conflict. G.S. § 7B-3400 sits in Article 34 of the Juvenile Code and is about getting runaway…
When a state-paid teacher leaves a NC public school district, can the school board move a current locally-paid teacher into the now-vacant state-funded position to keep state money flowing?
Yes. NC's broad general grant of authority to local school boards (G.S. 115C-36 and 115C-40) gives them control over which qualified employees to assign to state-funded versus locally funded positions…
Can the NC Principal Fellows Commission approve school administrator programs at private colleges in NC, and award scholarship loans to students enrolled in those private programs, or is the Commission limited to UNC system institutions?
Yes to both. The Principal Fellows Commission may approve programs at private NC institutions and award scholarship loans to qualifying students there. The statute (G.S. 116-74.42) authorizes the Comm…
When North Carolina county boards of elections collected Social Security numbers on voter registration cards without giving applicants the Privacy Act disclosure (whether the disclosure is mandatory or voluntary, the authority for it, and how the number will be used), can the State Board of Elections lawfully release those SSNs to the public as part of voter registration lists?
No. AG Mike Easley's office concluded that under § 7 of the federal Privacy Act of 1974, any SSN collected by a state or local government since January 1, 1975 without the required disclosure cannot b…
Can a NC county board of elections release a voter's Social Security number along with the rest of their voter registration record?
No, the AG concluded, for any SSN collected from a voter after January 1, 1975, without the disclosure notice the federal Privacy Act of 1974 requires. The Privacy Act forbids government agencies from…
If two members of an airport authority's board are also senior bank executives, can the authority award the bank a bond underwriting contract without running afoul of NC's conflict-of-interest law?
Yes, as long as the directors do not own more than 10% of the bank, disclose their interest, and do not vote on the authorization. The opinion also reads the § 14-234(a) 'banks or banking institutions…
Was the 1999 NC William Lee Act amendment that gave tax credits to electronic shopping and mail-order houses (but not brick-and-mortar retailers, and not businesses with consolidated operations) constitutional?
The opinion concluded the amendment was mostly defensible under rational-basis review, but flagged one distinction as constitutionally weak: penalizing companies that kept inventory and sales staff in…
Does the NC Secretary of State need a new statute before she can accept federal grants or private gifts to help her implement the Nonprofit Corporation Act?
No. The implied-powers doctrine, combined with a 1935 general authorization and the General Assembly's regular practice of recognizing all agencies' authority to accept unanticipated gifts and grants,…
When the NC Department of Revenue mistakenly listed the Libertarian Party as a qualified party on 1998 tax forms (when it didn't have the 1% voter registration the statute requires), should the funds taxpayers checked for the Libertarian Party go to the Libertarian Party anyway, and how should the 'Unspecified' designations be split?
The Libertarian Party keeps the funds taxpayers designated for it, even though the Party did not formally qualify under § 105-159.1. The NC AG reasoned that the Secretary of Revenue's interpretive det…
Can a NC Chief District Court Judge issue a standing order forbidding juvenile court counselors from diverting any juvenile case that came out of the public schools?
No. Person County DA Joel Brewer asked the AG to evaluate a local administrative order by the Chief District Court Judge that flatly prohibited diversion of any juvenile case originating in the public…
If a NC Superior Court Judge is specially assigned to run the Administrative Office of the Courts, does that special assignment break his 'continuous service' for purposes of later becoming Senior Resident Superior Court Judge? Does he still receive his judicial salary?
No, the assignment does not break continuous service, and yes, the judge continues to receive his Superior Court Judge salary and expenses. The Chief Justice's constitutional power to assign judges in…
When a hospital authority leased a county hospital to a private operator in 1984, does it have the power years later to amend that lease and consent to assignment to a new operator without going through the public bidding process?
It can amend the lease, but assignment is subject to the full G.S. 131E-13 bidding regime. Hospital authorities all operate under Chapter 131E now (not the repealed Chapter 131), regardless of when th…
When a North Carolina county becomes an 'Electing County' under the Work First welfare reform program and runs its own program, can the county still use the state hearing officers (under G.S. 108A-79) to hear appeals from people whose benefits the county denied?
No. By opting out of the Standard Work First Program, an Electing County opts out of the state appeal process under G.S. 108A-79. The county must develop and implement its own appeals process that 'su…
Did the 1997 NC law tying teen drivers' licenses to school enrollment and progress apply to teens who already had their licenses before the law took effect?
Group A teens (license before December 1, 1997) are forever exempt. Group C teens (license after July 31, 1998) need the certificate to get and keep their license. Group B teens (license between Decem…
Can a North Carolina charter school satisfy the state's 180-day instructional requirement by running a five-month residential program with extended daily hours that adds up to 1000 instructional hours, instead of operating across the traditional nine-month school year?
No. AG Mike Easley's office concluded that G.S. § 115C-238.29F(d)(1) requires charter schools to offer instruction for at least 180 days, and the requirement cannot be satisfied by compressing those d…
When a North Carolina state commission spins off a private nonprofit corporation that takes over the same economic development work using state money, is that nonprofit subject to the Public Records Act, or does its private-corporate form let it keep records confidential?
The nonprofit is still subject to the Public Records Act. Under the Wake County Hospital System case, an entity that performs public functions with public funds under significant government oversight …
When the NC State Auditor audits a state agency, can he look at the confidential personnel files of state employees without their permission, their department head's permission, or a court order, or does the State Personnel Act's confidentiality rule (G.S. § 126-24) block him?
Yes, he can. AG Mike Easley's office concluded that G.S. § 147-64.13 declares the State Auditor's Article 5A powers take precedence over any conflicting provision of law. The Auditor's authority under…
Could the NC General Assembly constitutionally pass a lottery statute whose effective date depended on a favorable statewide voter referendum?
Yes. The opinion concluded such legislation would be constitutional under *Manly v. Raleigh* (1859) and the line of NC cases following it. NC follows the minority view that the legislature may make th…
When the legislature gave the ECU Medical Faculty Practice Plan 'flexibility' to handle its own real property acquisitions, did that mean it no longer needs Council of State approval, Joint Legislative Commission consultation, or AG legal work for those transactions?
No. The 1998 flexibility act let the ECU Medical Faculty Practice Plan adopt its own rules to perform the same property functions the Department of Administration usually performs. It did not exempt t…
Can a local school board or the Governor appoint a county commissioner to a community college board of trustees? Can multiple county commissioners or school board members serve simultaneously? What are the term and conflict-of-interest rules?
Yes a county commissioner can be appointed by the school board or Governor, and yes more than one can serve. School board members can also be appointed by the Governor or county commissioners. Terms m…
Can an outgoing Speaker of the NC House make appointments to a state board that don't take effect until after he leaves office, locking in his choices over the new Speaker's preferences?
No. The outgoing Speaker's last-day appointments to the Travel and Tourism Board for terms beginning the next day (after his own term as Speaker had ended) were unauthorized and void. The terms of boa…
Can the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission regulate where, when, and how commercial fishermen can harvest menhaden in the near-shore Atlantic waters off the state's beach communities, and can the Commission use tourism impacts as a basis for those restrictions?
Yes for conservation-based restrictions; no for tourism-based restrictions. AG Mike Easley's office concluded that the Marine Fisheries Commission's statutory authority extends to time, place, season,…
Can a North Carolina public body close a meeting to talk with its attorney about potential lawsuits that have not yet been filed, or does the open meetings law require an actual existing lawsuit before the body can go behind closed doors?
Yes, with a reasonable basis. AG Mike Easley's office concluded that G.S. § 143-318.11(a)(3)'s attorney-client exception allows a public body to close a meeting to consult with its lawyer about actual…
Can a North Carolina county Department of Social Services report to credit bureaus the debts owed to it by people who received public-assistance overpayments, or does the law that protects the confidentiality of welfare recipients block that?
Yes, with conditions. AG Mike Easley's office concluded that G.S. § 108A-80's confidentiality bar contains a carve-out for purposes 'directly connected to the administration' of public-assistance prog…
Can the UNC Board of Governors limit Optional Retirement Program (ORP) eligibility to senior academic and administrative officers, when the statute speaks generally of 'administrators and faculty with the rank of instructor or above'?
Yes. The statutory phrase 'administrators and faculty of the University of North Carolina with the rank of instructor or above' is ambiguous. It clearly limits faculty to those holding the rank of ins…
Can the Wake County manager and the Raleigh city attorney serve on the Centennial Authority (the body that operated the RBC Center)? If they do, can they participate in votes that affect the county and city that employ them?
Yes to both questions. The Facility Authority Act lets the county commissioners and city council appoint their employees (not themselves) to the Authority. The common-law incompatible-offices doctrine…
When a state department surveys its employees about workplace conditions, are the questionnaires, answer sheets, and written comments public records, or are they confidential personnel records?
They are public records, with one carve-out. Surveys created by a state agency in the course of its business are public records under G.S. 132-1 and must be made available unless a specific exception …
Can the NC Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management Authority pursue 'decay-in-storage' (holding radioactive waste long enough for it to decay to safe levels) as an alternative to permanent disposal, under its existing statutory mandate?
The Authority can study and recommend decay-in-storage as an option, but cannot actually build or license a DIS facility without first getting approval from the General Assembly. Chapter 104G uses 'ma…
Can a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist administer anesthesia in NC without a physician's supervision?
Generally no. The Nursing Practice Act and Board of Nursing rules require CRNA anesthesia care to be under physician supervision because anesthesia management involves prescribing medical treatment an…
Can NC require the BUYER of electrical equipment to make sure the equipment was tested by a qualified laboratory, or does that legal duty fall only on the seller?
On the seller, under Article 4 of Chapter 66. Article 4 (G.S. § 66-23 and § 66-27A) explicitly addresses persons 'selling, offering for sale, assigning, or disposing of by gift as premiums' electrical…
When the 1998 General Assembly appropriated capital project money for NC community colleges, can the colleges receive the money without coming up with matching local funds?
No. G.S. 115D-31(a)(1) imposes an affirmative obligation on the State Board of Community Colleges to require equal matching funds before disbursing state money for land purchase, construction, or remo…
Can an electric membership corporation (EMC) in NC sell propane gas at retail to its members? What if a wholly-owned subsidiary does it, or through a joint venture?
No to both. EMCs in NC are organized under Chapter 117 with a narrow statutory purpose: provide electric service to members. They cannot expand into retail propane distribution, directly or indirectly…
Does NC's Environmental Management Commission have to go through formal administrative rulemaking before signing a cooperative agreement with the federal National Parks Service and Forest Service about reviewing air permits for facilities near Class I federal lands?
No. Signing the MOU is not rulemaking. The MOU is an internal cooperative agreement between NC and federal land managers about how they will share information and consult on Prevention of Significant …
If a NC sheriff's election is being contested and won't be resolved before the incumbent's term ends, who serves as sheriff in the meantime?
The incumbent. Hoke County had a disputed 1998 sheriff race that the State Board of Elections had ordered redone, but the appeal would not resolve before the incumbent's term ended December 7, 1998. T…
When the 1998 budget bill restored the cost-of-living raise for state employees with poor performance ratings, did that fix reach backward to give them the 1997 COLA they missed too, or only the 1998 COLA?
Only the 1998 COLA. The NC AG concluded that Session Law 1998-212 restored COLA eligibility going forward for employees who had been excluded under § 126-7(c)(4b) because of documented poor performanc…
If a NC town buys a private lake that is subject to a conservation easement, and the conservation easement gets amended to allow a public park with walkways and small buildings, does that create a public trust doctrine problem under NC law?
No. The proposed amendment to the conservation easement to authorize the Town of Holly Springs to rebuild a hurricane-damaged dam and use the recreated lake as a public park does not create a public t…
When a county DSS is investigating a possible welfare fraud, can it require an employer to hand over the suspect's employment information without consent, subpoena, or court order?
It depends on the employer type. Private-sector employers can voluntarily disclose to DSS (unless restricted by employment contract or collective bargaining), but no law requires them to do so without…
Who can serve as the local school district's representative on an IEP team for a child with disabilities? Does the role have to be filled by a particular position (like a principal), or does the school district have flexibility?
Local school administrative units have discretion. The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the State Board's rules specify functional qualifications (must be qualified to provide o…
After the Bailey court order on 401(k) and 457 plan vesting, does the August 12, 1989 date still control class membership, or did the court drop that requirement?
August 12, 1989 still controls. The NC AG concluded that the November 1998 Bailey class-definition order, even though its Conclusion of Law No. 3 did not repeat the August 12, 1989 date, did not elimi…
Can a member of the public find out whether a specific NC public school teacher has a valid teaching license, and from which agency?
Yes from the State Board of Education or DPI; no from the local school district. The AG split the analysis by record custodian. Teacher licensure status is a public record under G.S. § 132-1 in the ab…
Between October 1998 and July 1, 1999, were the ex officio members of the NC Child Fatality Task Force allowed to vote on Task Force matters?
Yes, until July 1, 1999. The General Assembly had passed two bills six days apart in October 1998 with overlapping but inconsistent ex officio voting rules. Senate Bill 1260 (Session Law 1998-202) rec…
When the law says a school finance officer 'serves at the pleasure of the superintendent,' can the superintendent fire the finance officer without the school board's approval, and can the finance officer appeal the firing to the school board?
Yes, the superintendent can fire the school finance officer unilaterally for any reason or no reason (so long as not illegal), without board approval and without giving the finance officer a right to …
Can political party observers inside a NC voting place use a video camera to film voters, or use a cell phone, while they observe?
No on video cameras, yes (with discretion) on cell phones. The AG concluded that filming voters from inside the voting enclosure exceeded what G.S. § 163-45 allowed observers to do, and would intimida…
If North Carolina repealed its Enterprise Corporation investment tax credit in 1996, can someone who invested in 1996 still claim the credit, and at what cap?
Yes, but only at the reduced cap. The AG reaffirmed its 1996 conclusion: investments made during calendar year 1996 in a NC Enterprise Corporation remained eligible for the credit on the 1997 return, …
Can a NC county officially 'recognize' a Native American tribe, and if so, does the county's recognition force the state to recognize the tribe too?
No on official state recognition; yes on supportive resolutions. Orange County had adopted a 1995 resolution recognizing the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation as a Native American tribe indigenous …
If the General Assembly exempts a school district from local building permit fees, can the school district and the county still work around that by having the county charge the contractor and the school district reimburse the contractor?
No. A 1997 local act exempted Wake County Public Schools and qualified Wake County nonpublic schools from local development charges, including building permit fees, for school construction. The AG con…
If a county commissioner sits on a North Carolina district board of health, does the three-consecutive-three-year-terms limit that applies to other board members apply to that commissioner too?
No. Under N.C.G.S. § 130A-37(c), county commissioner members of a district board of health are not subject to the three-consecutive-term limit that applies to other board members. The only statutory l…
When a NC public charter school enrolls students from a school district that levies a supplemental school tax, does the charter school get a per-pupil share of that supplemental tax revenue or only state funding?
It gets a share. The Charter School Act requires the local school administrative unit to transfer to the charter school a pro-rata share of its 'local current expense appropriation' for each enrolled …
When must a NC public school principal report an act of indecent liberties with a minor to law enforcement, and what's the age cutoff?
When the principal has personal knowledge or actual notice from school personnel of conduct violating G.S. § 14-202.1, and the victim is under 16. The principal's specific reporting duty under G.S. § …
If a NC county votes in 1998 to expand its board of commissioners from three to five, when does the expansion actually take effect, the next county election in 2000 or 2002 as the resolution said?
The next election for county offices, which was the year 2000. The Madison County Board of Commissioners had passed a resolution scheduling the November 1998 referendum that, if approved, would seat a…
If a foreign visitor wants to get married in NC and is not eligible for a Social Security number, can the register of deeds still issue a marriage license?
Yes. NC Session Laws 1997-433 had added an SSN requirement to G.S. § 51-8 as part of the state's response to a federal child support enforcement law (42 U.S.C. § 666(a)(13)(A)) that required SSNs on l…
When a North Carolina county tax collector resigns mid-term and the office is elective under local law, who fills the interim vacancy, and what process applies?
The county Board of Commissioners makes the interim appointment. The Haywood County Tax Collector is elected under a series of local acts going back to 1929, but those local acts say nothing about mid…
Can a county board of commissioners create and run its own college scholarship program for students from county public schools?
No. The NC AG concluded that, although a county scholarship program serves a public purpose, no NC statute (general or local) grants counties the specific authority to establish their own college scho…
Can NC state legislators serve on the Board of Directors of the NC Partnership for Children, the private nonprofit that administers Smart Start, given the state constitutional separation of powers?
No. The NC Partnership for Children is a 'special instrumentality of government' created by the General Assembly to administer the Early Childhood Initiatives program (Smart Start). The legislature ap…
Are North Carolina's proposed business incentives in Senate Bill 1569, including air courier tax preferences, development zones, and recycling facility credits, constitutional?
Mostly yes. The AG advised that the air-courier definition, development zones, and recycling facility credits likely pass rational-basis review under State and federal equal protection. But the AG fla…
What does North Carolina's law requiring department heads to report criminal misuse of state property to the State Bureau of Investigation actually require, and how does a department head decide what counts as 'information or evidence' worth reporting?
Any time a department head receives credible information or evidence that state-owned personal property has been criminally misused, they must report it in writing to the SBI Director within 10 days. …
Can a NC coastal town ban state-licensed commercial fishermen from setting gill nets in canals that the state classifies as coastal fishing waters?
No. The Town of Ocean Isle Beach had adopted a local ordinance (Section 6-6-17 of the municipal code) banning gill nets in canals within town limits on a public safety theory. The AG concluded the ord…
Can NC State University agree to binding arbitration clauses in research contracts with federal laboratories and other universities, when the other side insists on arbitration as a condition of the contract?
Yes, with limits. NCSU may agree to binding arbitration for contractual disputes where the General Assembly has not already established a mandatory dispute resolution mechanism. The legislature has cr…
Can the NC Division of Water Quality include a production-cap condition in an NPDES permit for a slaughter and processing plant where the operator has a poor compliance history and the cumulative effects of the industry are concerning?
Yes, but narrowly. The AG concluded that N.C.G.S. § 143-215.1 gives the Environmental Management Commission and the Division of Water Quality authority to include a production-cap condition in an NPDE…
If a North Carolina district court judge has served since before January 1, 1981 without being licensed to practice law, is he eligible to run for or be appointed to the Superior Court bench?
Yes. NC Constitution Article IV, Section 22 (effective January 1, 1981) requires Justices and judges to be 'duly authorized to practice law,' but the section expressly does not apply to persons electe…
If a group is applying to start a North Carolina charter school, can it run an enrollment period and admission lottery for the next school year before the State Board of Education grants final charter approval?
No. Under the Charter School Act, only an approved 'charter school' may enroll students or conduct an admission lottery. Up until final approval by the State Board of Education, the entity is an 'appl…
Is the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians eligible to receive grants from the North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund?
No. Under N.C.G.S. § 113-145.4(a), the Clean Water Management Trust Fund can grant only to State agencies, local governments or other political subdivisions of the State, or conservation-purpose nonpr…
Is computer software developed for the State of North Carolina (like the State Title and Registration System program code) a public record that has to be turned over to anyone who requests it under the Public Records Law?
No. The AG concluded that under G.S. § 132-6.1, NC's Public Records Law distinguishes computer software from the records the software generates. The records (databases, data fields, query outputs) are…
Can NC require all applicants for Work First (TANF) welfare benefits to take a drug test, even without any reason to suspect them of drug use?
Probably not, the AG warned. NC's Division of Social Services asked whether suspicionless drug testing of all Work First applicants would survive a constitutional challenge. The AG distinguished betwe…
In North Carolina, can a school principal leave a school district to work at a charter school and use the same protected leave-of-absence statute that classroom teachers use, so they can come back later with their old career status?
No. N.C.G.S. § 115C-238.29F(e)(3) requires a local school administrative unit to grant an extended leave of absence to a teacher who wants to teach at a charter school. The AG concluded the term 'teac…
Does North Carolina's ban on accepting campaign contributions during legislative sessions apply to candidates for federal office?
No. The Federal Election Campaign Act preempts state laws that limit or restrict contributions to candidates for federal office. The AG concluded that N.C. Gen. Stat. § 163-278.13B is preempted as app…
Can a North Carolina state agency limit job-posting applicants to people already inside the agency, and can the agency limit the number of internal positions any one employee may apply for?
Yes on internal-only postings, with conditions. Under N.C.G.S. § 126-7.1, a state agency may limit applicants to current employees of the agency, as long as the agency does not receive or consider app…
In North Carolina, does the one-year residency requirement to run for sheriff run to the date of the primary or to the date of the general election?
To the general election. N.C.G.S. § 162-2 says no person is eligible for sheriff who 'has not resided in the county in which he is chosen for one year immediately preceding his election.' NC statutes …
Can a North Carolina county board of commissioners directly appropriate county funds to a charter school for building construction or other capital projects?
No. NC counties have only the powers the General Assembly expressly delegates. The Charter School Act assigns specific funding mechanics: the State allocates State funds, and the local school administ…
Can a North Carolina state-chartered credit union have members from several unrelated employer groups, each with its own internal common bond, or must all members of the credit union share one common bond?
All members must share the same common bond. Both the North Carolina Supreme Court (in N.C. Savings & Loan League v. NC Credit Union Commission, 1981) and the U.S. Supreme Court (in NCUA v. First Nati…
Who owns the new dry beach land at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina that was created by pumping sand from Banks Channel, after a 1939 special law granted the original beach to the town and a 1985 state lands amendment shifted title to publicly funded raised land to the State?
Mixed ownership, layered by date. The 1939 Session Law granted the Town of Wrightsville Beach good title in fee simple to the land east of the building line down to the low water mark, subject to publ…
If a state employee is also a licensed Professional Geologist in North Carolina, can the state licensing board discipline that person for violating the Code of Professional Conduct while doing their state job?
Yes for licensed employees, but the practice exemption still applies. NC law exempts officers and employees of the federal government and the State of NC from the Geologists Licensing Act when they ar…
Can North Carolina's Marine Fisheries Commission enforce state fishery rules against fishing vessels in the federal Exclusive Economic Zone off the North Carolina coast?
Yes, but only for NC-registered vessels and only where federal rules are absent or NC rules are consistent with the federal management plan. As amended, the Magnuson-Stevens Act lets a state regulate …
If a North Carolina sheriff settles an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission discrimination charge through a Conciliation Agreement, and county money pays the settlement, is the agreement a public record that the county must disclose?
Yes. Under N.C.G.S. § 132-1.3, public records include all settlement documents in any suit, administrative proceeding, or arbitration instituted against an agency of NC government in connection with i…
If a North Carolina fishing tournament gives a fisherman more raffle tickets the more fish he turns in, is that a sale of fish that requires the fisherman to have a state endorsement to sell fish?
Yes. NC defines 'sale' in N.C.G.S. § 113-130(6) to include any exchange of property for valuable consideration. A tournament scheme that gives a fisherman additional raffle tickets in exchange for eac…
Does the NC Environmental Policy Act require the state to prepare an environmental impact document when developing a fishery management plan under the Fisheries Reform Act of 1997, or when adopting the rules that implement those plans?
No. The NC Environmental Policy Act requires an environmental document only when an agency takes a 'final agency decision' on a specific project or program that uses public money or public land. Fishe…
Can the North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund pay for an environmental impact statement on a proposed regional wastewater treatment system, and can it fund construction of the regional system?
EIS preparation alone, no. Construction, yes but narrowly. EIS preparation does not fit any of the nine authorized CWMTF grant purposes in N.C.G.S. § 113-145.3(c), so the Fund cannot fund EIS preparat…
If a nonprofit charter school board hires a for-profit management company to run the day-to-day school, can it hand over hiring and firing of teachers to that company, or does the board itself have to keep final say?
The board has to keep final say over teachers. Under G.S. 115C-238.29F(e), the charter school's board must employ and contract with teachers. The board can delegate the initial recommendation and disc…
Can the North Carolina State Personnel Commission adopt a rule giving veterans an automatic 10-point preference on numerically scored state employment examinations?
Yes. N.C.G.S. § 126-82 explicitly directs the State Personnel Commission to provide veterans preferences in evaluation and experience credit, and § 126-4 gives the Commission broad rulemaking authorit…
If a registered Professional Engineer is also a state employee or state official doing engineering work as part of their job, does the NC engineering licensing board still have disciplinary jurisdiction over them?
Yes. The Engineering Board has jurisdiction over every registered Professional Engineer in the state and can enforce rules of professional conduct against them. It does not matter whether the engineer…
Can North Carolina agree with the federal Minerals Management Service to fix the state's seaward boundary at a series of permanent coordinates, or must the boundary remain ambulatory and shift with changes to the shoreline?
The boundary must remain ambulatory. NC's seaward boundary has been three geographical miles from the extreme low water mark of the Atlantic Ocean since 1776 (recognized at one marine league). N.C. Co…
If a child was equitably adopted (treated as a child but never legally adopted) and inherits from the foster parent, does that child get North Carolina's preferential inheritance tax rate as a 'Class A beneficiary'?
No. The NC Supreme Court's 1997 decision in Lankford v. Wright recognized equitable adoption as an equitable remedy in intestate succession to enforce a foster parent's contractual promise to adopt. B…
Can North Carolina community colleges enter into lease-purchase and installment purchase contracts to acquire equipment, or do they need explicit legislation like K-12 schools and local governments already have?
Yes, community colleges can enter lease-purchase and installment purchase contracts, but only when the contracts are made by or with the approval of the Purchase and Contract Division of the NC Depart…
Can North Carolinians legally canoe or kayak down a stream that runs across private property, or do they need permission from the landowners along the banks?
Yes, they can paddle without the consent of riparian owners. The AG applied the NC Supreme Court's holding in Gwathmey v. State, 342 N.C. 287 (1995): under the pleasure-craft test, a stream that is in…
If a homeowner has been partially paid by the general contractor who botched the job, can the homeowner still recover any of the remaining loss from North Carolina's Homeowners Recovery Fund?
No. The Homeowners Recovery Fund definition of 'reimbursable loss' in N.C.G.S. § 87-15.5(6) requires that the loss 'is not paid, in whole or in part, by or on behalf of the general contractor whose co…
When a member of the Edgecombe County Board of Education (merged school system) resigns mid-term, does the board's appointee serve the remainder of the four-year term, or must voters elect a replacement at the next general election to serve out the remainder?
The appointee serves the remainder of the unexpired term, with no intervening election. The AG concluded that Chapter 809 of the 1991 Session Laws, the local act establishing the merged Edgecombe boar…
Do North Carolina's political-activity restrictions on city and county 'employees' also cover elected mayors, commissioners, and sheriffs?
Yes. The AG concluded that the term 'employee' in G.S. § 153A-99 (counties) and G.S. § 160A-169 (cities) is broad enough to include elected officials. The same political-activity prohibitions and the …
If a NC EMS responder withholds CPR based on a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order, are they protected from being sued?
Yes, but on different legal grounds depending on which version of the DNR order was used. The NC Medical Society's Bioethics Committee developed a Model DNR Order with both a statutory form (compliant…
If a North Carolina Property Tax Commissioner's brother sits on a county board of commissioners, can the PTC member hear property-tax appeals from that county where his brother voted on the underlying tax decision?
No. The AG concluded that this is a direct family conflict of interest and the PTC member must recuse himself from any appeal involving a decision in which his brother participated. The quasi-judicial…
Under the 1997 NC Excellent Schools Act, when a career teacher chooses to skip the case-manager hearing and have his dismissal appeal heard directly by the school board on documents, what evidence may actually be considered?
The board's record includes the superintendent's recommendation and grounds, documentary evidence (defined broadly to cover pre-existing documents and documents prepared specifically for the hearing s…
Can a NC public hospital keep a non-medical-malpractice settlement agreement confidential, even when the agreement itself says it must stay confidential?
Almost no. G.S. § 132-1.3 makes settlement documents involving state agencies (including public hospital authorities) public records, with a narrow carve-out for medical malpractice settlements. The c…
Can the Director of the North Carolina Division of Aging keep serving on the Parks and Recreation Authority after starting that director job, or do the dual-role rules force her to choose between the two?
Both roles are allowed. G.S. § 128-1.1 permits two concurrent appointive positions, and the duties of the Division of Aging (aging-related programs and Home and Community Care Block Grant administrati…
After North Carolina's 1997 reform of the State Personnel Act, what happened to RIF priorities, where did personnel directors fit in the exempt-position scheme, and could job applicants sue over political-affiliation discrimination?
The AG advised that the new 'most qualified person' definition incorporated existing priority rules (so a minimally qualified reduction-in-force candidate still beat a stronger outside applicant), tha…
After a tie vote in a small-town mayoral race was decided by a single provisional ballot, must the county board of elections release the provisional voter's identifying application to the media on request, or does the constitutional right to a secret ballot protect that voter's identity?
The provisional voter's identity is protected. Normally, applications to vote provisionally are public records because they are separate from the ballots and there are enough provisional voters that n…
After the 1993 amendments to North Carolina's slot-machine statute, are video poker machines still illegal under G.S. § 14-306, or are they exempt as amusement devices?
A video poker machine was legal under the post-1993 version of G.S. § 14-306 if it (1) was used for amusement, (2) involved the use of skill or dexterity (not necessarily dominated by skill), (3) limi…
Does the Butner Planning Council have to submit three new candidate names for Town Manager to the Secretary of Health and Human Services while the position is already filled?
No. Under N.C.G.S. § 122C-403(9), the Planning Council must submit three names to the Secretary only when there is a vacancy in the Town Manager position. While the current Town Manager is in office, …
When a North Carolina school administrative unit gets fined for environmental violations, who gets the money? Does the school get to keep the fine it paid?
No, under any version of the law. Before September 1, 1997, the proceeds went to the General Fund. From September 1, 1997 forward, the new G.S. 115C-457.1 through -457.3 framework routed all such pena…
Does North Carolina's mandatory comprehensive school health education program apply to high school students, and what control do parents and local boards have over its sex-education component?
The mandatory comprehensive school health education program under G.S. § 115C-81(e1) covers only kindergarten through ninth grade. Local boards may add comprehensive sex education at K-9 (after a publ…
Can a North Carolina school district require teachers to report suspected child abuse to a single school-system contact person instead of directly to the county Department of Social Services?
No. Under G.S. 115C-400, the person who has cause to suspect child abuse must report directly to the county DSS Director. A school district may have a contact person to assist with reporting and serve…
Can a North Carolina magistrate be removed from office mid-term if they move out of the county for which they were appointed?
No. Under N.C.G.S. § 7A-171.2(a), county residency is a qualification only 'for nomination or renomination,' not for continuing in office. Once a magistrate is appointed to a two-year term by the seni…
When the 1997 Swine Farm Siting Act takes effect with new setback distances (1,500 feet from residences, 2,500 feet from schools/hospitals/churches, etc.), do farmers whose water quality permits were already approved at lesser setbacks still have to comply with the new setbacks when they start construction?
Yes. The effective date language is clear and unambiguous: the new setbacks apply to any new construction or expansion commencing on or after the date of the act. Holding a DWQ-issued water quality pe…
If NC enacts a swine farm moratorium that takes effect when the Governor signs it, can permits issued earlier the same morning still be valid?
Yes. The General Assembly ratified the Clean Water Responsibility and Environmentally Sound Policy Act on August 26, 1997. The Act imposed a two-year moratorium on construction or expansion of swine f…
Does my city get to keep the money from parking tickets, or does the cash have to go to the county public schools?
It depends on whether the city has decriminalized its parking ordinance. If the council has invoked G.S. 160A-175(b) to remove criminal penalties (as Raleigh did in Section 11-2025 of its code), the p…
Can the North Carolina General Assembly create a local-option tax by passing a bill on fewer than three separate days, or does Article II, Section 23 require strict three-day passage even for narrow city/county authorizations?
No, the General Assembly cannot. The AG concluded that to the extent S.L. 1997-452 (H.B. 786) authorized Cabarrus County or the City of Concord to levy taxes through a binding local referendum, it was…
When a North Carolina builder builds a spec house on land he owns and sells the house and land together, does the project 'value' for general-contractor licensing purposes include the land?
No. The AG concluded that the 'value' used to determine which level of general-contractor license is required under G.S. § 87-10(a) is the cost of the building only, not the cost of the land. The lice…
Can a North Carolina town legally run a 'Business Development Investment' tax-rebate program that gives incentive grants to private companies to attract economic development?
Tentatively yes, but Lexington's BDI Program needs published guidelines and criteria before the AG can sign off. Maready v. City of Winston-Salem (1996) confirms that § 158-7.1 incentive grants are co…
If a NC home school doesn't actually enroll any children of compulsory school age, does the state Division of Non-Public Education still have to recognize and register it?
No. NC's compulsory school attendance law (G.S. § 115C-378) requires children ages 7-16 to attend a school. The state's home-school, private-church-school, and qualified-nonpublic-school regulatory fr…
Did changes to the salary schedule for North Carolina school psychologists and speech pathologists in the 1990 and 1996 appropriations acts strip these employees of eligibility for career status (tenure)?
No. The AG concluded that the 1990 and 1996 appropriations-act salary adjustments only raised the starting salary points for school psychologists and speech pathologists on the existing master's-degre…
If a North Carolina felon's firearm rights were restored under the old version of N.C. law (after the 5-year waiting period), can he be prosecuted today for possessing a firearm?
Yes, according to this 1997 AG opinion. The 1995 amendment to NC's Felony Firearms Act made the prohibition apply to felony convictions occurring 'before, on, or after December 1, 1995.' Read together…
If a North Carolina felon's firearm rights were restored under the old rule (five years after release), can the State or the federal government still prosecute him for possessing a firearm after the 1995 NC amendment tightened the rules?
Yes. The 1995 NC Felony Firearms Act amendment applies to any felony conviction in NC occurring before, on, or after December 1, 1995. The AG concluded that even ex-felons whose firearm rights had bee…
When a North Carolina county wants to reorganize its county-owned hospital as a hospital authority, can the county lease the hospital property to the new authority with strings attached, like requiring the county's written consent before major decisions?
Yes. The AG concluded that G.S. § 131E-31 expressly authorizes a county to lease hospital property to a hospital authority on whatever terms the county chooses, including prior-written-approval condit…
Are applications for a North Carolina Private Protective Services license open to the public, or can the licensing board keep them confidential?
Applications and other information the Board receives during licensure are public records under G.S. § 132-1 and § 132-6, and are open to public inspection. Narrow exceptions cover Social Security num…
Can North Carolina's anti-gambling property-seizure law be used to ban billboards advertising the legal Indian casino games at the Eastern Band of Cherokee reservation?
No. The gaming offered at the Cherokee reservation under the Tribal-State Compact is legal in North Carolina, and the First Amendment protects commercial speech about lawful activity. N.C.G.S. § 14-29…
When my county pays for materials to build a new school, can the county get back the sales tax it paid on those materials?
Only in narrow circumstances. Local boards of education are not on the list of entities eligible for the G.S. § 105-164.14(c) sales-tax refund. A county can get a refund only when the county itself ha…
Is North Carolina's tax break that lets in-state corporations deduct dividends from majority-owned subsidiaries (but denies the same deduction to out-of-state corporations) constitutional under the U.S. Commerce Clause?
No. The AG concluded that N.C.G.S. § 105-130.7(4), which allowed only corporations commercially domiciled in NC to deduct subsidiary dividends, facially discriminates against interstate commerce in vi…
Can the NC State Education Assistance Authority pay for counselor training and financial aid outreach programs out of the interest income on the NC Student Loan Fund?
Yes. Article 23 of Chapter 116 grants the Authority broad power to operate financial assistance programs and 'to do all other acts and things necessary or convenient' to that mission. Training high sc…
Can North Carolina bar nonresidents from holding shellfish licenses, and how much higher can it set commercial-fishing license fees for out-of-state fishermen, without violating the U.S. Constitution?
Yes in theory, but with serious doubt about the shellfish bar and the $1,800 fee gap in HB 1097. The AG warned that flat resident-only shellfish licenses (NCGS 113-154(c), 113-202) probably fail Privi…
If a former North Carolina state judge has already vested in his judicial pension before the General Assembly passed a law cutting benefits for state retirees who later become federal judges, can the State still cut his pension once he is appointed to the federal bench?
No. The AG concluded that NCGS 135-72 cannot constitutionally be applied to reduce the judicial retirement benefits of any state-system member or retiree who had already satisfied the minimum-age and …
Can a State Board of Education member keep his seat if his spouse works for a local public school system, and what happens if a board member's spouse takes a public school job after the member is confirmed?
The two questions get different answers. A public school employee appointed to the single dedicated public-school-employee seat under the 1989 amendment to NCGS 115C-10 keeps his seat even if his spou…
If a judgment-creditor uses a Supplemental Proceeding to make a bank disclose a debtor's account information, does the Clerk of Superior Court have to pay the bank's record-production charge, or does the judgment-creditor?
The judgment-creditor pays. The AG concluded that although the Clerk's office is a 'governmental authority' under the NC Financial Privacy Act, the Clerk in a Supplemental Proceeding under NCGS 1-360 …
Why are North Carolina banks allowed to deduct the full amount of their federal bond interest income for state tax purposes, when other corporations have to subtract out the interest expenses associated with that income, and is that bank-specific treatment constitutional?
It is a long-standing administrative policy under NCGS 105-130.5 that the General Assembly has implicitly ratified by leaving in place despite multiple proposed reversals. The AG concluded that, altho…
Does Senate Bill 194 clarifying that NC can charge continuing air quality penalties from the date a violation began (not from the date the notice of violation arrived) need to pass, or is the current statute already clear?
It needs to pass. Although the state and AG have consistently read the air statute the same way as the water and groundwater statutes (penalty runs from the date of violation), some violators are argu…
Can a member of a local school board moonlight as a paid high school sports referee or umpire at games played by schools under that board's control without violating the self-dealing criminal statute?
Yes, under the facts presented. The AG concluded NCGS 14-234 does not reach the situation because the school board has no role in the selection of officials. The NC High School Athletic Association as…
When North Carolina inmates are housed in private prisons rather than state-owned prisons, can community colleges still provide them with classes, waive tuition for them, and report their hours the same way?
Yes to all three. The AG concluded that NCGS 148-37(h) requires private prisons to be operated 'in accordance with applicable State laws,' which includes the State Board of Community Colleges' authori…
When the Duplin Soil and Water Conservation District lacked enough money to fully fund swine lagoon retrofit cost-share grants needed for state water-quality compliance, could the district promise farmers a grant from a future budget cycle instead, and could it do so just for Duplin or did it have to extend the same option statewide?
Yes, with structural limits. Nothing in the cost-share statute or the state constitution prevents committing future grants. But no current board can bind a future board, and no contract can obligate a…
After the U.S. Supreme Court struck down North Carolina's intangibles tax on stock, can the General Assembly refund the tax to people who paid it but never filed a formal protest?
No. The AG concluded that the exclusive emoluments clause in Article I, Section 32 of the North Carolina Constitution bars the legislature from refunding intangibles tax payments to taxpayers who did …
After the 1996 federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act amendments, what categories of information can the North Carolina Division of Social Services and county DSS agencies release publicly when a child involved in a CPS investigation has died?
The same five categories the AG identified in 1991, until federal regulations under CAPTA 1996 are promulgated. NC DSS and county DSS can release the deceased child's name; the fact that a county DSS …
When a public board in North Carolina wants to talk to its own retained attorney about a contract dispute the attorney was personally involved in, can the board legally close the meeting to the public, and can board members talk among themselves during that closed session?
Yes to both. The Open Meetings Law allows a closed session to consult with the public body's attorney where genuine attorney-client privilege exists (real attorney-client relationship, communications …
When the North Carolina Division of Travel and Tourism gives requesting parties copies of its promotional photographs and slides, can the Division attach use restrictions, or is it required to release the images and let recipients use them however they want?
The images must be released and the Division cannot control downstream use. Photographs and slides made by the Division in the conduct of public business are public records under § 132-1(a). The Divis…
Can a person who is an officer and director of a corporation that holds a contract with a North Carolina public hospital be appointed to that hospital's Board of Trustees if the person owns less than 10% of the corporation's stock?
No, not while the person remains an officer and director. N.C.G.S. § 14-234(a) makes it a misdemeanor for an appointed director to be 'in any manner concerned or interested' in a contract with the ent…
Can North Carolina's state revolving loan fund make loans to privately owned drinking water utilities, or does the state constitution's public-purpose limit on tax money block it?
Statutorily no, constitutionally yes if the General Assembly amends the law. The AG concluded that NCGS 159G-9 currently restricts the state revolving loan fund to units of local government, so privat…
When someone asks the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles for a list of employees and former employees receiving state disability income, including their names and the dollar amount of disability income they receive, is that a public record the DMV must release, or is it protected personnel information?
It must be released. North Carolina law makes salary a public record under § 126-23. The Supreme Court has read 'salary' broadly to include retirement benefits, and the AG read it to include disabilit…
If a NC sheriff in one county revokes a person's concealed handgun permit, can the same person move to another county and get a fresh permit from a different sheriff?
No. A bail bondsman had his concealed handgun permit revoked by the Forsyth County Sheriff for carrying a firearm into a confinement facility in violation of G.S. § 14-415.11. He moved to Stokes Count…
Can the NC State Ports Authority finance an industrial facility that will be owned by the Authority and leased to a private company, even if the facility is not located right next to the state ports?
Yes, with two conditions. The NC Constitution Art. V § 13 lets state agencies acquire, build, and finance industrial and manufacturing facilities that 'relate to, develop or further' waterborne commer…
Can the NC State Ports Authority issue bonds to finance an industrial facility that the Authority will own and lease to a private company, when the facility itself sits somewhere other than next to the ports, but the private company will use the ports for its imports and exports?
Yes, with two limits. The Authority can finance such a facility under Article V, § 13 of the NC Constitution and N.C.G.S. § 143B-456.1, but: (1) the lease/financing documents must contain a binding ob…
Can North Carolina cap a CAPCO insurance-premium tax credit on a first-come-first-served basis, so that once the cap is reached no other insurance company gets the credit, even if they made qualifying venture-capital investments?
Probably yes, the AG said. A first-come allocation rule is unusual but would likely survive a constitutional challenge based on the uniformity clause of N.C. Const. Art. V § 2 or the federal Equal Pro…
If the legislature offers a tax credit to insurance companies that invest in venture capital but caps the total credit so that only the first companies to claim it get it, is the cap constitutional under the uniformity clause?
Probably yes, but not certain. The AG concluded that a first-come-first-served cap on the proposed CAPCO insurance premiums tax credit would likely survive a uniformity challenge under Article V Secti…
If North Carolina exempts goodwill and other intangible property from the ad valorem property tax (House Bill 295), can counties still consider those intangible values when appraising real and leasehold property, or does the exemption sweep those considerations away?
HB 295 can constitutionally exempt intangibles from ad valorem tax as a separate class of property. The AG cleared the bill's substantive approach but flagged two drafting issues: (1) Section 1 as dra…
If North Carolina enacts House Bill 295 to exempt intangible personal property (like goodwill) from ad valorem taxation, does the bill as drafted also accidentally exempt leasehold interests in real property that is itself exempt from tax, and does it constrain how appraisers may consider goodwill when valuing real property?
As written, the bill exempts all intangibles, which would sweep in taxable leasehold interests in tax-exempt real property. Section 1 needs an amendment to preserve taxation of those leaseholds. On th…
Can a county employee (an electrical inspector) lawfully serve at the same time as a member of the Board of County Commissioners that ultimately oversees the County Manager who supervises that employee?
Yes, with limits. The AG concluded that N.C.G.S. § 14-234 does not bar the arrangement because the Board of Commissioners had not been involved in hiring the electrical inspector (the County Manager m…
If a fire district tax referendum ends in a tie vote, has the tax been approved or rejected, and when can a new election on the same tax question be held?
A tie vote means the tax was rejected. State law requires a majority of votes cast in favor before a county can levy the special fire tax. Because the tax was rejected, the two-year statutory bar in N…
Are the water and sewer billing records of a North Carolina municipal utility public records that anyone can inspect, or are they private customer records protected from disclosure?
Public records, available to anyone. The AG concluded that under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 132-1 and § 132-6, billing records of a municipal water and sewer service (or any other municipally operated public u…
Can North Carolina's Parks and Recreation Trust Fund give grants to towns and counties for park master plans, site plans, comprehensive system plans, or citizen surveys, or only for actually buying land and building park facilities?
Only for buying land and building park facilities. The AG concluded that § 113-44.15(b)(2)'s 30% local-government allocation must be spent under criteria patterned after the federal Land and Water Con…
Can North Carolina cap the share of commercial fishing licenses available to out-of-state fishermen, either through a residency-based lottery or a 'limited entry' system that allocates a fixed percentage of licenses to non-residents?
Not unless residents are subject to the same restrictions. Commercial fishing is a 'common calling' protected by the U.S. Constitution's Privileges and Immunities Clause, and the State cannot discrimi…
Can North Carolina Marine Patrol officers cite civilians for violating state fisheries laws if the violation occurred on the Camp Lejeune Marine Corps base?
No. The AG concluded that the federal government accepted exclusive jurisdiction over Camp Lejeune in 1941 through a series of letters from the Acting Secretary of the Navy to the Governor of North Ca…
After Craven County v. Boyles, do local school districts have a claim to the parking and library fines that UNC campuses collect, or are those fines structured differently from the civil penalties Craven County reached?
No, the school districts have no claim. The AG concluded that UNC library fines are not 'penalties' under Article IX, Section 7 because they fund library maintenance rather than punish; and UNC parkin…
After the General Assembly cut the NC Enterprise Corporation tax credit cap in mid-1996 and then repealed the credit altogether effective January 1, 1997, did the savings clause in the repealer let an existing enterprise corporation keep offering investors the old, higher credit for the remainder of 1996?
No. The AG concluded that Piedmont Venture Management's argument failed at multiple steps. An enterprise corporation never had a 'right' to offer tax credits to investors; tax credits are creations of…
In North Carolina's vehicle safety and emissions inspection program, who decides whether a station's violation is Type I, II, or III, and can the DMV Commissioner delegate that decision to staff?
The DMV Commissioner has direct statutory responsibility to determine emissions-program violation designations and penalties, but can delegate that authority to other Division employees as a matter of…
When the NC Utilities Commission holds money from a settlement with a pay-phone provider that overcharged customers, do those funds eventually have to be turned over to the State Treasurer's Escheats office if customers don't claim them?
Yes. The AG concluded that the $240,000 paid to the Commission by Robert Cefail and Associates (RCA) under a 1994 Public Staff settlement counts as 'property held by a public authority' for the benefi…
When the NC Utilities Commission collects refund money from a regulated utility through a stipulated settlement (not a formal Commission order requiring the refund), and the utility cannot find some of the overcharged customers, does that unclaimed money escheat to the State Treasurer like other unclaimed property, or does it stay with the Commission?
It escheats. The funds the Utilities Commission holds for unlocated customers under a stipulated settlement count as 'property held for the owner by a public corporation or authority' under N.C.G.S. §…
Under the 1996 $1.8 billion school bond, does the State Board of Education send the bond proceeds directly to local school boards, or do they have to flow through the county commissioners first?
Through the county commissioners first. The Bond Act consistently uses the phrase 'grants to counties' and the School Budget and Fiscal Control Act prohibits school boards from spending any funds, inc…
If North Carolina forces me to leave a strip of my riparian land as a buffer to protect the Neuse River, is that a regulatory taking that requires the state to pay me?
Not in most cases, according to this opinion. So long as the buffer regulation leaves the property as a whole with 'a practical use and a reasonable value' (under Finch v. City of Durham and Agins v. …
Can the North Carolina State Board of Education license its own speech-language teachers for public schools, or does the state's professional speech-pathology licensing board have exclusive authority over that credential?
Yes, the State Board of Education has independent authority. The AG concluded that G.S. § 90-294(c)(4) carves public-school speech-language pathologists out of NCBESLPA jurisdiction when they work sol…
When North Carolina pours public money into a beach renourishment project on the Atlantic Ocean and the project restores land that had eroded into the sea, does that new land belong to the State or to the adjacent oceanfront property owner? And does the answer change if the project was privately funded?
Public funding makes the new land the State's. G.S. § 146-6(f) declares that title to land along the Atlantic Ocean raised above the mean high water mark by publicly financed dredging or fill projects…
If a network of doctors and hospitals contracts directly with a self-insured employer's ERISA plan to provide healthcare to employees on a capitated basis, does the network have to be licensed as an HMO under North Carolina law, or does federal ERISA preempt the state HMO Act?
ERISA preempts the state HMO Act here. The AG concluded that North Carolina's HMO licensure requirements relate to ERISA employee welfare benefit plans by limiting which entities those plans can contr…
When the NC Hearing Aid Dealers and Fitters Board issues a 'private reprimand' to a licensee, is that reprimand a public record under Chapter 132? And what happens to the record when the licensee refuses the reprimand?
An accepted private reprimand is a public record. § 93D-13 lets the Board issue private reprimands as discipline, but 'private' here means delivered personally to the licensee rather than broadcast; i…
Do North Carolina's rural telephone membership corporations (the cooperative-style entities that provide phone service in many rural counties) have to follow the state's Open Meetings Law?
Yes. The AG concluded that telephone membership corporations established under Article 4 of Chapter 117 are 'public bodies' under the Open Meetings Law because G.S. § 117-33 expressly declares them to…
If a North Carolina city or town officer arrests someone (often for DWI) but the local magistrate or chemical analyst isn't available, can the officer drive the arrestee outside the officer's territorial jurisdiction to find one?
Yes. The AG concluded that when no magistrate or chemical analyst is available within the officer's territorial jurisdiction, transporting the arrestee outside the jurisdiction is a necessary duty und…
If a North Carolina statute tells the Natural Heritage Trust Fund Board to set aside 'not to exceed 20%' of newly acquired land's value for a stewardship account, does the Board have to actually fund the account, or can it leave the account at zero?
The Board does not have to fund the account. The AG concluded that § 113-77.7(c)'s 'not to exceed twenty percent (20%)' language sets a ceiling, not a floor. Reading the statute to require a mandatory…
Can a North Carolina dentist contract with a third-party company for back-office and business-support services (rent, staff, scheduling, purchasing, marketing, bookkeeping, even bridge loans) without that arrangement counting as the unauthorized practice of dentistry under § 90-29(b)(11)?
Yes. The 1996 AG opinion concluded that an outside management or services company can lawfully provide a long list of business-support services to a dentist (office leasing, administrative staffing, s…
When someone overpays the North Carolina highway use tax at the time they title a motor vehicle, what is the deadline to claim a refund, and how should the Division of Motor Vehicles handle Class A and Class B commercial motor vehicle refund requests after the 1993 statutory cap reduction?
Generally, refund claims must be filed within six months after payment of the tax, since no return is filed for highway use tax. The 1993 amendment lowering the maximum tax on Class A and B commercial…
When North Carolina funds a charter school based on average daily membership, does the state pay based on the average ADM for the whole state or based on the ADM for the local school district where the charter school is located?
Local. The AG concluded that under G.S. § 115C-238.29H(a), the State Board of Education must allocate per-pupil funds to a charter school based on the ADM allotment for the local school administrative…
If a state agency tries to grab my state tax refund to pay off an old debt I supposedly owe, can I argue that the debt is too old to collect under the statute of limitations?
No, under this 1996 AG opinion. The civil statute of limitations in Chapter 1 applies only to lawsuits filed in court. The Setoff Debt Collection Act (Chapter 105A) and the State Employees Debt Collec…
Is information about individual State Health Plan members (eligibility, claims, medical history) a public record in North Carolina, and which outsiders can the Plan share it with?
No. Patient-level data held by the State Health Plan, its Board of Trustees, Executive Administrator, or Claims Processor is confidential under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 135-37 and is expressly carved out of …
When the federal government approved waivers letting North Carolina run its 'Work First Program' welfare reform pilot, did the waivers automatically become enforceable, or did the state's Department of Human Resources have to go through the state Administrative Procedure Act first?
The waivers became enforceable as substitute federal regulations on HHS approval. NCDSS did not have to adopt rules under the state APA before implementing the Work First Program because the waiver te…
Can a North Carolina airport (or other public-property authority) charge handicapped drivers a fee at a parking meter for using a designated handicapped space, or does state law prohibit any meter use against handicapped placard or plate holders?
A fee is allowed, but not a time limit. G.S. § 20-37.6(a) forbids enforcement of time restrictions against properly placarded or plated vehicles, including unlimited-time parking in time-restricted zo…
Can a North Carolina hospital or nursing home refuse to follow a patient's advance directive on conscience grounds, and if it does, does state law require it to transfer the patient to a facility that will honor the directive?
Yes, an institution may refuse on conscience grounds, with the same rule applying to public, private-with-public-payment, and private-no-public-payment institutions. State law does not require transfe…
Can North Carolina give insurance companies a state premium-tax credit for investing in venture-capital companies that invest only in in-state businesses, or does the dormant Commerce Clause strike that down after Fulton Corp. v. Faulkner?
The AG advised that the bill almost certainly would have been struck down under the dormant Commerce Clause if it offered the credit to taxpayers generally, because the in-state-business requirement b…
Can a North Carolina city charge more than $5 for parking in a fire lane, or is the maximum fine capped at five dollars under G.S. 20-162.1?
Yes, up to $50. G.S. 14-4(b), as amended in 1991, set a $50 cap on the penalty for violating any city ordinance regulating parking. The 1991 amendment specifically repealed all conflicting laws, inclu…
In 1996, did North Carolina have to recognize a same-sex marriage that was legally performed in another state under the U.S. Constitution's full-faith-and-credit clause?
No, according to this opinion. The AG concluded that under G.S. 51-1 (which defined marriage as solely between a man and a woman) and the public-policy exception in Loughran v. Loughran, NC could refu…
When the North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance proposed rules on managed care, preferred provider organizations, and provider contracts, did the Commissioner have authority to dictate substantive terms of provider contracts and to credential providers, or do those rules go beyond what the legislature authorized?
Partially yes, mostly no. The Commissioner has authority to regulate physician networks only to the extent their contracts are contracts of insurance or fall under the hospital, medical, and dental se…
In 1996, did the U.S. Constitution's Full Faith and Credit Clause force North Carolina to recognize a same-sex marriage performed legally in another state?
The 1996 AG opinion concluded no. North Carolina, the AG said, could refuse to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states under § 51-1, which restricted marriage to a man and a woman. This…
Are North Carolina Parole Commission records open to public inspection under the Public Records Law, or are they confidential like the underlying prison records?
Confidential. The AG concluded that parole records are prison records, and prison records in North Carolina are confidential under G.S. § 148-74 and § 148-76 (as construed in Goble v. Bounds), not sub…
Can the North Carolina Zoological Park build or lease out a hotel or convention center on zoo property, or does the Umstead Act block it?
The Umstead Act blocked it. The AG concluded that the N.C. Zoological Park, even though it is not formally listed as a state park, is a 'park over which the Department has jurisdiction' for purposes o…
When the state issues an NPDES water-quality permit, can the Environmental Management Commission require the applicant to study how the project will combine with other nearby projects (like other hog farms) to impact water quality?
Yes. The AG concluded that N.C.G.S. § 143-215.1(c)(1) gives the EMC and the Division of Environmental Management broad authority to request 'any information' the agency considers necessary to evaluate…
Does North Carolina's direct-access-to-obstetrician-gynecologists law apply to women on Medicaid, including women in Medicaid's Carolina Access primary-care program or in a Medicaid HMO?
No. The AG concluded that N.C.G.S. § 58-51-38, the 1995 direct-access-to-OB-GYN statute, is part of the insurance code and applies only to commercial health benefit plans for small employers or self-e…
Are voice mail messages stored digitally on an agency's voice mail system (or analog tape on an answering machine) considered public records under North Carolina's Public Records Law?
They may be, depending on content. The Public Records Law's definition of 'public record' is broad enough to cover sound recordings and magnetic or other tapes, including voice mail. Whether a particu…
Can Mecklenburg County use its own local funds to pay for additional permanent assistant district attorneys or an additional superior court judge?
No, not for permanent positions. The number of permanent full-time assistant district attorneys and the number of resident superior court judges assigned to each judicial district are set by statute, …
If a North Carolina town like Chapel Hill passes an open-container ordinance under § 18B-300(c) but does not include statutory definitions of 'malt beverage' or 'unfortified wine' inside the ordinance, is the ordinance void for vagueness, or do the Chapter 18B definitions automatically apply?
Not vague. The General Assembly has preempted alcohol regulation in North Carolina, and any local ordinance under Chapter 18B is bound by the chapter's definitions whether the ordinance restates them …
When a North Carolina city like Charlotte sets up a stormwater utility and charges every property owner a stormwater fee, do state agencies that own property within city limits (universities, DOT facilities, courthouses) have to pay those fees, or are they exempt?
State agencies are not legally required to pay municipal stormwater utility fees. Long-standing North Carolina rule: general statutes do not bind the State unless the legislature has expressly said th…
When Congress passed the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act in 1993, did it unconstitutionally expand the powers of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), and could the Act be struck down under the Compact Clause or the Tenth Amendment?
The AG concluded that Congress did expand the ASMFC's powers and purposes through the 1993 Act, converting an advisory body into a binding regulator with the power to force states to adopt federal fis…
When a North Carolina clerk of superior court issues a memorandum setting bail-surrender procedures, does the memorandum bind magistrates, bail sureties, and jail custodians who don't work for the clerk?
No. The AG concluded that a clerk of superior court can set procedures and job requirements for the clerk's own assistants, deputies, and staff, but has no statutory authority to issue mandatory proce…
Can the North Carolina legislature add criminal-restitution orders to the list of debts that override the regular judgment-debtor exemptions in § 1C-1601, so a defendant cannot shield property from a victim's collection effort?
Probably yes. The 1996 AG opinion concluded that House Bill 267, which would have allowed criminal restitution orders to be enforced as civil judgments without the usual debtor exemptions, was likely …
If North Carolina passes a state law requiring landowners to maintain riparian buffers along streams, can a landowner who donates a conservation easement over that already-mandated buffer still claim the state conservation tax credit?
Yes, technically. The AG concluded that under N.C.G.S. §§ 105-130.34 and 105-151.12, the conservation tax credit's exclusion clause only blocks credits when 'local governmental regulation or ordinance…
If North Carolina raises the Property Tax Commission's per-day pay to a near full-time salary, can a sitting county manager still serve on the Commission, or does the higher pay trigger the dual-office-holding bar?
Yes, the county manager can still serve. The AG concluded that compensation level does not affect dual-office-holding analysis. The same prior 1995 AG opinion that found no dual-office bar at the exis…
When taxpayers underpay their estimated NC income tax, are the resulting addback amounts treated as a penalty (which the Secretary of Revenue can waive) or as interest (which the Secretary cannot waive)?
Interest. The AG concluded that the addback under G.S. 105-163.15(a) is unwaivable interest, not a discretionary penalty. The addback compensates the State for the lost use of funds that should have b…
If a private group offers to donate land to North Carolina for state park use, and the state begins the acquisition process but then learns the Department of Transportation wants the same parcel for a highway, has the state already acquired the land?
No. Under Chapter 146, the state acquires donated real property only when the Council of State accepts the deed and delivery is complete. If the deed has never been delivered and accepted, no title ha…
Can North Carolina constitutionally pay part of an insurance-premium tax to the State Firemen's Association, a private nonprofit, and require fire departments to join the Association in order to receive any share of the tax?
Yes on both counts. The 1996 AG opinion concluded that channeling a small share of the fire-and-lightning insurance premium tax to the State Firemen's Association is constitutional because the Associa…
When the General Assembly's Fiscal Research Division asks a state agency for information to write a fiscal note on pending legislation, who at the agency is allowed to know about the request, and can the agency tell other agencies or the public?
Until the fiscal note is released, no one at the agency may tell the public or another agency (except the Office of State Budget and Management) that Fiscal Research even asked. Inside the agency, emp…
When the 1995 Swine Farm Siting Act took effect on October 1, 1995, was a swine farm considered 'sited' on that date if the technical site evaluation had already been done? And if water-quality rules forced a farmer to enlarge an existing lagoon into the new setback area, did the new Act block that work?
The AG read the statute to apply to swine houses, lagoons and sprayfields located on or after October 1, 1995. Operations whose technical site evaluations were completed and DEM-permitted before that …
If a county health department employee runs a weight-loss program as part of her job, does she have to follow the state weight-control-services regulations?
No. Local government employees engaged in dietetics or nutrition work within the scope of their employment are completely exempt from the Dietetics/Nutrition Practice Act. Because the weight-control r…
Can county agencies and employees stay at a hotel owned by one of the county commissioners without putting that commissioner at risk of criminal liability for self-dealing?
It depends on whether the county Board of Commissioners is involved in the choice. If individual county agencies or employees pick the hotel on their own and pay with county funds, § 14-234 does not a…
If a North Carolina state agency keeps adding new records to an old database, does that trigger the public-records index requirement under § 132-6.1(b)?
No. Routinely updating or adding records to an existing electronic database is not the same as 'compiling' the database. The 1995 statute let agencies skip the index-creation requirement for databases…
Can a bank that has no offices in North Carolina serve as the trustee for bonds issued by the North Carolina Medical Care Commission, or is in-state presence required?
Yes. The general rule is that an out-of-state bank cannot exercise fiduciary powers in North Carolina, but the Medical Care Commission's own statute (§ 131A-12) creates an express exception: the Commi…
Is the North Carolina Property Tax Commission subject to the Open Meetings Law, and if so, can it close its adjudicatory deliberations to the public?
Yes and yes. The Property Tax Commission is a 'public body' under § 143-318.10(b) because it is an administrative and quasi-judicial body functioning as the State board of equalization and review. The…
When is a trailer taxed at the $1,000 highway use tax cap (the commercial-vehicle rate) versus the $1,500 cap (the regular cap)? Specifically, when does a trailer qualify as a 'commercial motor vehicle'?
A trailer qualifies for the $1,000 commercial-vehicle cap in three situations: it has a GVWR of 10,001 pounds or more and is titled together with a towing unit that pushes the combination to 26,001 po…
If a school board member's company doesn't sell directly to the schools, but instead sells materials to contractors who in turn install them at the schools, does that indirect arrangement still violate § 14-236?
Probably yes. Section 14-236 reaches both direct and indirect pecuniary interests in supplying goods to the schools the board administers. Selling through contractor intermediaries still gives the boa…
A school board member's company sells and services HVAC equipment to the school system. When the school administration (not the board) decides who to use for routine servicing of already-installed units, and the work is service-only with no parts or materials, does that violate North Carolina's public-officer conflict statutes?
No. Section 14-234 only applies when the public body itself makes or approves the contract; routine administrative servicing decisions made without board involvement do not trigger it. Section 14-236 …
If the State Education Assistance Authority created a new fund to help families save for college, would that fund automatically be an instrumentality of the State, or just a trust fund managed by the Authority?
Just a trust fund. The AG concluded that the Authority's act of creating the proposed CollegeVision Trust Fund would not by itself make the fund a State instrumentality. The fund would instead qualify…
When the Social Services Commission is asked to expand who qualifies as a 'special needs child' for adoption assistance, can it adopt a temporary rule, and what budget approval will the change require?
The Social Services Commission can consider a temporary rule only if one of the six statutory criteria in N.C.G.S. § 150B-21.1(a) applies (such as a recent federal change, court order, or recent legis…
When North Carolina creates new judgeships that go unfilled because of a delayed Voting Rights Act preclearance, how does the Governor fill them once preclearance finally comes through?
The Governor fills them by appointment under § 7A-142, treating the offices as vacant. The 1993 legislation created two District Court judgeships in Districts 3A and 20, with terms running from Decemb…
Community colleges have to pay tort claims out of their local-funding stream, but can they at least use state funds to buy the liability insurance that covers those claims?
Yes. Section 115D-31.1 directly says community colleges may use state funds to pay liability-insurance premiums, even though § 115D-32(a)(2)b2 ordinarily makes tort awards a local-funding responsibili…
Can the NC State Ports Authority issue bonds to finance an industrial facility that the Authority owns and leases to a private company, even when the facility is not located right next to the ports?
Yes, the AG concluded, with two strict conditions. First, the lease must impose a binding obligation on the private company to use the state ports at a substantial level (this satisfies the constituti…
If a Teaching Fellows scholarship recipient becomes an assistant principal instead of staying in the classroom, does that administrative role count toward the four years of teaching needed to forgive the loan?
No, not unless the Commission decides to broaden its definition. The Teaching Fellows statute does not define 'teaches' or 'years,' so the Commission has discretion to define both. The Commission has …
Can the ABC Commission settle an administrative case against a permittee by accepting an offer in compromise that includes restitution paid to a local ABC board, when the permittee has been charged with refilling mixed-beverages liquor containers without paying the mixed-beverages surcharge?
No. The AG concluded that the Commission has no statutory authority to accept restitution as part of a compromise. § 18B-104 lists the administrative penalties available to the Commission, permit susp…
When Holden Beach was incorporated in 1969 with its western boundary at the low-water mark of Shallotte Inlet, and twenty-five years of beach accretion later the shoreline has moved 1,000 feet westward, does the town's police jurisdiction follow the new shoreline or stay at the 1969 line?
The boundary follows the new shoreline. North Carolina common law treats accretion (slow, gradual buildup of sand) as moving a water-defined boundary with the water, while avulsion (sudden change) doe…
Can a teenager confined to a North Carolina psychiatric hospital pick their own lawyer without their parents' approval?
No, not in 1995. The AG read G.S. § 122C-62(c)(2) together with § 122C-4 and concluded that for a minor client in a 24-hour mental health facility, the right to choose and consult counsel belongs to t…
After the 1995 General Assembly passed House Bill 7 making the State Superintendent's duties 'subject to the direction, control, and approval' of the State Board of Education, can the State Board override the Superintendent on staff direction, contract signing, meeting attendance, and policy implementation? Or does the Superintendent's status as a constitutionally elected officer protect those duties from State Board override?
The State Board wins. The North Carolina Constitution itself says the Superintendent's duties 'shall be prescribed by law,' and the 1995 legislation prescribed that all of those duties are subject to …
Can the dean and faculty of a state medical school participate in a nonprofit physician contracting organization (and a for-profit administrative company owned by faculty) without running afoul of NC's conflict-of-interest, public-purpose, and Umstead Act limits?
Yes, the AG concluded. Participation by ECU School of Medicine faculty in ECHO (a nonprofit physician-contracting organization) and EMO (a for-profit network administrator partly owned by faculty) did…
Could the Department of Social Services contract with the Center for Employment Testing (CET) for job-skills training, even though CET accepted enrollees without high school diplomas and charged tuition above the state-supported institution rate?
Yes. The AG concluded that the administrative rule barring such arrangements applied only to 'post-secondary education' (bachelor's, college-transfer, and graduate programs), not to 'Job Skills Traini…
When North Carolina's prisons were overcrowded and the legislature directed the Department of Correction to study 'hot bunking' (assigning two inmates to one bed on alternating shifts) at Lincoln Correctional Center, is this practice constitutional and lawful, and can the Department then roll it out to other prisons?
Hot bunking is not per se unconstitutional. Federal courts have held that double-celling and similar dense-bunking arrangements do not automatically violate the Eighth Amendment if conditions as a who…
Can the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission make farms, developments, and other 'non-point' polluters follow specific best management practices in watersheds where existing water quality is below the standard, like the Neuse River?
Yes. The 1995 NC AG opinion concluded the EMC had authority under both the water classification statute (G.S. 143-214.1, including a supplemental Use Restoration Waters classification) and the stormwa…
Are members of a Community Penalties Board personally liable when something goes wrong, or do they have immunity like other public officials?
They have qualified immunity. The AG concluded that members of a Community Penalties Board are public officers because they exercise a portion of the sovereign power of the state (even when the board …
Can Dare County use its CAMA land use plan to block the Dare County Airport Authority from expanding the Dare County Regional Airport when the Authority opposes the restriction?
Only inside the CAMA permit process. The AG concluded that outside of a CAMA permit application, Dare County's only lever over the Authority's airport expansion was the County's separately granted pow…
During the state fisheries license moratorium, was the Marine Fisheries Commission allowed to adopt a new rule expanding the area in Dare County where commercial menhaden purse seine fishing is restricted?
Yes. The license-moratorium statute let the Commission keep regulating commercial harvest in three narrow cases, one of which was 'user conflicts' between commercial and recreational fishermen. The ex…
Can the NC Board of Nursing waive its rule requiring proof of passing the national nursing exam when a foreign-licensed nurse seeks NC licensure by endorsement from California (where she was licensed in 1966 before California required the national exam)?
No. The rule's substance is rooted in N.C.G.S. § 90-171.32, which requires that the applicant's original jurisdiction's licensing requirements be substantially equivalent to or exceed NC's. California…
Can a state-employee flexible benefits program offer a pre-tax medical spending account without duplicating the State Health Plan and thus violating the duplication ban?
Yes. The AG concluded that a medical spending account (MSA) within NC Flex would not duplicate the State Health Plan because it would fill gaps in coverage and reimburse out-of-pocket expenses (deduct…
Can NC Flex include a medical spending account where state employees set aside pre-tax dollars for out-of-pocket medical costs, without illegally duplicating the State Health Plan's coverage?
Yes. A medical spending account that reimburses employees for out-of-pocket expenses like deductibles, coinsurance, and copays does not duplicate the Comprehensive Major Medical Plan; it fills coverag…
If the State adds supplemental life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment insurance, and supplemental disability insurance to the new statewide flexible benefits plan (NC Flex), would those options duplicate the benefits already provided by the State's mandatory retirement systems and Disability Income Plan, violating N.C.G.S. §§ 116-17.2 and 143-34.1(d)?
No. Supplemental life, AD&D, and disability insurance offered through NC Flex would provide benefits over and above the existing mandatory state plans, not duplicate them. The statutory no-duplication…
An 'irrevocable' preneed funeral contract can only be revoked by 'a court of competent jurisdiction' under § 90-210.65(e). Which court is that, how do you start the case, and what happens when the contract purchaser has been declared incompetent?
Any trial-division court of the General Court of Justice (superior or district) is a 'court of competent jurisdiction.' Start the case with a regular civil complaint naming as defendants the purchaser…
Can a register of deeds accept computer-printed UCC financing statement forms generated by a bank's PC software, instead of the traditional pre-printed carbon-paper forms?
Yes. The Uniform Commercial Code does not require any specific form for a financing statement. As long as the document includes the required content (debtor and secured party names and addresses, sign…
Can insurance companies refuse to write property insurance in certain geographic areas of North Carolina, like the coastal counties, and what is the Insurance Commissioner's authority to require coverage?
Yes, with limits. Outside the motor vehicle context, NC statutes do not require insurance companies to insure every applicant. But under G.S. 58-63-15(7)(c), insurers commit an unfair trade practice i…
The 1995 General Assembly gave the NC State Bar $500,000 'to further the criminal justice system.' Can the State Bar grant part of that money to a private, nonprofit corporation (the Center for Death Penalty Litigation) that supports capital defense work?
Yes, if the State Bar concludes the Center's work actually 'furthers the criminal justice system.' Enhancing the system by improving legal representation in capital cases is a public purpose, and publ…
When North Carolina lets a person clear their criminal record (expunge it) under § 15A-145 (under-18 misdemeanor first offender) or § 15A-146 (dismissed or acquitted charge), can the petitioner clear multiple offenses, or only one?
Only one. Both statutes are written in the singular throughout: 'a crime,' 'a misdemeanor,' 'the charge.' That word choice plus the no-prior-expungement bar tells the AG that the legislature meant a s…
When state coastal reserve boundaries (Masonboro Island, Rachel Carson, etc.) include private property that the state hasn't yet purchased, can the state apply its coastal reserve use restrictions to the private parcels, and can it block private landowners from building piers into the adjoining state-owned submerged waters?
No on both. The Coastal Reserve statutes regulate state-acquired property, not private in-holdings within boundary lines drawn for future acquisition. Applying them to private property would amount to…
When a NC state agency settles a lawsuit with another agency, does the settlement have to be styled as a 'consent judgment' under N.C.G.S. § 114-2.2 to be enforceable, or can a court-approved settlement agreement do the job?
The 1995 NC AG opinion concluded a court-approved settlement agreement is enforceable on its own terms. Section 114-2.2 governs consent judgments specifically but does not require every state-agency s…
Can the State of North Carolina and its cities and counties accept bids and contract with out-of-state motor vehicle dealers who are not licensed in North Carolina, or does Article 12 of Chapter 20 require all dealers to hold an NC license to sell vehicles to public entities?
Yes. Out-of-state dealers do not need an NC license to sell vehicles directly to the State or its political subdivisions. The licensing statute protects NC citizens from fraud in private transactions;…
Building on the prior week's opinion, can the NC House Ethics Committee split its proceedings (closed session just for a minor witness's testimony, open session for the rest), and can it consider investigatory reports in closed session?
Yes to both, with conditions. The AG concluded that if the Committee can close meetings under N.C.G.S. § 143-318.11(a)(6) at all (a question the prior opinion flagged as unresolved), the Committee can…
When the NC House Ethics Committee investigates sexual harassment charges against a member, can it (1) keep the investigatory reports it commissions confidential, and (2) take closed-session testimony from a 16-year-old former House page and then publish a transcript with the page's name redacted?
No to both. The AG concluded that investigatory reports the Committee receives are public records (News & Observer Publishing Co. v. Poole) and the Committee cannot withhold them. On closed-session te…
After the 1995 statutory amendments that stripped some independent powers from the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, did the Superintendent still have authority to sign contracts on behalf of the State Board of Education?
Yes, but only under the existing State Board delegation. The AG concluded that the 1995 amendments eliminated the Superintendent's independent statutory contracting power but did not revoke a 1989 Sta…
If a North Carolina county department of social services has custody of a child in an abuse or neglect case, can DSS let the parents' lawyer interview the child when the child's own court-appointed guardian ad litem or attorney advocate objects?
No. Once a juvenile petition alleging abuse or neglect is filed and the court appoints a guardian ad litem and attorney advocate for the child, the responsibility for protecting the child's legal righ…
When a North Carolina superior court judge ruled in Maready v. City of Winston-Salem that § 158-7.1 economic development incentives were unconstitutional, did that ruling immediately bind every other county in the state, and were Guilford County commissioners personally on the hook for honoring an existing 1993 reimbursement contract for developer-built water and sewer lines?
No on both fronts. A superior court ruling binds only the parties to that case, not city and county governments statewide. Only a NC Court of Appeals or Supreme Court ruling would have statewide effec…
When a chain restaurant builds a new location using a corporate prototype plan, can a North Carolina county environmental health specialist re-review and disapprove the inside design, or only the site-specific outside factors?
Only the site-specific outside factors. The AG concluded that the State approves prototype franchise/chain restaurant plans, and county environmental health specialists exercise their authority under …
Does North Carolina's Commission of Indian Affairs have the authority to recognize a newly organized 'Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians' tribal council as the official government of the Lumbee Tribe, or to take sides between that council and the Lumbee Regional Development Association?
No. The AG concluded that the Commission of Indian Affairs is a creature of the General Assembly with only the powers conferred by statute, and nothing in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 143B-406 or § 143B-407 give…
When the General Assembly tells a state agency it can't spend money on a federal-court-mandated program except from specifically appropriated funds, can the agency still move lapsed salary money over to cover a shortfall?
Yes. The AG read § 143-23(a1)(3) and the conflicting 1995 budget provisions in pari materia and concluded that transferring lapsed salaries to cover the Thomas S. shortfall was lawful because the over…
When the 1993 General Assembly transferred 'the legal counsel and support staff' of the Banking Commission to the Department of Justice, did that mean one Commission attorney or two?
One. The 1993 Session Laws used singular language ('the' attorney, 'an' attorney) in three different provisions, so the legislature intended to transfer only one attorney (plus support staff) from the…
Can a NC state agency charge another government agency a fee for performing a duty that a statute requires the first agency to perform?
No. When the General Assembly assigns one agency the duty to provide records or services to another government agency as part of a comprehensive statutory scheme, the providing agency cannot tack on a…
Does the new federal-mandate child-support insurance enrollment law apply to NC's state employee health plan?
No. The 1994 NC law that required health insurers and private employers to enroll children of noncustodial parents on demand (without waiting for open enrollment) did not apply to the State Health Pla…
Under pre-Structured-Sentencing law, can the Post-Release Supervision and Parole Commission combine an inmate's multiple consecutive armed robbery sentences into one aggregated term for parole-eligibility computation under G.S. 15A-1354(b), even when the consecutive sentences were imposed at the same sentencing hearing?
No to both. The Parole Commission cannot aggregate armed robbery sentences imposed for offenses committed before October 1, 1994, even if the consecutive sentences were imposed at the same hearing. Th…
After two school districts vote to merge but before the merger takes effect, can the interim joint board sign a new contract with a superintendent that scales back the contract rights he was promised in the merger plan?
Yes, but only to limit, not to expand. The AG concluded that under NCGS 115C-67 an approved school merger plan has the force of law and can be amended only by the General Assembly. The plan's Section …
When the North Carolina General Assembly meets in joint session to confirm a Governor's appointment to the State Board of Education, are the House and Senate votes counted separately or as one combined total of all legislators present?
Combined as one. The AG concluded that Article IX Section 4(1) of the NC Constitution requires confirmation of State Board of Education nominees by the General Assembly in joint session, which makes t…
Does the Parole Commission have the authority to impose conditions on a mandatory reentry parole granted under G.S. 15A-1380.2, and if a prisoner refuses the conditions, must the Commission still parole the prisoner?
Yes to conditions, no to forced parole. The Parole Commission may impose the conditions listed in G.S. 15A-1374(b)(6) through (10) on any mandatory reentry parole under G.S. 15A-1380.2, and may impose…
When a North Carolina juvenile is committed to the Division of Youth Services and DYS is teaching them in a detention center or training school, can the juvenile's prior local school district refuse to send DYS the student's education records, citing FERPA?
No. FERPA expressly allows disclosure of education records to officials of other schools or school systems where the student is enrolling, subject to parental-notice requirements. DYS schools are the …
Can the Cleveland County Board of Commissioners require the Cleveland County and Shelby City school boards to enter into an agreement transferring hundreds of students between the two systems to ease county overcrowding, and even if not, can the two school boards do it voluntarily?
Two answers. First, the county commissioners cannot compel the school boards to enter the agreement. School-board powers under NC law are not subject to that kind of county-commissioner override. Seco…
When a North Carolina superior court clerk shows up to inventory a decedent's safe deposit box, must the bank let in the family or the family's attorney too, and does the clerk have to give the bank advance notice?
Only the clerk (or designated deputy) and a bank representative must be present. Family members and others are not required to attend and the bank cannot insist that they do. The statute doesn't requi…
Can North Carolina counties hire private companies to run their county jails, force their sheriffs to accept jail privatization, or combine two existing county jails into a 'district confinement facility' run by a private contractor with non-certified guards?
No to all of it. The sheriff has a non-delegable statutory duty to be the keeper of the county jail under §§ 162-22 and 162-24. A county cannot privatize a jail unilaterally; cannot force the sheriff …
Can people who live downstream in another state and would lose water because of a North Carolina interbasin transfer participate in the EMC permit hearing or challenge the certificate after it's issued?
Yes on both counts. The interbasin transfer statute lets anyone submit comments at the public hearing, with no residency requirement, and the NC Administrative Procedure Act lets any aggrieved person …
Can a North Carolina municipal hospital legally join a physician-hospital organization (PHO) and put public money into it, so the hospital can compete in the managed care market?
Yes on all three counts. The AG concluded that NCGS 131E-7(b) authorizes municipal hospitals to enter joint ventures with physicians to create local PHOs that then form a Statewide PHO, that the expen…
When someone dedicates a street to a city, and that street ends at a navigable river, who gets the right to build a pier or dock at the water's edge: the original landowner who kept fee title to the soil under the street, or the city that accepted the dedicated easement?
The city. When a dedicated street terminates at a navigable waterway, the dedication carries with it, by necessary implication, the right of the city to extend the street into the water by constructin…
When two state agencies regulate the same waters and adopt directly conflicting fishing rules, which one wins?
Neither. Both rules are 'effective' because the NC Marine Fisheries Commission and the NC Wildlife Resources Commission have overlapping concurrent jurisdiction in 'joint fishing waters.' The MFC's cl…
Can the NC General Assembly give tax refunds or credits to former federal employees even though courts say the state owes them nothing?
Yes. The exclusive emoluments clause in Article I, § 32 of the NC Constitution prohibits exclusive privileges to a class without a corresponding public service rationale. But case law treats prior pub…
Is North Carolina's attorney discipline statute (Chapter 84) an unconstitutional delegation of judicial power, and can an NC attorney be disciplined here based on discipline in another state?
No to both halves. NC Chapter 84 is not an impermissible delegation of legislative power; the courts have repeatedly upheld the State Bar's role. Chapter 84 does not violate separation of powers becau…
Can the NC legislature lease the bottom of state-owned navigable waters to private marinas for a nominal fee without violating the state constitution?
Likely yes for the nominal fee, with caveats. The proposed bill setting a $1,000-per-acre one-time fee for marina easements over state-owned submerged lands probably survives the exclusive emoluments …
Can a NC state agency pledge securities as collateral for a private historic-preservation loan?
Yes. The Department of Cultural Resources has express statutory authority under N.C.G.S. § 121-11 to provide assistance to corporations engaged in acquiring, maintaining, preserving, restoring, or dev…
If I file a complaint about a North Carolina police officer, can the city's Internal Affairs Division (IAD) tell me the outcome? And can the press get a copy of the IAD letter?
The letters IAD sends to a citizen complainant are personnel records under N.C.G.S. § 160A-168 and are confidential. The city can release them to the complainant only by following one of the personnel…
Is proposed legislation that would repeal North Carolina's intangibles tax on stocks, mutual funds, bonds, and other evidences of debt, and replace it with a 1% additional tax on capital gains realized from selling those instruments, constitutional under both the federal Due Process Clause and the NC Constitution's prohibition on retrospective taxation (Art. I, Sec. 16) if the new tax is enacted mid-year (July or August 1994) but applies to taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 1994?
Yes, with one reservation. The federal Due Process Clause does not flatly forbid retroactive taxation; it asks whether the retroactivity has become 'harsh and oppressive.' Mid-year income tax legislat…
Can the Commissioner of Banks construe the phrase 'trust assets' in N.C.G.S. § 53-122(1) (which sets bank-examination assessment fees) to include all fiduciary assets except real estate held by a bank's trust department, including guardianships, managing agencies, and safekeeping accounts? And does the agency have to refund trust-assessment fees previously collected on that broader basis, as a prior Commissioner's January 1995 letters suggested?
Yes, the AG concluded the Commissioner may construe 'trust assets' to include all fiduciary assets (except real estate) held by the bank's trust department, not just narrow express trusts. The Office …
If a DWI victim recovers under their own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, does that recovery reduce what they can collect from North Carolina's Crime Victims Compensation Fund?
Yes. The 1995 NC AG opinion concluded that UM/UIM proceeds paid to a DWI victim count as a 'collateral source' under N.C.G.S. § 15B-2(3), so the Crime Victims Compensation award must be reduced by the…
Which county social services department records can be inspected by social services board members, and can an individual board member look at files concerning their own family (like a protective services file for their child or AFDC records on a relative)?
Board members can inspect any record in the director's office relating to public assistance or social services, but only in their role as board members carrying out their statutory duties. They cannot…
Can North Carolina's Department of Human Resources tell a home-health agency it can only treat patients within the geographic 'service area' on its Certificate of Need?
Probably not in a way that survives federal antitrust law. The Department's territorial restriction on home health providers is a horizontal market-allocation that has been per se illegal under Sherma…
If North Carolina formally withdrew from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission compact, would the state still have to follow the Commission's fishery management plans for striped bass, summer flounder, weakfish, and other coastal species? And would the state lose any voting rights?
The state would still have to follow the plans. The 1995 NC AG opinion concluded that the federal Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act (1993) applied to every Atlantic coastal state b…
Under North Carolina's state-law definition of 'handicapped person' in Chapter 168, did substance abuse count as a handicap, so that a substance-abuse halfway house would qualify as a protected 'family care home' under § 168-21(1)?
No. The 1995 NC AG opinion concluded that substance abuse did not fit § 168-21(2)'s definition of a present, non-correctible loss of body function substantially impairing normal functioning. So a subs…
Can members of the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission, their family members, or members of the Commission's advisory committees receive grants from the state Fishery Resource Grants Program that the Commission itself awards?
Commissioners themselves, no. G.S. 14-234(a) prohibits a public officer from contracting with the body on which the officer sits, and recusal does not cure the violation. Family members of Commissione…
If a private drug-and-alcohol treatment center starts treating Department of Corrections inmates under a state contract, does that turn it into a 'penal and correctional facility' for zoning purposes?
No. Zoning classifications turn on the nature of the owner's *use* of the property, not the status of the people being served. Since the Mary Frances Center continued to provide drug-and-alcohol treat…
Can a North Carolina county board hold a closed session to talk about which piece of land to buy for an industrial park?
Generally no. After a 1994 amendment to the Open Meetings Law, public bodies can close a session only to negotiate the price or material terms of a specific real-property contract, or to discuss the s…
If a North Carolina tenant is sued for eviction in small claims court, do they have to post a defense bond before they can fight the case?
No. The G.S. § 1-111 defense bond ('not less than $200') applies only to common-law actions where the defendant is required to plead. Summary-ejectment defendants are not required to plead at all, so …
Do the NC Department of Transportation's regulations that let billboard owners (and business owners) pay to have state-owned trees cut down on highway rights-of-way for visibility violate the NC Constitution's special privileges clause or its environmental common-heritage provision?
No. The 1995 NC AG opinion concluded the DOT regulations (19A NCAC 02E .0600) permitting selective removal of vegetation blocking views of billboards and businesses do not violate Article I § 32 (no s…
Can the legislatively-stacked Advisory Budget Commission require the Governor to consult with it before approving state-agency lease-purchase deals over $100,000?
No. Because the Advisory Budget Commission includes ten legislators, requiring the Governor to consult with it before exercising an executive function would commingle legislative and executive power i…
Can the NC House of Representatives adopt a rule that limits how many bills each individual member may introduce, or does that violate some constitutional right of legislators to introduce as many bills as they want?
The House can adopt such a rule. Members of the NC House do not have a constitutional or inherent right to introduce unlimited bills. Historically, in both the U.S. Congress and the NC House, introduc…
Can a sitting county manager be appointed to the NC Property Tax Commission, and if so, when does the county manager's role create a conflict that requires recusal from particular Commission decisions?
Yes, the appointment is legally permissible. Dual-office holding statutes allow concurrent appointments and the county manager's duties are not 'inherently incompatible' with Property Tax Commission m…
Does the State Controller's statutory duty to 'exercise general coordinating authority for all telecommunications matters relating to the internal management and operations' of state agencies under G.S. 143B-426.35 cover the University of North Carolina system and its constituent campuses, or are the universities outside the State Controller's reach?
Yes, the AG concluded the State Controller's general coordinating authority covers the UNC system and its constituent universities. G.S. 143B-426.35(3) gives the Controller coordinating authority over…
When North Carolina county boards of elections charge the public for copies of voter registration lists, what counts as 'actual cost' under G.S. § 163-82.10(b), and who gets to decide the amount?
Only out-of-pocket reproduction costs. The AG concluded 'actual cost' covered paper, ink, and the price of blank disks or tapes, but not labor, depreciation, electricity, heat, or prorated rent, becau…
Can a North Carolina state senator (or representative) keep an existing appointment to the State Board of Education after being sworn into the legislature, or does the state constitution force the appointee to give one of the seats up?
The legislator must give up the Board seat by operation of law. North Carolina's separation-of-powers clause forbids a legislator from concurrently exercising executive power on a state board or commi…
If a North Carolina patient never signed a living will, is the procedure in the Right to Natural Death Act the only legal way a doctor can withhold life-sustaining treatment?
No. The procedure in N.C.G.S. § 90-322 is optional and nonexclusive. A physician who follows it gets an absolute statutory defense; a physician who acts outside it is not unlawful, but is judged by th…
If a North Carolina school district accidentally overpays a teacher, can the district take the money back? Or does the district have to eat the loss?
The district can recover the money. N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 115C-302(a)(4) and 115C-316(a)(6) tell the State and the local board which one absorbs the loss as between them (the local board does, when state…
If a NC Coastal Resources Commission member moves outside the coastal area (or even outside North Carolina), does that change of residence automatically vacate their seat, or can they finish their existing term? And could a non-NC resident be reappointed?
The member can finish the existing term even if the residency mix on the Commission becomes inconsistent with § 113A-104(e). The statute's residency caps restrict the Governor's appointment power at t…
Can a North Carolina bank pledge its own assets to secure a customer's deposits above the FDIC limit? When is a customer's money 'public' for that purpose?
Only with express statutory authority. State banks cannot pledge assets to secure private deposits. Public deposits can be secured under statutes like §§ 159-30(b) and 159-31(b), but only if the depos…
Does North Carolina's 1993 'safe and sane' pyrotechnics law override an older Forsyth County local act that defined pyrotechnics differently?
Yes, by implied repeal. When a later statewide statute and an older local act define the same thing in irreconcilable ways, the later statewide law controls if the legislature's intent to apply it eve…
Can North Carolina collect state income tax from visiting NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, NASCAR, and PGA athletes for the games and events they play here? And can the Department of Revenue let private tax-service companies file composite returns on behalf of the teams?
Yes to taxing visiting athletes. The 1994 NC AG opinion concluded NC's existing nonresident income-tax and withholding statutes already reached game wages and prize money earned in NC, though the Secr…
When a person who put up bail for a traffic ticket fails to appear and the court orders the bail forfeited, does the clerk of court have to report the forfeiture to DMV as a conviction, and does the answer depend on what kind of bond was posted?
It depends. The AG concluded that only a forfeiture of a defendant's cash bond, posted in the full amount of bail with the court, qualifies as a conviction under NCGS 20-4.01(4a) and must be reported …
Can a NC county board of commissioners undo a school district merger plan after it has been approved by the State Board of Education?
No. Once the State Board of Education approves a school merger plan adopted by the county board of commissioners under G.S. § 115C-25.1 / § 115C-68.1, the merger 'shall be deemed to have been made by …
Is the State Superintendent of Public Instruction required to comply with the NC Environmental Policy Act (NCEPA) when issuing certificates of approval for new school construction plans under N.C.G.S. § 115C-521, given that local school boards may not invest in any new building without a Superintendent-issued plan approval covering structural and functional soundness, safety, and sanitation?
Yes. The Superintendent's plan-approval certificate is a state 'action' under NCEPA implementing rules (T1 NCAC 25.0108(b)) because, without it, local school boards cannot invest in the new building. …
When North Carolina registers an out-of-state child support order, the statute says the clerk must send the obligor notice by certified or registered mail. If the clerk instead has the sheriff personally serve the obligor, is the registration still valid, and can the court enter an order confirming the registration even when there is no proof the obligor received the mailed notice?
Yes on both. Personal service by the sheriff satisfies the notice purpose of § 52A-29 even though the statute says the clerk should send by certified or registered mail (Silvering v. Vito). For order …
If a state employee is hurt on the job and wants to see a chiropractor, but the state agency's approved-provider list does not include chiropractors, does the general chiropractic free-choice statute (§ 90-157.1) let the employee go to a chiropractor anyway, or does the Workers' Compensation Act's provider rules (§ 97-25) require Industrial Commission approval?
The Workers' Compensation Act controls. Under § 97-25, the employer (or its insurer) provides medical compensation and the Industrial Commission has exclusive jurisdiction over treatment disputes. The…
Can a NC public body go into closed session with its lawyer to discuss a contract negotiation, not just litigation?
Yes. The 1994 rewrite of N.C.G.S. § 143-318.11(a)(3) expressly authorizes a public body to consult with its attorney in closed session to preserve the attorney-client privilege, and this authority is …
Does the NC Department of Correction have to pay the Utilities Commission's quarterly regulatory fee for its inmate pay-phone system?
No. The Department of Correction, as a State agency, is not a 'public utility' under N.C.G.S. § 62-3(23) because the statute's 'person' definition (§ 62-3(21)) does not expressly include the State or …
Can a NC public body keep the location and seller secret in closed session when discussing buying real estate?
Usually no. After the 1994 Open Meetings Law amendments, a public body may close a session to discuss real property only to instruct staff or negotiators about price and other material terms it actual…
When the NC Environmental Management Commission submits a fiscal note for a proposed rule, can the Director of the Budget refuse to certify it just because another affected agency (such as DOT) objects to the cost numbers or to spending funds available in that agency's budget?
No. The AG concluded that G.S. 150B-21.4 puts the certification decision in the Director of the Budget's own hands. The Director may seek input from any source, including the potentially affected agen…
When the Commercial Fishing License Moratorium Appeals Panel reviews tax forms submitted by license applicants, must the Panel keep the meeting open or can it (or must it) go into closed session to discuss state tax information?
The Panel must go into closed session to discuss anything found only on the state tax form. NC state tax information stays confidential and disclosing it is a crime under G.S. 105-259. Federal tax inf…
Is a private nonprofit arts council that takes some state grant money required to hold its board meetings open to the public under North Carolina's Open Meetings Law?
No, in this case. The AG concluded the Franklin County Arts Council, Inc., a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit that was not created by statute or local government and was not subject to government supervisi…
Is an NC state employee using a privately owned vehicle on official state business entitled to mileage reimbursement at the statutory IRS-business-standard rate (29 cents per mile in 1994) for every mile traveled regardless of distance, as the 1975 AG opinion concluded? Or does the Department of Administration have authority to cap that statutory rate for longer trips by requiring use of a state vehicle?
The 1975 'reimburse at the statutory rate regardless of distance' opinion has been superseded by Department of Administration rules. Under those rules in 1 NCAC 38 .0500 et seq., statutory IRS-based r…
Did the NC Environmental Management Commission have legal authority to use funds from the High Unit Cost Wastewater Account to address failures of low-pressure pipe (LPP) sewer systems, given the 1994 budget bill's 'low wealth areas' language?
Yes. The AG concluded that the 1994 budget bill's 'low wealth areas' phrase did not exclude grants based on county wealth criteria. The phrase simply re-affirmed the existing sliding-scale eligibility…
Can a NC regional transit authority sign a labor-protection agreement with a union as a condition of getting federal transit money?
Probably not as a contract. G.S. § 95-98 voids agreements between NC government units and labor unions, and NC federal courts have read that statute broadly enough to reach agreements protecting union…
Can a North Carolina state-chartered bank invest in a 'banker's bank', a depository institution chartered to do business with other banks and majority-owned by banks, by treating the banker's bank as a 'central reserve bank' under one of the exceptions to G.S. 53-47's bar on a bank investing in another bank? And does the answer change if the investment is in a holding company that owns the banker's bank?
No to both. The AG concluded a banker's bank is not a 'central reserve bank' under G.S. 53-47, so the exception does not apply and a state-chartered NC bank may not invest in a banker's bank. A centra…
Can the State Board of Education adopt a rule that lets a local school board reduce the 180-day school term for just one school (when an emergency closes that one school) on different terms than the rule that applies when emergency closures affect a whole school district?
No. G.S. 115C-84(c) sets a single statutory method for reducing the 180-day term: build in make-up days, exhaust them, then petition the State Board for relief. That method governs whether the closure…
When I request a state agency's draft report or its investigation file under the NC Public Records Act, can the agency refuse to give it to me until the document is finished or the investigation is closed?
Probably not on a blanket basis. Under News & Observer v. Poole (1992), even draft reports already in the review pipeline are subject to disclosure. Civil investigative files generally are also public…
Can a county board of commissioners take physical possession of the county DSS's child protective services records, putting them in a safety deposit box that the DSS director cannot access?
No. The AG concluded that NC confidentiality laws are violated when CPS files are removed from DSS custody without the DSS director's consent or a court order. G.S. 7A-544 puts the burden on the DSS d…
Can the clerk of superior court, or local landowners, dissolve a NC drainage district that has served its purpose, or does dissolution require action by the General Assembly?
Dissolution requires legislative action. The AG concluded that Chapter 156 does not give the clerk or landowners statutory authority to dissolve a drainage district once it has been created. A drainag…
Can a North Carolina state-chartered credit union adopt by-laws that close nominations 45 days before the annual meeting, mail ballots to members, and then conduct the entire director election by absentee ballot, leaving no opportunity for a member to vote in person at the annual meeting?
No. G.S. § 54-109.35(a) plainly says directors are 'elected at the annual members' meeting by and from the members,' and § 54-109.31(b) authorizes by-laws to allow absentee voting but does not authori…
After 1994 amendments to the insurance code, can North Carolina consumer finance companies (consumer loan licensees) sell single-interest or dual-interest automobile physical damage insurance (VSI) along with their loans, without separately applying to the Commissioner of Banks for 'other business authority' under G.S. 53-172(b)?
Yes. The AG had previously concluded in November 1993 that VSI was not in the consumer-finance authorization list in G.S. § 53-189(a), so licensees needed other-business authority to sell it. SB 1719,…
Are non-resident military servicemembers stationed in North Carolina exempt from the state's highway use tax when they register a vehicle here?
No. The AG corrected an earlier DMV Bulletin No. 136 that wrongly claimed an exemption. The Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act of 1940 exempts only annually recurring property taxes on a non-resi…
If a savings bank applies to convert from mutual to stock form and then withdraws the application, is the withdrawn application still a public record the state agency has to show to the public?
Yes, but only as long as the agency keeps it. The AG concluded that the public-information portion of a conversion application becomes a public record the moment the Savings Institutions Division (SID…
Are vendor payments to providers of medical, psychological, therapeutic, and remedial services for adopted special needs children a form of public assistance, and can the state pay them retroactively?
Yes, vendor payments are a category of adoption assistance and thus a form of public assistance. Whether the payment goes directly to adoptive parents (monthly cash) or to the service provider (vendor…
Can a North Carolina bank organized under Chapter 53 own the shares of a nondepository trust company, on the theory that a nondepository trust company is not a 'bank' under G.S. 53-47's prohibition on a bank owning another bank?
No. The AG confirmed a 1992 conclusion that a bank may not own a nondepository trust company. The 1945 General Assembly removed the prior carve-out for nondepository trust companies from the statutory…
Can the NC State Treasurer (who is by statute ex officio chairman of the State Banking Commission) authorize the Assistant State Treasurer to preside over Banking Commission meetings when the Treasurer is absent?
Yes. Under G.S. 147-75 the Treasurer may authorize a deputy to perform any duties of the Treasurer's office, and the AG's 1986 formal opinion held that Council of State members may delegate their ex o…
Does NC's Soil Conservation Districts Law require that appointed members of a Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors live within the district they are appointed to represent?
Yes. The AG concluded that the 1979 statutory phrase 'from the district' in G.S. § 139-7 means appointed supervisors must be residents of the district. Read together with NC constitutional provisions …
When a North Carolina law enforcement agency seizes cash or property from a drug suspect, can the agency release it directly to the NC Department of Revenue to satisfy controlled-substance excise taxes without first getting a court order, and what happens if the agency does that with property that was supposed to be held for forfeiture?
Evidence-only property can be released to Revenue without a court order if the prosecutor agrees the property is no longer needed for trial. Property actually seized under § 90-112 forfeiture authorit…
Can Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE) agents bring a drug-sniffing dog along on a routine ABC permit inspection? Do local officers need a mutual aid agreement to help? Can ALE force entry if the business owner refuses?
Yes, mostly no, and probably no. The AG concluded ALE may use a borrowed narcotics dog during a G.S. 18B-502 administrative inspection because the permittee waives Fourth Amendment objections to inspe…
When NC Alcohol Law Enforcement agents inspect an ABC-permitted bar or restaurant, can they bring a drug dog from another agency, do they need a written mutual-aid agreement for local police to help, and can they use force to enter if the business manager denies entry?
Yes to the drug dog: ALE's statutory inspection authority covers contraband, and a trained drug dog enhances the officer's senses, not invades them. No formal mutual aid needed for local police to ass…
Could a North Carolina state-chartered savings bank become a regular commercial bank in the mid-1990s and then merge with another commercial bank?
Yes. The AG concluded that while no statute authorized a savings bank to merge directly with a commercial bank, a two-step path worked: a Chapter 54C state savings bank could convert into a Chapter 53…
After the NC Savings Institutions Division Administrator approved a mutual savings institution's plan to convert from mutual to stock form and merge into a bank holding company (and the conversions were consummated), can the Administrator now order the former directors to refund the benefits they received from the transactions and distribute those benefits to depositors?
No. NC statutory law does not give the Administrator (or Deputy Administrator) of the Savings Institutions Division the power to reverse a final agency conversion approval, absent a specific grant of …
Can a North Carolina municipal hospital put physicians on salary, give them office space and supplies, and collect the fees those physicians earn from treating patients?
Yes. The AG read the public-hospital contracting statute (G.S. 131E-7(b)) literally: a municipal hospital may contract with any person for the provision of health care and pay for that contract out of…
Are the two 'at-large' members on the Coastal Resources Advisory Council legally seated, when the statute lists specific seats and caps total membership at 47?
No. The AG concluded the statute names a fixed roster (45 designated seats with no at-large category) and caps the council at 47, so there is no authority for at-large appointments. The two at-large m…
Could the NCDOT Employee Insurance Committee execute a contract with American Franklin Life Insurance Company to offer variable life insurance to NCDOT employees, given that Statewide Benefits, Inc. claimed an exclusive marketing right for 'universal' life insurance products?
Yes. The AG found no legal impediment. The NC Department of Insurance treated 'variable' life insurance and 'universal' life insurance as two distinct products, and American Franklin had been approved…
Are members of the Boards of Trustees of NC's two main public-employee retirement systems prohibited under G.S. § 150B-35 from having ex parte communications with the Director of the Retirement Systems Division or with petitioners about issues of fact or law in pending contested cases, and what sanctions follow a violation?
Yes, the prohibition reaches both directions. G.S. § 150B-35 forbids the administrative law judge assigned to the case AND any member or employee of the agency making the final decision from communica…
Can a local school board demand that the driver-education instructors it hires under contract hold a state teaching certificate, even though state law says contract instructors are not required to be certified teachers?
Yes. The AG concluded that the General Assembly's 1991 amendments to NCGS 20-88.1 and 115C-215 were intended to limit the State Board of Education's regulatory authority (the State Board cannot requir…
When Alexander County Schools adopted a differentiated pay plan under the 1989 School Improvement and Accountability Act, did that decision trigger the 'hold harmless' provision in G.S. 115C-363.11(c) for teachers who had earned Career I or Career II status under the discontinued Career Development Pilot Program?
Yes, but the protection was narrower than it might first appear. Only teachers who had earned Career I or Career II status before the 1989-90 school year (the year Alexander County converted to a diff…
Does the North Carolina General Assembly have the constitutional authority to enact Senate Bill 883, which would create a new Professional Teaching Standards Board that operates independently of the State Board of Education and would, by plan, take over from the State Board the responsibility of setting standards for and issuing, renewing, and revoking teacher licenses?
Probably not, as drafted. The AG concluded that SB 883 as written may be unconstitutional because it completely removes the State Board of Education from one of the most critical areas of public educa…
If a North Carolina city expands its corporate limits through annexation (or satellite annexation), does the city school district automatically expand to cover the new area, or does the city school district's boundary stay where it was originally set?
The school district's boundary stays where it was. A city school system has no inherent power to unilaterally expand and remove students and taxable property from the surrounding county school system.…
Currituck County is considering setting up a water and sewer district or authority under Chapter 162A so that its water lines on US 168 right-of-way will qualify for the G.S. 136-27.1 exemption that requires the NC Department of Transportation to pay relocation costs (instead of the county paying $1.2 to $2 million). When must the new district or authority actually be in existence to qualify? And does the 1987 encroachment agreement (which said the County pays relocation costs) override the statutory exemption?
The district or authority must exist on the date the Department of Transportation lets the contract for the highway improvement project. The phrase 'let to contract' is the trigger the General Assembl…
Does the NC Wildlife Resources Commission have authority to adopt a rule designating 'critical habitat' for endangered, threatened, and special concern species, even though the statute does not specifically use that term?
Yes. The AG concluded that Article 25 of Chapter 113, read as a whole, gives the WRC both express and implied authority to designate critical habitat as part of developing conservation programs. The e…
Can my city pass an ordinance making it illegal to have an open beer or wine in a car on a street or highway in town, or does state law block that?
Partly. A city can prohibit consumption of malt beverages and unfortified wine on property the city owns or occupies, including the right of way of its own municipal streets. The city cannot, however,…
If the General Assembly abolishes the NC Ports Railway Commission (PRC) and transfers its assets to the State Ports Authority (SPA), will that hurt the ongoing federal labor litigation between SPA, PRC, and the longshoremen's union over whether SPA is a Railway Labor Act 'carrier'?
Probably yes, enough that the AG recommended against abolishing PRC at this time. The 1970 ILA certification of SPA as a Railway Labor Act bargaining representative for terminal railroad employees was…
After the General Assembly failed to pass HB 207 (which would have appropriated Highway Fund money to raise Highway Patrol telecommunicator salaries), is the Office of State Personnel barred from reclassifying telecommunicator positions statewide?
No. The AG concluded the failed bill did not strip OSP of its statutory market-survey authority under G.S. 126-1 and 126-4. HB 207's purpose was to appropriate new money from the Highway Fund for High…
If a North Carolina county wants to buy office space for its public hospital and the seller is a corporation in which one of the hospital's trustees (not a county commissioner) holds a one-third interest, does G.S. § 14-234 make that purchase illegal?
No. G.S. § 14-234 is a criminal statute that targets commissioners and directors who personally benefit from contracts they help approve in their capacity as the public-trust decisionmaker. The county…
Are jailers and 911 communicators (telecommunicators / dispatchers) employed by a North Carolina sheriff's office automatically considered 'law enforcement officers' under the state retirement statutes just because they are sworn officers with the power of arrest?
No. Being a sworn officer with arrest powers is necessary but not sufficient. To qualify as a 'law enforcement officer' under the Local Governmental Employees' Retirement System and the State 401(k) s…
When can a North Carolina substance abuse treatment facility release information about a patient to police, a court, or to anyone else, and how do federal rules and state rules interact?
It depends on whether the facility is 'federally assisted.' Most are, because federal funding, Medicare participation, controlled-substance registration, or tax-exempt status all trigger federal cover…
When the North Carolina Commissioner of Banks decides a matter and the loser appeals to the State Banking Commission, may the Commissioner talk to Commission members off-the-record about the case, and if not, what happens to people who do that anyway?
No, ex parte communications are prohibited. G.S. § 150B-40(d) bars Commission members from discussing the facts or law of a pending contested case with anyone except on notice to all parties, starting…
Is the State of NC protected from large medical malpractice judgments, and if so, why does NC still buy liability insurance for some agencies?
Yes. NC's sovereign immunity is absolute except where waived, and the only relevant waiver for medical malpractice runs through the State Tort Claims Act, which caps state liability at $100,000 per cl…
After a federal court called part of a 1991 NC AG opinion 'incomprehensible' and let consumer finance licensees collect insurance commissions on loan-related sales, do consumer finance companies still have to apply for 'other business' authority from the Commissioner of Banks before selling unrelated products on the same premises?
Yes. The AG concluded the federal decision in Herndon v. ITT Consumer Financial Corp. did not change the case-by-case 'other business' authorization requirement under G.S. 53-172. The federal court's …
Within the NC Department of Commerce, which Type II agencies have hire-and-fire authority over their own staff under their own organic statutes, rather than answering to the Secretary of Commerce?
The AG identified fourteen Type II commissions, divisions, and agencies inside the Department of Commerce whose own statutes specifically vest hire-and-fire authority over staff in the agency rather t…
Does someone who has a federal firearms dealer's license automatically owe the NC state firearms dealer's license tax?
Not automatically. The NC privilege tax under G.S. § 105-80 closely mirrors the federal license definitions in 18 U.S.C. § 921 et seq., but the NC legislature has not declared federal licensure conclu…
During North Carolina's emergency prison-cap releases, which inmates can the Parole Commission grant parole to under the 1994 amendments to G.S. 148-4.1?
The AG concluded the Parole Commission could parole all nonviolent inmates not sentenced under Structured Sentencing (Article 81B of Chapter 15A) during emergency release periods. The 'notwithstanding…
Can a North Carolina city prohibit consumption of malt beverages and unfortified wine on state highways that pass through its corporate limits?
No. The AG concluded N.C.G.S. § 18B-300(a) permits adults 21 and older to consume malt beverages and unfortified wine without restriction. A city may regulate consumption only on property 'owned or oc…
Can a North Carolina county use eminent domain to take land that it plans to donate to the state for a prison site?
No. The AG concluded that a county has no power of eminent domain to acquire land it intends to convey to the state. Counties only get the condemnation powers that the legislature has expressly grante…
If a North Carolina county cuts its mental health funding contribution, does it still get full state expansion funds, and what does the rule against using fee income to replace local tax revenue actually mean?
Counties can cut their contributions, including retroactive cuts to the prior fiscal year's budget. But that decision can cost the area authority state expansion funds because the Secretary has discre…
Can a North Carolina town amend its charter by ordinance to limit when the mayor can vote, even if the original charter was created by the now-abolished Municipal Board of Control?
The AG concluded yes. Part 4 of Article 5 of Chapter 160A (sections 160A-101 to 160A-111) gives any city the power to modify charter provisions by ordinance to fit the options listed in § 160A-101. Ri…
Can the state designate an entire historic house that doubles as office space as a nonsmoking area if part of it functions as a museum and library?
Yes. The AG concluded that because the entire Humber House was used to exhibit artifacts and to house a library open to the public, the whole building qualified as both a 'museum' and a 'library' unde…
Can a private publisher claim copyright on NC's General Statutes text, and can the state limit who gets a copy of the digital statutes database?
No to both. The Michie Company cannot have a state-enforceable copyright on the text of the NC General Statutes, the section numbering and chapter/article titles, or the history notes (prepared by Gen…
Once the General Assembly fixed the Carteret-Craven county boundary in a statute, can the NC Geodetic Survey Section adjust the line on the ground to accommodate landowners whose property would otherwise be split between counties?
No. Article VII, Section 1 of the NC Constitution gives the General Assembly the power to fix county boundaries, and the 1993 statute used coordinates with a defined plus-or-minus tolerance. The Geode…
Can the personal representative of a North Carolina decedent's estate apply for state Commercial Leaking Underground Storage Tank Fund reimbursement for cleanup of contamination from tanks the decedent removed before death?
Yes, but the estate inherits both the rights and the limitations the decedent had. The AG concluded a personal representative steps into the decedent's shoes under G.S. 28A-18-1(a), so the estate's el…
Can the NC Air Cargo Airport Authority make grants to the Global TransPark Development Commission, or does it have to use a different legal mechanism to send money over?
Not grants, but yes, payments under a contract. The Authority has no explicit grant-making power. It does have express statutory authority to contract with state and local governments and other author…
When a corporation buys equity in a qualified North Carolina small business and takes the 25% qualified business investments tax credit, why does the state make the corporation reduce its tax basis AND add the credit back into taxable income, partially canceling the benefit?
Both adjustments come from explicit statutes, not administrative discretion. N.C.G.S. § 105-163.012(d) requires reducing basis in the equity for the credit (which delays the tax benefit until sale). N…
Did the DOT Employee Insurance Committee's request for proposals for 'variable universal life insurance' violate the rule that only one insurance company can occupy each state-employee payroll deduction slot?
Maybe, depending on whether 'variable universal' meant the same thing as the 'universal' life product DOT already had in a slot. Because the industry uses the terms interchangeably and the Department …
Can a North Carolina town swap easements with a corporation when a town commissioner owns a major stake in that corporation?
No. The exchange would violate G.S. 14-234, which prohibits public officers from contracting with their own governmental unit when they have a financial stake in the deal. The major-stockholder commis…
Can a parent take their teenager's driver's license to the DMV and have it cancelled, or does the teenager have to agree?
The teenager has to agree. DMV's policy required both the minor licensee and a parent or guardian to sign the voluntary-surrender form. Without the minor's signature, DMV had no statutory authority to…
Do registered lobbyists and their principals have to file a separate set of expense reports after every special (extra) session of the North Carolina General Assembly, or only after each regular session?
Only after regular sessions. N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 120-47.6(a) and -47.7(a) require expense reports within 60 days of the end of the regular session of the General Assembly. The statute is silent on extr…
Can a North Carolina mountain county use the 1993 mountain ridge road service district statute to fund maintenance of subdivision roads that were platted after October 1975, or only the older platted ones?
Only the pre-October-1975 ones. Chapter 378 of the 1993 Session Laws collides with G.S. 136-98, the 1931 statute that took counties out of the road-building business. Because repeal by implication is …
Can North Carolina increase the penalty for habitual felons and still use prior felonies committed before the new law's effective date to count toward the recidivist designation, without violating the ex post facto clause?
Yes. The ex post facto problem is solved by an effective-date clause keyed to the date of the triggering (latest) felony. As long as the triggering felony occurs after the new penalty takes effect, th…
Are Orange County teachers who earned Career I or Career II status under the 1985 Career Development Pilot Program entitled to keep their enhanced pay after Orange County adopted a differentiated pay plan?
The AG concluded the 'hold harmless' provision in G.S. 115C-363.11(c) was triggered when Orange County adopted a differentiated pay plan in 1990-91 under the School Improvement and Accountability Act …
If someone on unemployment is offered a job that depends on passing a drug test and they fail the test, can the state cut off their unemployment benefits?
The AG concluded yes. Under the unemployment statute, failing without good cause to accept suitable work disqualifies a claimant from benefits. If a claimant on benefits is offered a job contingent on…
If a court sets up a special-needs trust funded by a personal injury settlement, do the new Medicaid trust rules under OBRA 1993 treat that trust as if the disabled person established it themselves?
Yes. The AG concluded that 42 U.S.C. § 1396p(d) reaches a trust funded with settlement or judgment proceeds even when a guardian or court formally creates it, because the proceeds are the property of …
Can North Carolina recover Medicaid expenditures from a deceased recipient's estate if Congress requires it, or does the General Assembly have to pass enabling legislation first?
NC must pass enabling legislation. The AG concluded that even though federal OBRA 93 required states to establish Medicaid estate recovery programs, NC lacked any state statutory mechanism for the Div…
If investors put money into a North Carolina business in November or December 1993 and the Secretary of State registered the business as a Qualified Business Venture later in December, did the investors qualify for the state Qualified Business Venture investment tax credit?
Yes, for investments made through December 31, 1993. Chief Counsel John R. McArthur officially adopted the prior Boylan interpretation: registration with the Secretary of State at any time during the …
Does North Carolina's RICO Act treat federal currency-structuring violations (breaking up cash deposits to dodge the $10,000 bank reporting rule) as 'money laundering' activity?
Yes, according to this 1993 AG opinion. Although NC's RICO Act doesn't define 'money laundering,' the AG read it broadly enough to include structuring a currency transaction in violation of 31 U.S.C. …
In a NC county building shared by sheriff's office staff and other county business, who decides where people can smoke: the county commissioners or the sheriff?
Both, depending on the room. County commissioners have broad authority under G.S. § 153A-121 (health ordinances) and § 153A-169 (county property supervision) to regulate smoking in county buildings, i…
When is a 'non-profit' volunteer fire department itself an OSHANC-covered employer, and what factors should the Department of Labor weigh in deciding?
The principal factor is whether any member receives compensation for service. If at least one member is paid (wages, sick pay, vacation pay, bonuses, etc.), an employer-employee relationship exists an…
Are video poker machines that involve skill and pay out only merchandise credit legal in NC after the recent amendment to the anti-slot-machine statute?
Maybe. The amended N.C.G.S. § 14-306 contains an exemption for machines used for amusement that involve skill. A particular video poker machine fits the exemption only if both conditions are factually…
Can a funeral home get in trouble for having an unlicensed person on staff if the funeral home didn't know the employee's license had lapsed?
Yes. The AG concluded that a funeral establishment has an affirmative duty under Board regulations to verify the current license status of each licensed employee when applying to renew the establishme…
Does North Carolina's school-involvement leave statute (four hours per year) apply to public school employees, and is the 'year' a calendar year, a fiscal year, or something the employer can pick?
The NC AG concluded that N.C.G.S. § 95-28.3 applies to public school employees and other state and local government workers, that the four hours is a minimum the employer must allow (not a maximum), a…
Can North Carolina pass a local act letting a city promise not to annex a manufacturer's property for years in exchange for payments in lieu of taxes, or does that violate the state constitution?
The AG concluded the Eden-Miller Brewing preannexation local act (Chapter 418 of the 1993 Session Laws) is facially constitutional. The legislature has plenary power over municipal boundaries under Ar…
When is a volunteer fire department considered part of a municipality or county such that the city or county itself becomes responsible for OSHANC compliance, including citations and penalties, for fire-department safety violations?
Only when the municipality or county exercises sufficient control over the volunteer department, shown by clear and convincing evidence. The AG identified five major factors: ownership of land and equ…
Can the NC Banking Commission raise or lower the maximum interest rate on larger consumer finance loans, or only on the smaller loans?
Only on the smaller loans. The Banking Commission has explicit authority under G.S. § 53-173(f) to redetermine and refix the maximum interest rate for consumer finance loans made under § 53-173 (up to…
Can a North Carolina consumer-finance company sell new types of credit insurance to its borrowers, including joint accident and health policies and single or dual interest motor vehicle physical damage coverage?
Yes for credit joint accident and health insurance, no for single or dual interest motor vehicle physical damage insurance unless the Commissioner of Banks gives written permission. Joint accident and…
When a North Carolina consumer-finance licensee applies to do other business at the same office where it makes loans, is the licensee entitled to an evidentiary hearing, and what role does the State Banking Commission play in reviewing the Commissioner's decision?
Yes to an evidentiary hearing when there is any likelihood the application will be denied. The Administrative Procedure Act applies. The State Banking Commission reviews the Commissioner's decision on…
When a private doctor performs a child medical evaluation for DSS in a suspected abuse case, are the doctor's records confidential, or do they become public once they leave DSS custody?
They stay confidential. NCGS 7A-544 applies a blanket 'strictest confidence' rule to every part of a DSS protective services investigation. Administrative rules, state DSS policy, and the chain of con…
If the State of North Carolina keeps backup CDs of a commissioned sound sculpture in its building, can the public force the State to hand over copies under the public records law?
No. The AG concluded that an artist who retained federal copyright in a state-commissioned sound sculpture kept the right to control duplication, and federal copyright law preempted the state Public R…
Can a county board of health adopt a smoking rule that applies to a state university campus, and when does state preemption kick in?
Yes, the AG concluded, but only briefly. Because the Commission for Health Services had not issued a statewide smoking rule for state institutions, Orange County's local board of health could adopt a …
When a court orders someone on probation or parole to perform community service hours at a non-profit or government agency, is the worker an OSHANC-covered employee, and is the agency an OSHANC-covered employer responsible for worker safety?
No. Community service workers are not OSHANC-covered employees. The receiving agency cannot fire them (only transfer them back), pays no wages, and does not have ultimate control over their work envir…
Can a North Carolina state university issue students a campus debit card for buying books and meals, and can it open that same debit system up to private off-campus businesses?
On the first question yes, on the second no. ECU's closed-loop debit card for on-campus purchases was a prepayment-for-services arrangement, not a bank deposit, so it did not violate state or federal …
If two doctors who owned a clinic before April 1, 1993 transfer the clinic's assets to a new corporation they also own, do they keep the grandfathered 'grace period' that lets them refer patients to that clinic until July 1, 1995?
Yes, but only for themselves. The doctors never relinquished their investment interest in the underlying clinic when they transferred its assets to a new corporation in which they also held stock. The…
If a doctor with an investment interest in a private nursing home prescribes nursing home care for Medicaid patients but does not pick a specific facility, is that a prohibited self-referral?
No. The 1993 self-referral statute defines a 'referral' as forwarding a patient to another provider or to an entity providing designated services. When the physician only prescribes the level of care …
Can the North Carolina State Board of Refrigeration Examiners enforce its licensing laws against commercial refrigeration work done on the Cherokee Indian Reservation?
Yes, as long as the contractor is not a Cherokee Indian residing on the Reservation. The AG concluded neither federal nor tribal law preempted North Carolina's right to require non-Cherokee refrigerat…
Can a city bill a state university (or other state agency) for stormwater utility fees, the way it bills any other property owner in town?
No. Sovereign immunity blocks the city from collecting under the ordinance alone. NC cities have express statutory authority to bill private property owners for stormwater service, but Chapter 160A do…
Does a commercial refrigeration contractor need a county building permit before installing a commercial refrigeration system?
Yes. The AG concluded that commercial refrigeration systems are within the county inspection department's enforcement jurisdiction under G.S. 153A-352, and the State Building Code (Volume III, Chapter…
When a district court seat opens, which county bar associations get to vote on the nomination list submitted to the Governor — the bars in the judicial district as it exists today, or the bars in the district as it existed on January 1, 1987?
January 1, 1987 controls. The NC AG concluded that N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A-142 (read together with § 84-19) freezes the membership of each judicial district bar for nomination purposes to the judicial di…
Can a North Carolina county pay to extend water and sewer service to the commercial parts of a private mixed-use development?
Yes. The AG concluded G.S. 158-7.1(b)(5) authorized a county to extend or assist in extending utility services to industrial facilities, whether publicly or privately owned. Read together with the pub…
If a disabled sportsman asks a North Carolina state agency to let him use a motorized vehicle in an area where the agency's own administrative rules ban motorized vehicles, can the agency just waive the rule for that one person under the ADA, or does it have to go through formal rulemaking?
Formal rulemaking. An agency cannot just waive its own administrative rules case-by-case to accommodate a person with a disability, because G.S. § 150B-19(6) prohibits any rule that lets an agency wai…
Can a trade association get a list of which state nursing-home surveyors passed or failed the federal qualification test, or is that confidential personnel information?
The AG concluded the list is confidential personnel information that cannot be released under N.C.G.S. § 126-22. Because failure could lead to an employee being removed from the survey team, the pass/…
Can a NC county manager, acting on the fire marshal's request, issue a memo declaring certain county buildings smoke-free and have that be legally binding?
No. The AG concluded that a NC county manager has no statutory authority to set policy on the use of a county building. G.S. 153A-169 places the power to issue orders, ordinances, or resolutions conce…
Can the same person serve as the Mount Olive City Attorney and as a commissioner of the Mount Olive Housing Authority, given that G.S. § 157-5 says 'No commissioner may be a city official'?
Yes, on the facts presented. The AG concluded that 'official' in G.S. § 157-5 is synonymous with 'officer,' and that whether the city attorney is a 'public officer' turns on whether the position exerc…
If a NC state advisory council 'elects' its vice-chair and secretary at an annual meeting by simply closing nominations without taking any vote, is that election valid, and how can the body fix it?
No, it is not valid. The AG concluded that the June 2, 1993 election of vice-chair and secretary of the Governor's Advisory Council on Aging was null and void because no vote was taken, in violation o…
If a North Carolina driver gets a second DWI within seven years, do they have to spend 48 hours in jail in a row, or can the time be split up?
At least 48 of the mandated seven days have to be consecutive. A second DWI within seven years triggered Level Two punishment under N.C.G.S. § 20-179(c) and (h), which required a minimum of seven days…
Can a North Carolina county charge homeowners and businesses two separate annual solid waste fees, one for using the system and one for the system being available?
Yes, within limits. G.S. § 153A-292(b) lets a county impose two distinct annual fees on dwellings and businesses: a 'user fee' on properties that actually use the county's recycling/convenience center…
Did the 1993 NC smoking-in-public-places law wipe out NC community college smoking policies adopted earlier in 1993?
No. N.C. Gen. Stat. Chapter 143, Article 64 limits local government control of smoking going forward, but § 143-601(a) expressly grandfathers any otherwise valid local law, rule, or ordinance regulati…
Does the NC State Board of Refrigeration Examiners have the authority to make rules requiring NC commercial refrigeration contractors to comply with new EPA certification rules for handling refrigerants?
Yes. The AG concluded that the Board's general rulemaking authority under G.S. 87-54, combined with its mission to protect public health and safety by licensing refrigeration contractors (G.S. 87-52),…
Can the NC Association of County Commissioners (an unincorporated federation of the 100 NC counties) buy through the State purchase and contract system, the same way an individual county or state agency can?
Yes. The AG concluded that the NCACC qualifies as a 'governmental entity or subdivision of the State' for purposes of G.S. § 143-49(6) and is entitled to use the State purchase and contract system. Th…
If someone signs a preneed funeral contract or a cremation authorization before they die, do those written directions beat the surviving family's contrary wishes after death?
Yes to both, the AG concluded. A preneed funeral contract executed by the decedent for their own arrangements, and a cremation authorization signed by the decedent for their own cremation, generally c…
Can a state-chartered credit union in North Carolina guarantee its members' signatures on securities transfers, the way commercial banks and brokerages do?
Not under current Subchapter III of Chapter 54, but possibly through a parity rule. North Carolina credit unions are creatures of statute with no powers beyond those expressly granted or fairly incide…
Can the State of North Carolina accept donated consulting services from a vendor (Northern Telecom) on a major project like the NC Information Highway without compromising the future competitive bid process?
Yes, the AG concluded, subject to four conditions and a written Memorandum of Understanding: the vendor must not gain any usable competitive information, the State must take on no current or future ob…
Could the Avery County Board of Education refuse to enroll children living at Crossnore School and Grandfather Home (private residential child-care facilities in the county) unless the children's parents also lived in Avery County?
No. N.C.G.S. § 115C-366(a1), enacted in 1991, says children living in and cared for and supported by an institution established to rear and care for children who do not live with their parents 'shall …
If both houses of the NC legislature passed a bill on third reading and ordered it enrolled, but the presiding officers forgot to sign it before adjournment, did the bill still become law?
No. The AG concluded that the signatures of the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House must be affixed during the session and before adjournment. Five 1993 bills that missed that step co…
Under the new federal Family and Medical Leave Act, does a local school system have to pay for optional family-member health-insurance coverage while a teacher or staff member is out on FMLA leave?
The AG concluded that the FMLA requires a covered employer (including a local school system) to maintain the pre-existing health-plan coverage during authorized leave at the same level and on the same…
Can UNC Charlotte refinance a balloon payment due on a 1987 bank loan that financed a cafeteria addition, and can the chancellor's signature bind the university to a new promissory note?
Yes to both. The AG concluded that the 1987 Board of Governors authorization for UNC-C to take out a $1.398M bank loan for the cafeteria addition implicitly authorized later refinancing of the balloon…
Can the members of the North Carolina State Board of Education (including the elected Lieutenant Governor and State Treasurer, who sit ex officio) send proxies to cast their votes or take part in Board deliberations?
No. The AG concluded that G.S. 115C-11(d) flatly forbids voting by proxy on the State Board of Education, and that prohibition applies to all thirteen members, including the Lieutenant Governor and Tr…
Was 1993 N.C. House Bill 935 (deleting references to the Department of Public Education from the General Statutes) constitutional under Article IX of the North Carolina Constitution?
Yes. The AG concluded that HB 935 did not alter the constitutional responsibilities of either the State Board of Education or the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and so was constitutional. The A…
Could a North Carolina nonprofit run a raffle as a fundraiser, and could they sell or serve alcohol in the same building?
Yes, with strict rules. Under N.C.G.S. § 14-309.15 as amended in 1993, a qualifying nonprofit could run no more than two raffles per year, with a maximum cash prize of $5,000 (up from $1,000) or maxim…
Can the General Assembly pass a law that lets state employee insurance committees void existing payroll-deduction insurance contracts whenever they want, or would that violate the U.S. Constitution's contract clause?
Probably not in its current draft form. House DHR1162 proposed amending N.C.G.S. § 58-31-60 by adding: 'Any current agreement shall be null and void at the discretion of the Department Committee.' Art…
In NC, can rank-and-file volunteer firefighters install modulating (flashing) headlights on their personal cars to use when responding to a fire call?
No. The AG reaffirmed that G.S. 20-125(a) only authorizes the chief and assistant chiefs of a fire department to install and use special equipment, including modulating headlamps, on their personally …
If a newly merged North Carolina county school board has a vacancy and the merger plan says the remaining board members 'shall appoint' a replacement, can the board legally just leave the seat empty until the next election?
No. The Cabarrus County/Concord City school merger plan, ratified under G.S. § 115C-68.3 and treated as if enacted by the General Assembly, mandates that 'in the event of a vacancy on the merged board…
Could the General Assembly require a landfill developer to get the approval of the local county or city before the state issued a landfill permit, or was that an unconstitutional delegation?
Probably constitutional, the AG concluded after short-time review. G.S. § 130A-294(a)(4), proposed for amendment by S.B. 1003, required local government approval for sanitary landfills within their ju…
If the NC Court of Appeals' ruling in Fulton v. Justus that the intangibles tax provision in G.S. § 105-203 is unconstitutional under the Commerce Clause stands on appeal, what is the State's refund exposure, and would the proposed SB 1245 substitute exclusion fraction fix the constitutional defect?
The AG concluded that the substitute exclusion fraction in the proposed SB 1245 would not survive a Commerce Clause challenge under the Fulton v. Justus analysis; there is no meaningful distinction be…
When the NC General Assembly opened bear season in Camden and Pasquotank counties two days earlier than the statewide season (creating a Saturday and Sunday opening before the Monday statewide opener), could hunters use firearms on that Sunday?
No to firearms, yes to other lawful methods. N.C.G.S. § 103-2 made Sunday hunting with firearms (shotgun, rifle, or pistol) a misdemeanor statewide, with no exception for the early local season in 199…
Does a public school system have to keep paying for an employee's health insurance during unpaid family or medical leave under FMLA?
Yes. The NC AG concluded that local education agencies must maintain and pay for eligible employees' group health benefits during FMLA leave, the same as private employers. The argument that the Inter…
Does a contractor need a North Carolina general contractor's license to build a project paid for with federal money, or on federal property?
It depends on the type of federal involvement, the AG concluded. On a federal enclave like Fort Bragg where the U.S. retains exclusive jurisdiction, state licensing usually cannot be enforced. On a pr…
Can North Carolina coastal counties and towns pass their own ordinances regulating commercial and recreational fishing in their waters, or did the General Assembly take that power away?
The General Assembly took that power away in 1965 and has not given it back. N.C.G.S. § 113-133 declares that the enjoyment of the state's marine and estuarine resources belongs to the people of the s…
Can a North Carolina community college refuse to admit a 16-year-old who has a history of behavioral problems, when the rule lets the college admit minors with 'special needs'?
Sometimes. The AG concluded that community colleges are not required to admit 16-to-18-year-olds at all; the 'special needs' rule (23 NCAC 2C .0305(b)) is permissive. If the college does choose to adm…
If the NC General Assembly bans purse seine menhaden fishing in the coastal waters next to Dare County, does that count as a 'general law' the legislature can freely enact, or as a 'local law' that bumps into the NC Constitution's limits on local legislation?
It depends on showing the bill addresses matters of state-wide interest. The AG concluded that SB 991 can be defended as a general law under the Town of Emerald Isle test if the bill or its legislativ…
When the federal government forfeits a North Carolina house held in tenancy by the entirety because one spouse used it for crime, can the federal court use the North Carolina RICO Act's automatic conversion provision to forfeit only that spouse's half?
Yes, as a matter of North Carolina law. The North Carolina RICO Act, N.C.G.S. § 75D-8(a)(1), automatically converts entirety property to a tenancy in common on entry of a final judgment of forfeiture …
Does HB 818, which says NC city and county employees can engage in political activities off duty, secretly change NC's right-to-work laws or end NC's prohibition on collective bargaining by public employees?
No. The AG concluded that HB 818 amends only G.S. §§ 153A-99 and 160A-169, which deal with off-duty political activities by city and county employees (affiliating with civic organizations, attending p…
Can a bank director who is not also a bank officer or employee serve on the North Carolina State Banking Commission, either as a 'practical banker' member or as a representative of the borrowing public?
No, and no. The qualifications for the Commission in N.C.G.S. § 53-92 require the Governor to appoint five practical bankers and seven representatives of the borrowing public. The borrowing-public rep…
Was 1993 N.C. House Bill 1109 (authorizing counties and cities to extend water/sewer to private industry, pay for site preparation for private industrial facilities, and statewide extend land-acquisition-and-conveyance powers for industrial recruitment) constitutional under the NC public-purpose and adequate-consideration clauses, and would a local-bill version of the same content raise an equal-protection problem?
The AG concluded the water/sewer extension provision raised no serious constitutional problem (utility service to industry has long been authorized). The site-preparation and statewide acquisition/con…
Can a NC city or town appropriate municipal funds to help a local school board buy property that will mostly be used as a school parking lot, but that the town will also use a few days a year?
Not for the school portion. The AG concluded that a NC town has no authority to appropriate municipal funds to acquire property that will be used for school or school-related purposes. The town may ap…
When a client escapes from a NC state psychiatric hospital like Broughton, how widely do staff have to notify law enforcement, and does it matter whether the client has a history of violence?
The AG concluded that G.S. § 122C-205 requires the facility to notify law enforcement wherever staff have 'reasonable grounds to believe' the escaped client may be found, including out-of-state agenci…
If the State Ports Authority installs meters and bills its tenants for the electricity they actually use, does that make the Authority a public utility subject to North Carolina Utilities Commission regulation?
No. The State Ports Authority is a true state agency, not a 'person' within the meaning of N.C.G.S. § 62-3(21), so it cannot be a 'public utility' under N.C.G.S. § 62-3(23). The Utilities Commission h…
If the State sends more money to a NC county's area mental-health, developmental-disabilities, and substance-abuse authority mid-year, or if the authority collects more fees than it budgeted, can the county trim its own contribution by the same amount?
No to both. The AG concluded that G.S. § 122C-146 expressly bars the county from using extra fee collections to justify a mid-year cut in its local tax-revenue commitment. And on the state-funds side,…
When the 1991 NC legislature rewrote the state personnel statutes to make career-employee status depend on job level rather than pay grade, and said the new rules applied to employees hired on or after July 1, 1993, did that leave employees hired before July 1, 1993 stuck under the old (slower) tenure rules?
No. Reading the act to create a dual personnel system (where current employees achieve career status more slowly than new hires) would raise serious equal-protection and class-legislation problems. Th…
Could the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority pull legislative appropriations out of its Reserve Trust Fund and put them in a separate Contingency Reserve Trust Fund managed by the State Treasurer?
Yes, with one explicit limit. The Authority had power under G.S. § 116-204 and other provisions of Article 23 (particularly § 116-209.3) to create a Contingency Reserve Trust Fund and transfer to it t…
Can Cumberland County put a car tax on vehicles owned by people who aren't in the military but live on Fort Bragg?
Probably not, but the answer turns on when the federal government acquired Fort Bragg and how. If the federal government acquired Fort Bragg under the Jurisdiction Clause with North Carolina's consent…
Can a North Carolina bank's trust department market and sign preneed funeral arrangements with customers, with a funeral home as the service provider?
No. After the 1992 General Assembly moved preneed regulation from the Banking Commission to the Board of Mortuary Science and recodified the rules as Article 13D of Chapter 90, the previous statutory …
When Monroe City and Union County school systems merged in 1993, did the two separate voter-approved local school taxes collapse into one county-wide tax, and could either tax pay for any school in the merged system?
The two tax districts stayed separate, but the proceeds could fund the whole merged system. The State Board of Education's merger plan, ratified by G.S. § 115C-68.3 as if enacted by the General Assemb…
Was the 1992 contract awarding NCDOT employees' supplemental-insurance payroll deduction slot to Colonial Life valid, given that the NCDOT Insurance Committee's members were not appointed on rotating terms and the contract was signed by both the Committee and the Department, with third-party Agents of Record listed as parties?
Mostly yes, with one carve-out. The AG concluded that under G.S. § 58-31-60 the Insurance Committee is autonomous in selecting insurance products and awarding payroll deduction slots. The Committee's …
Can the North Carolina State Highway Patrol assign State-owned vehicles to civilian (non-sworn) employees like radio technicians and mechanics to drive home and back, and if so, do those civilian employees have to pay the State a commuting fee?
Yes, the Highway Patrol can assign State vehicles to civilian on-call employees for commuting, and they do not have to pay a commuting fee. Under IRS guidance, on-call emergency-response vehicles are …
Does the NC law that limits gifts and favors from contractors to government officials (G.S. 133-32) apply to outside attorneys and law firms that represent a local school board, and can those attorneys buy meals or gifts for school-board members or administrators?
Yes. The AG held that a local board of education is a 'governmental agency' and that an attorney or law firm retained to provide legal services is a 'contractor' for purposes of G.S. 133-32(a). So the…
What standards should the NC State Superintendent of Public Instruction apply when approving or rejecting local school districts' differentiated pay plans, and can those plans pay teachers extra just for joining a particular professional organization or for years of experience already covered by the state salary schedule?
The AG concluded that the State Superintendent should apply three criteria: was the plan adopted under the procedures in G.S. § 115C-238.3(c), is it based on one or more of the five pay-plan types lis…
Under N.C. Rule of Civil Procedure 4(h), when can a clerk of superior court appoint a private process server to serve a summons, and does the sheriff 'neglect' his duty within the meaning of the rule if he diligently tries but cannot find the defendant?
Only when the sheriff has actually neglected the duty (refused to make service or made no reasonable attempt) can the clerk appoint a private process server. A sheriff who makes a reasonable, good-fai…
Can a NC sheriff's department keep an off-budget 'drug fund' account funded by voluntary cash payments from arrested defendants who are awaiting trial, and can the county finance officer offset that money against the sheriff's annual appropriation?
The AG strongly discouraged the practice on appearance-of-impropriety grounds and concluded that any such 'drug fund' cash must be deposited with the county finance officer under the Local Government …
Could the Avery County Sheriff's Department hold and spend voluntary cash 'gifts' from arrested defendants in a separate 'Drug Fund' outside the county budget, and could the county finance officer cut the sheriff's regular appropriation by the amount in that fund?
Both questions answered no, and the AG flagged a deeper problem. The sheriff was accepting voluntary cash from defendants awaiting trial on Controlled Substances Act charges, depositing it in a separa…
Can a state or local law enforcement agency in North Carolina turn property seized under a state search or seizure warrant over to federal authorities for federal forfeiture, or does a NC court have to release the property first?
Yes, the agency can hand the property to federal authorities without a state-court turnover order. The AG concluded that NC search-warrant statutes (G.S. § 15A-11.1 and § 15A-258) allow transfer to fe…
Can the NC State Board of Cosmetic Art Examiners adopt a rule defining rented cosmetology booths as 'cosmetic art shops' subject to licensure and inspection, even though the statute doesn't expressly say so?
Probably yes, if the Board could show on the facts that the definition was reasonably necessary for it to function properly. The AG concluded the Board had express authority to set sanitation rules an…
Can the North Carolina Medical Database Commission, by changing its own administrative rules, start releasing patient-level health data instead of only aggregate statistics, even if the patient identities are encrypted? Who legally 'owns' the data submitted by hospitals, and are hospitals exposed to liability if a patient is inadvertently identified despite encryption?
No legislative shortcut for patient-level data. The 1993 AG concluded that G.S. 131E-210 authorizes only release of aggregate data, and G.S. 150B-2(8a) limits a rule to implementing or interpreting a …
Can a county commissioner who owns a real estate firm sell a house to a buyer using federal HOME program assistance funds, when the commissioner serves on the local HOME consortium board, without violating NC's conflict-of-interest law?
The HOME funding agreement and 24 C.F.R. 92.356 still bar the commissioner's firm from earning the brokerage commission, even though NC's G.S. 14-234(b) carves out an exception for officers providing …
When a radio station and newspaper ask a local school board for copies of the travel-expense records of the former superintendent, are those records public records that must be disclosed, or are they protected personnel-file documents because the records may relate to the superintendent's recent departure?
They are public records. The 1993 AG concluded that the school superintendent's travel-expense records must be disclosed under G.S. 132-6. Although G.S. 115C-319's broad definition of 'personnel file'…
Can the General Assembly require that assets of the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System be used to fund non-contributory medical coverage for retirees and other Retirement System beneficiaries under the State's Comprehensive Major Medical Plan, instead of continuing to fund that coverage out of General Fund appropriations?
No. The 1993 AG concluded that Article V, Section 6(2) of the North Carolina Constitution limits the use of Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System assets to three purposes: retirement system…
If North Carolina was obligated under the Southeast Compact to be prepared to accept up to 32 million cubic feet of low-level radioactive waste, did the state's radioactive waste authority have to apply for a license to dispose of all 32 million, or could it license a smaller initial volume?
It could license a smaller volume. The AG concluded the 32-million-cubic-foot figure was a host-state maximum obligation, not a minimum licensing target. The NC Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management …
Can a NC consumer-finance licensee make a loan to a borrower who already has a loan from the licensee's affiliated bank or other lender that is not covered by the Consumer Finance Act?
Yes. Although G.S. 53-179's one-loan rule appears broad, the more specific provisions in G.S. 53-180 and the exemptions in G.S. 53-191 show the legislature meant to allow concurrent loans when the rel…
Does the Federal Fair Housing Act preempt a Mecklenburg County zoning ordinance that requires group homes for the handicapped to be located at least one-half mile from another group home, with no variance or conditional use procedure?
Probably not preempted as a per se matter, but the ordinance's survival depends on contested factors and the Fourth Circuit has not directly ruled. The Eighth Circuit in Familystyle of St. Paul upheld…
Does the 1987 local act regulating deer hunting (including hunting with dogs) in Anson County override the general state statute G.S. 113-291.5 and the Wildlife Resources Commission rules that ban running deer with dogs west of N.C. Highway 742? And can the WRC make rules on game lands that contradict that state or local law?
Local act controls; WRC cannot override it. The 1993 AG concluded that Sess. Laws 1987 ch. 231, a local act establishing a seven-week firearms deer season in Anson County and authorizing the use of do…
When a NC joint municipal power agency (like ElectriCities member agencies) buys or sells property, does the public-bid-law exemption in G.S. 159B-11(12) and (13) cover all of its property dealings, or only the privately negotiated ones?
Only the privately negotiated ones. The exemption clauses sit inside subsections (12) and (13), which deal with private negotiated purchase, lease, sale, and disposition. They do not exempt the joint …
Can North Carolina create a state licensing board specifically for Christian counselors, and require Christian counselors to be licensed by it, without violating the First Amendment's separation of church and state?
Probably not. A state board specifically for Christian counselors would likely fail the Lemon test (endorsement of one religion, excessive entanglement with religious doctrine) and create Free Exercis…
Can the NC State Auditor audit the NC Department of Insurance for the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report when the Auditor's office had staff with recent management responsibility there?
No. G.S. 147-64.12(b) bars the State Auditor from auditing a program where the office had management responsibility or employment in the prior two years. CAFR test work, federal-funds schedule review,…
Can a North Carolina school district send students home early during exam week so teachers have more time to grade exams?
No. State Board of Education rules require a minimum of 5.5 hours of instructional time per student per day, and that minimum is binding under the Basic Education Program through G.S. § 115C-81. G.S. …
Does a member of the NC State Banking Commission lose their seat if, during their term, they change from being a 'practical banker' to being a non-banker (or vice versa)?
Yes. A practical-banker member who stops being a bank officer or employee (other than by retirement) loses the seat. A public member who becomes a director, employee, or substantial owner of a financi…
Can North Carolina increase the punishment for repeat felons and still count earlier felony convictions toward the enhancement, or would that violate the ex post facto clause?
Yes, with a key drafting condition. North Carolina's Habitual Felons Act in N.C.G.S. § 14-7.1 enhances the sentence for the latest felony, treating habitual felon as a status rather than a separate cr…
Can a North Carolina city buy 100% of the stock of a private water/sewer company and then keep the company alive as a shell so the seller pays less tax?
No. The City of Charlotte wanted to buy all the shares of a private residential water/sewer corporation and keep the corporation alive (with City employees as directors and officers) instead of dissol…
Can a North Carolina probation officer throw a probationer into jail for up to 30 days for minor or technical violations, based on a special condition the sentencing judge wrote into the probation order?
No. The NC Department of Correction asked whether a sentencing judge could write a special probation condition that gave the probation officer up to 30 days of unilateral incarceration authority for t…
Do the county Site Designation Review Committees, created under G.S. § 104G-19 to advise county boards on a planned low-level radioactive waste disposal facility, have authority to enter privately-owned land for site-characterization monitoring under G.S. § 143B-285.14 or any other statute, without the landowner's consent?
No. The 1992 AG concluded that G.S. § 143B-285.14 authorizes DEHNR, the NC Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management Authority, and their direct agents/contractors (including the prospective license appl…
When an insurance company denies pre-authorization for a treatment a North Carolina doctor recommends, is the company practicing medicine without a license?
No. The North Carolina Board of Medical Examiners asked whether utilization review and pre-certification by third-party payors counted as the practice of medicine. The AG said no. The statute defines …
Which agency controls bidding for grass mowing along North Carolina public highways: the Department of Administration under G.S. 143-49(3), or the Department of Transportation under G.S. 136-28.1(f)?
The Department of Administration. The AG concluded grass mowing on highway rights of way is maintenance, not 'professional or specialized services necessary in connection with highway construction or …
If a North Carolina landlord uses 'service by posting' on the door of a rental and the tenant does not show up, can the magistrate award the landlord both possession and back rent in the same default order?
No. A small-claims magistrate cannot enter a money judgment for back rent and damages when service was made under the posting method of § 42-29. Service by posting (mail plus phone attempt plus an in-…
What lights and reflectors are required on a North Carolina farm trailer used on public roads?
Every farm trailer operated on a North Carolina highway must have a stop lamp activated by the towing vehicle's foot brake. Beyond that, the requirements depend on weight, registration status, time of…
If a check-cashing company takes a customer's check that both know is currently no good, gives the customer cash minus a fee, and agrees to hold the check until the customer's account has money, is that a regulated loan, and can the company be criminally prosecuted under North Carolina's Consumer Finance Act and bad-check laws?
Yes. A deferred-presentment check-cashing transaction is in essence a small-dollar loan. If the loan amount is $10,000 or less and the fees exceed Chapter 24 interest caps, the company is making consu…
When a North Carolina home health agency takes state Home Health Services money, does it have to open its books to the State Auditor?
Yes. Private home health agencies that received Home Health Services (HHS) funds from the Division of Adult Health were subject to the audit requirements of N.C.G.S. § 143-6.1, despite the program's f…
On a North Carolina public construction project, who has to do the work of finding and using minority businesses: the contractor, the city or county, or both?
On all public construction contracts subject to N.C.G.S. § 143-128, both the State and any city, county, or other public body had a verifiable percentage goal for minority business participation. Unde…
Can a member of the public ask the North Carolina Board for Licensing of Geologists to hand over an applicant's test score?
No. The Board's records of its proceedings and its register of licensees are public records open under N.C.G.S. § 132-6. But individual test scores, applications, and supporting materials like referen…
Could the North Carolina General Assembly give a legislative oversight commission the power to indefinitely delay the effective date of any agency rule it considered to exceed statutory authority?
No. The President Pro Tempore asked the AG to review two draft bills that would have given the Administrative Rules Review Commission (a body appointed by the General Assembly) authority to indefinite…
In North Carolina, can a small-loan company sell other things (like motor-club memberships or non-credit insurance) at the same office as its loans, and can it keep the commissions?
The Commissioner of Banks can let a consumer finance licensee run another business on the same premises as its small-loan office. But that licensee cannot benefit, directly or indirectly, from any cha…
If an occupational licensing board, like the Cosmetic Art Examiners, is subject to the State Personnel Act and the State Budget Act, can it still enroll employees in the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System even though the 1983 General Assembly froze licensing-board participation after July 1, 1983?
No. The 1990 AG concluded that Chapter 412 of the 1983 Session Laws (amending G.S. § 135-1.1) applies to all State boards and agencies that administer professional, trade, or occupational licensing la…
Can North Carolina's Governor use an executive order to require financial disclosure and ethical-conduct compliance from people appointed to state boards by other Council of State officers?
No. Seven Council of State officers asked whether they (and their appointees) had to follow Executive Order No. 1 after Governor Jim Martin amended it in October 1990 to cover appointees of any execut…
At the North Carolina Industrial Commission, is hiring and firing the Chairman's job alone, or does the whole three-member Commission have to decide?
The whole three-member Commission decides, and the Commission cannot delegate that authority to the Chairman by rule. The Industrial Commission's personnel statutes (N.C.G.S. §§ 97-78, 97-79, and 143-…
In North Carolina, can a county commissioner who also chairs the county social services board talk and vote at county commission meetings on DSS personnel and the DSS budget?
Yes on both counts. Iredell County had a commissioner who was appointed to the DSS board under N.C.G.S. § 108A-3(a) and was then elected by the social services board to be its chair. The AG concluded …
When the Child Day Care Commission writes a rule requiring day care licenses for preschool programs in public school buildings (whether run by the school system or by a private provider), can it lawfully reach programs run by public schools for 3 and 4 year olds even though G.S. 110-86(3) excludes 'public schools' from the definition of 'day care facility'?
No, not for public school programs; yes for private providers. The 1990 AG concluded that G.S. 110-86(3) excludes 'public schools' from the day care licensing regime, and that exclusion covers all pro…
If the North Carolina legislature passes a bill creating a new crime but specifies an effective date earlier than the day it actually became law, can the State still prosecute people who commit the crime after the bill is enacted?
Yes, but only for conduct after the bill was actually passed. The retroactive effective date is unconstitutional under the Ex Post Facto Clause and cannot be enforced, but it is severable from the res…
When a logging operation transports forest products in a heavy truck, do the drivers need a commercial driver's license (CDL), or do they qualify for the same farm-vehicle exemption available to traditional farmers?
They qualify for the farm-vehicle exemption only if the forest products were raised and grown by the employer and the employer is not in the business of buying products for resale. If the forester buy…
When the State's Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services Commission writes rules for inmate substance-abuse treatment, does it have to give the Department of Correction's Substance Abuse Advisory Council a direct chance to weigh in? And can the Commission's rules drop the statutory preference for hiring recovering alcoholics and substance abusers as counselors?
No to the first, no to the second. The 1990 AG concluded that under G.S. § 148-19(d), the Commission for Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services has final authority to set inmat…
Can a North Carolina landlord and tenant agree in a lease that any eviction case will be heard by a magistrate in a different county from where the rental property sits?
No. A summary ejectment action is a small claims case under N.C.G.S. § 7A-210(2), and § 7A-211 only lets a Chief District Court Judge assign a small claim to a magistrate when the defendant is a resid…
Can a local North Carolina school board levy taxes on its own to fund its schools?
Not on its own, but yes if the General Assembly grants it the authority. Public school financing in North Carolina rests primarily with the State and the counties. Local school administrative units do…
Can a North Carolina state agency deny a performance-pay raise to an employee who has already hit the top of the salary range for the job?
Yes. A state senator asked whether N.C.G.S. § 126-7(c)(4)'s mandatory-sounding language ('shall receive a performance increase unless the employee's supervisor justifies in writing the decision not to…
Can North Carolina's Private Protective Services Board pull a private investigator's case file when reviewing a trainee, and does a private investigator with a gun have to pay the full armed security guard registration fee?
Yes on all three questions. The Board has authority under N.C.G.S. § 74C-5(3) to inspect licensees' records as part of investigations or trainee evaluations, and the disciplinary rule against unauthor…
When the General Assembly appropriated a special Clean Water Revolving Loan and Grant Fund award to Burke County for a joint water-system upgrade with the City of Morganton, can the upgraded water facilities lawfully be owned by Morganton rather than by Burke County, and does the project serve a public purpose given that a private industry, a private rural water cooperative, and a small town all benefit?
Yes to both. The 1990 AG concluded that the joint Morganton/Burke County water-system project serves a public purpose under N.C. Const. art. V, § 2 because it primarily improves a municipal water util…
After the U.S. Supreme Court's 1989 City of Richmond v. Croson decision held that local racial set-asides in public contracting must survive strict scrutiny, are North Carolina's minority-business participation provisions in G.S. 143-128, G.S. 136-28.4, G.S. 160A-17.1, the 1989 prison-construction appropriation, and Executive Order 77 still constitutional?
Yes. The 1990 AG concluded that the North Carolina provisions are facially constitutional under Croson because each one creates only a 'verifiable goal' for minority-business participation, implemente…
Can a North Carolina judge let a Level 1 or Level 2 DWI defendant serve the mandatory jail time at home on electronic monitoring instead of in the county jail?
No. N.C.G.S. § 20-179(g) and (h) required Level 1 DWI defendants to serve at least 14 days and Level 2 defendants at least 7 days of imprisonment, either as part of an active sentence or as a special …
Can a North Carolina town pass a land-use ordinance requiring all construction drawings to be sealed by a licensed engineer, blocking licensed architects from submitting drawings?
No. The Town of Carrboro had a land use ordinance requiring all construction drawings to be prepared and sealed by a licensed professional engineer. As applied to exclude licensed professional archite…
Can the North Carolina ferry system sell souvenirs like T-shirts, jackets, hats, coffee cups, and post cards at its onboard concessions?
No. The AG concluded that G.S. 136-82 limited the Department of Transportation's ferry concessions to 'food, drink, other refreshments, and personal comfort items.' Reading 'personal comfort items' ag…
When someone tries to title a salvage vehicle in North Carolina that already has a branded title from another state, who has to prove the vehicle would qualify for an unbranded title in the original state, and can North Carolina ever issue an unbranded title if the original state has no procedure to remove the brand?
The applicant must supply vehicle-specific evidence that the originating state would issue an unbranded title for that exact vehicle (a copy of the state's statute or regulation, or a written statemen…
Can a North Carolina city license newspaper vendors to sell at busy intersection traffic islands during rush hour?
Not where the sales impede normal traffic flow. The City of Durham passed Ordinance 17-1 in 1987, letting the Police Chief permit newspaper and merchandise sales at intersections and traffic islands. …
Can South Carolina lawfully charge a per-volume surcharge on Southeast generators that dump low-level radioactive waste at the Barnwell facility, and pass those funds to the Southeast Compact Commission? And can the Commission then use that money to help North Carolina pay for the prelicensing work on the planned second regional disposal facility here?
Yes to both. The 1989 AG concluded that under Article IV(h)(2)a. of the Southeast Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management Compact (codified at N.C.G.S. Chapter 104F), South Carolina, as a 'h…
Under a Type II transfer, can a transferred state authority hire and fire its own staff independently of the parent department, or does the parent department control personnel decisions?
The parent department controls. The AG concluded that the Department of Commerce had authority to manage staffing, hiring, and firing of the N.C. Technological Development Authority's employees despit…
Can a new state authority use its broad 'hire as it deems necessary' language to skip over former state employees who hold priority reemployment rights under the State Personnel Act?
No. The AG concluded that without an express statutory exemption, every state agency, including the N.C. Technological Development Authority, must offer open positions to qualified former employees wi…
When a birth mother arranges a private adoption and asks that her newborn be handed directly to the adoptive parents from the hospital, can the hospital staff release the baby that way without violating North Carolina's child-placing-agency licensing law (N.C.G.S. § 131D-10.7)?
Yes. The 1989 AG concluded that the hospital's physical discharge of a newborn to adoptive parents in a private-adoption case did not constitute unlicensed 'placement' of children under N.C.G.S. § 131…
Are pay-to-ride go-carts on a track an amusement device that the North Carolina Department of Labor can inspect and regulate?
Yes. The NC AG concluded that a go-cart operated by a patron for a fee on a fixed or restricted track meets the statutory definition of 'amusement device' in N.C.G.S. § 95-111.3(a) because it conveys …
If the State of North Carolina decides not to provide for a state employee's defense in a civil or criminal case under G.S. § 143-300.3 or § 143-300.4, can the State still pay the final judgment against the employee under G.S. § 143-300.6 when the case is over?
No. The 1989 AG concluded that G.S. § 143-300.6(a) authorizes payment of final judgments only in 'actions or suits to which this Article applies,' which the AG read to mean actions where the State agr…
May a North Carolina state-chartered credit union match what the National Credit Union Administration now allows federally-chartered credit unions to do, and provide a faithful-performance bond covering only the chief executive officer instead of every officer, employee, and agent?
No. The 1989 AG concluded that G.S. § 54-109.11(5) and § 54-109.44(2) made a blanket surety bond covering every credit union official, committee member, and employee mandatory, without regard to wheth…
When someone opens a bank account in a fake name and uses it to write worthless checks against the bank, does the bank become enough of a 'victim' that police can bypass the Financial Privacy Act's notice and subpoena rules to get at the records?
No. The 1989 AG concluded that the person who actually opened the account and transacted business with the bank is a 'customer' under N.C.G.S. § 53B-2(1) even if the name on the account was fictitious…
In NC, do the size and content rules in G.S. 47-30 (the plat mapping statute) apply to every plat a surveyor draws, or only to plats that are going to be recorded at the Register of Deeds?
Only to plats presented for recording. G.S. 47-30 sets requirements for recordable plats, not for surveys done for other purposes. Whether a surveyor must comply depends on whether the plat will be fi…
Can a North Carolina state agency hire a private executive search firm to find candidates for hard-to-fill positions, and pay the firm a fee?
Yes for a true executive search firm, with one big limit. N.C.G.S. § 126-18 is aimed at firms that charge jobseekers (or take payment for placing someone in state employment); it does not prohibit a s…
Do North Carolina's Administrative Procedure Act rules govern how the Secretary of State's Securities Division handles license actions, hearings, and investigations under the Securities Act?
Yes. The AG concluded the APA (Chapter 150B) applies to the Securities Division, because the Division is not on the exempt list and Chapter 78A does not provide a blanket exemption. Securities dealer/…
When bags of medical refuse and other trash wash up on North Carolina beaches, what state and federal laws can be used to stop the dumping, prosecute the dumpers, and recover cleanup costs, and how far out into the Atlantic does North Carolina's regulatory authority reach?
North Carolina has criminal and civil prohibitions on dumping inside the three-mile territorial sea, including § 76-40(a) (general trash dumping ban), § 75A-10(c) (waste rendering waters unsightly), a…
When a North Carolina sheriff seizes drug-related cash and the U.S. Attorney pursues federal forfeiture and shares the money back, must the cash go to the county school board under the state constitution?
No. Article IX, Section 7 of the North Carolina Constitution sends 'clear proceeds' of forfeitures only to forfeitures resulting from violations of state penal law. A federal forfeiture under 21 U.S.C…
When a five-member North Carolina county board of social services picks its fifth member, do all four other members have to be present, and do they all have to agree?
Not all present, but yes all must agree. Under N.C.G.S. § 108A-3(b), four of the five members of a five-member county board of social services are appointed (two by the county commissioners, two by th…
If a NC city contracts with a private hospital to assign uniformed, armed city police officers to provide security at the hospital full time, does the city have to obtain a private security license under Chapter 74C?
No. When officers act as municipal police performing their official duties under a contract paid by the hospital, they are not 'engaging in a private protective service business' and fall within the e…
Can NC DMV waive an out-of-state salvage-title brand, or relax the 75% repair-cost test, or require an insurer total-loss declaration to also meet that test, when a vehicle comes in for titling?
No to all three. The AG concluded G.S. 20-71.3 is mandatory: NC DMV must honor an out-of-state salvage brand, must apply the 75% repair-cost test as written, and cannot impose the 75% test on top of a…
If one partner in a law firm files a divorce complaint, can another partner in the same firm notarize the client's verification, or does that violate the rule against attorneys taking oaths in their own cases?
The AG advised against the practice. G.S. 47-8 prohibits a practicing attorney from administering an oath to any paper used in a legal proceeding in which the attorney appears. Under partnership-agenc…
If a teenage driver is involved in a car accident in NC, does the Juvenile Code's confidentiality rule prevent the police report from identifying the teen as the driver?
No. G.S. 7A-675 protects investigations and records under the Juvenile Code (abuse, neglect, delinquency, undisciplined behavior). A factual DMV collision report under G.S. 20-166.1(e) is not a juveni…
Can a North Carolina county manager put a county Criminal Intake Center (jail detention cells) under someone other than the sheriff?
No. Under N.C.G.S. § 162-22, the sheriff has the care and custody of the county jail, and any facility with detention cells used to hold prisoners is a jail. Under § 162-24, the sheriff cannot delegat…
If a town council member moves out of town during their term, does the council seat automatically become vacant in North Carolina?
Yes. Under N.C.G.S. § 163-59, an elected city officer's seat is automatically (ipso facto) vacant the moment they cease to meet the qualifications for office, including the residency requirement. Once…
If a subcontractor on a NC state construction project tells the state the prime contractor owes them money, does the state have to (or should it) withhold the prime contractor's payment until the dispute is resolved?
No. The statutory payment bond under G.S. 44A-26 is the subcontractor's remedy. The state has no legal duty to withhold prime contractor payments on subcontractor notice. Withholding paragraph (Articl…
If a North Carolina town passes its own school-zone speed limit on a road that is part of the State Highway System, does the speed limit take effect on its own, or does the state DOT also have to pass a matching ordinance before drivers can actually be ticketed for going faster?
DOT has to concur. A municipal ordinance under G.S. 20-141.1 cannot, by itself, change the enforceable speed on a state highway in a school zone. As a practical matter, the town's ordinance is ineffec…
Can the Division of Motor Vehicles use its motor-carrier safety regulations to inspect and regulate a privately owned bus that is not being used to carry passengers for a fee?
No. The NC AG concluded that the Division of Motor Vehicles' authority under Article 17 of Chapter 20 extends only to for-hire transportation of passengers (common carriers, contract carriers, for-hir…
Can the NC DMV refuse to accept any proof of a name change for a driver's license except a court order or register-of-deeds filing, or does common-law name change still count?
DMV cannot make a court order or register-of-deeds filing the only acceptable proof. NC still recognizes common-law name change (use a new name openly, for non-fraudulent purposes), and DMV must accep…
When a North Carolina condominium developer adds new units to an expandable condominium, do the original plans for previously built units have to be refiled with the register of deeds?
No. Under N.C.G.S. § 47C-2-109(d), the developer can either record fresh plats and plans for the new units or record new certifications of the previously recorded plats and plans, as long as the origi…
Could North Carolina pass a law or rule allowing window tint as dark as 35% light transmittance on passenger car windows when federal safety standards require 70%?
No. A state rule allowing 35% light transmittance in windows needed for driving visibility would conflict with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 205 (which requires 70%) and would be preempted…
Which Department of Correction employees qualify for the Salary Continuation Plan when injured on the job?
The AG concluded an employee qualifies for the Salary Continuation Plan in G.S. 143-166.13 only if (1) the position requires certification by the Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Comm…
Should North Carolina Motor Vehicle Dealers' Advisory Board members get the $7 per diem from their 1973 statute or the higher $15 per diem from the general state board compensation statute?
$15. § 138-5 was rewritten in 1973 (Chapter 1397, effective July 1, 1974) to set a uniform $15-per-day per diem for all state boards, commissions, committees, and councils operating from State Treasur…
Can a North Carolina regional airport authority member, who runs a PR firm, contract with another company that is currently providing services to the same airport authority?
Likely not under N.C.G.S. § 14-234(a). The Asheville Regional Airport Authority was created by interlocal cooperation between Buncombe County and the City of Asheville and its members are public offic…
If a temporary employment agency supplies security guards to North Carolina businesses or government agencies, must the agency itself be licensed by the Private Protective Services Board?
Yes. Chapter 74C requires a security guard and patrol license for any person, firm, association, or corporation engaging in the business of providing contractual private security services for a fee. T…
Does a North Carolina licensed professional engineer need a separate private investigator license under Chapter 74C in order to perform engineering investigations such as fire-cause analysis or accident reconstruction?
No. The Practice of Engineering statute, N.C.G.S. § 89C-3(6), expressly includes 'consultation, investigation, evaluation, planning, and design of engineering works and systems' within the licensed en…
Does North Carolina's Medical Database Commission, after 1987 amendments allowing collection of patient social security numbers, comply with federal alcohol and drug abuse patient confidentiality regulations?
Yes. Article 11 of Chapter 131E was amended in 1987 (Session Laws ch. 592) to allow the Medical Database Commission to receive social security numbers for accuracy in linking patient data across provi…
Can a North Carolina public school principal who is also a county commissioner vote on the school board's budget request to the commission?
The AG concluded the offices are not formally incompatible, but advised abstention on specific votes that affect the school employee personally. Although the school employee is subordinate to the loca…
In NC, does the state constitution require that the court divide marital property only after the divorce becomes final, or is that just a statutory rule that the legislature could change?
Statutory, not constitutional. NC Const. art. X, § 4 (the married women's property clause) does not require equitable distribution to follow the absolute divorce decree. The 'follow the decree' rule c…
In North Carolina, can a public school student be released for part of each school day to attend a private school, especially a private specialized school for a disability?
Not as a right, but the local school board has discretion to allow it. The AG concluded that no statute requires public schools to release a student to a private school for part of the day. Under N.C.…
In North Carolina, can a limited partnership do business under an assumed (DBA) name, or does it have to use its registered partnership name?
It must use its registered name. (1) A North Carolina limited partnership formed under Article 5 of Chapter 59 may not operate under an assumed name. The Assumed Name Statute, N.C.G.S. § 66-68, specif…
If a North Carolina driver forfeits bond on a South Carolina traffic ticket, can NC DMV use that as a basis for sanctions like points or suspension on the NC license?
Yes. The AG concluded the DMV is no longer prohibited from acting on a South Carolina bond forfeiture. Two old NC Supreme Court cases (Wright and Donnelly) blocked sanctions because the SC defendant h…
After the 1986 law moved DHR and Correction educational employees off the State Personnel Act, who sets their salaries, and must those salaries exactly match the public school teacher pay scale?
(1) Whether a particular position is a teaching/educational position exempt from the State Personnel Act is decided initially by DHR or DOC, with appeal to the State Personnel Commission under § 126-5…
Can a driver be charged in North Carolina for passing a stopped school bus with its stop arm out if the bus is on a school driveway, not a public street?
No. G.S. 20-217, North Carolina's school-bus-stop-arm law, applies only when the bus is stopped on a 'street or highway.' Under G.S. 20-4.01, 'street' and 'highway' both require the path to be 'open t…
Does a North Carolina company that investigates insurance claims, personal injury, and workers' comp matters for insurance companies need a private investigator license?
Yes. Chapter 74C of the General Statutes requires a private investigator license for anyone who investigates the cause or responsibility for losses, accidents, damages, or injuries, who gathers eviden…
When a North Carolina local health department sanitation inspector inspects migrant labor housing, is the inspector acting for the state or just for the county?
For the state. Under N.C.G.S. § 130A Part 5, the Commission for Health Services adopts the rules and the Department of Human Resources (now DHHS) issues migrant housing permits and runs the inspection…
Can a North Carolina notary public commission be granted to someone who cannot read or write?
No. N.C.G.S. § 10-1.1(a) requires a notary applicant to complete an application form and a course of study on notary responsibilities, both of which presuppose literacy. Beyond the application step, a…
Can an architectural professional corporation set up an ESOP that holds shares in trust for non-licensed employees, when state law limits non-licensee ownership and bans voting trusts?
Yes. The AG concluded an ESOP at an architectural professional corporation is legal under G.S. 55B-6 if the trustee is a licensed shareholder-employee who votes the trust shares, and the total non-lic…
If a local law enforcement officer is in two retirement systems, can both systems' service count toward the Special Separation Allowance, and who decides whether the officer qualifies?
The AG concluded that for the local-government Law Enforcement Officer Special Separation Allowance, 'creditable service' means service for which credit is allowed under either retirement system the o…
Can the board of a state-operated children's hospital spend private donations without Department of Human Resources approval?
No. The AG concluded private donations to Lenox Baker Children's Hospital are state funds subject to the Executive Budget Act. The hospital board's authority to 'accept and use' donations under G.S. 1…
When a North Carolina state institution holds money for patients, students, or vocational rehab clients, which of those funds belong to the state, and which must be deposited with the State Treasurer?
The AG broke it down by fund type. Patient personal funds held in trust by mental health facilities are not state funds and do not have to be deposited with the State Treasurer. Vocational Rehabilitat…
Can a North Carolina licensed optometrist provide post-operative care to a cataract surgery patient without being charged with the unauthorized practice of medicine?
Yes, for routine post-op care with no complications. The procedures involved in post-operative cataract care (checking unaided visual acuity, slit-lamp exam of the external eye, ophthalmoscopic exam o…
When a private postsecondary school in North Carolina qualifies for the six-year mandatory-review exception under G.S. § 116-15, can the Board of Governors still subject the school to review more frequently than every six years?
Yes. The two-year and six-year periods in G.S. § 116-15(g) are statutory maximums (outside time limits for when review must happen), not rights to be free from review until those limits arrive. The Bo…
Can the Governor of North Carolina force counties and municipalities near a nuclear power plant to participate in the emergency response planning and training exercises the NRC requires before licensing the plant?
Yes. G.S. § 166A-5(1)a.6 expressly authorizes the Governor to use local government equipment, supplies, facilities, and personnel for emergency management planning and training, not just during a decl…
When a Council of State member serves ex officio on a North Carolina board or commission, can the official send a deputy or assistant to attend meetings, count toward quorum, and cast votes on the official's behalf?
Yes, in most circumstances. The Governor, Secretary of State, State Auditor, State Treasurer, Attorney General, and Commissioner of Insurance have explicit statutory delegation authority. The Lieutena…
When a North Carolina county board of health wants to fire its County Health Director, can it discharge the director at will, or does the State Personnel Act (Chapter 126) protect the director?
Chapter 126 protects the director. § 126-5(a) covers all employees of local health departments unless specifically exempted, and no statute exempts the health director. The 1983 rewrite of Chapter 130…
Does North Carolina's real estate excise stamp tax apply to a deed transferring the lessee's ownership interest in improvements built on leased land, where the underlying ground lease keeps those improvements in the lessee's ownership during the lease term?
No. The excise tax applies to deeds conveying 'lands, tenements or other realty.' Leasehold improvements owned by the lessee under a ground lease are 'chattels real,' an interest in real estate that i…
When a handicapped child is in the legal custody of the county Department of Social Services, can the DSS director sign special-education consent forms, or does the child need an independent surrogate parent?
The child needs a surrogate parent. The NC AG concluded that federal law (20 U.S.C. § 1415) requires a surrogate parent for any handicapped child who is a ward of the state, and bars anyone involved i…
Does the North Carolina Constitution require a three-fifths supermajority vote of both houses of the General Assembly before the State can grant a flood-control flowage easement on Umstead State Park land to Wake County?
No. Article XIV, § 5 of the NC Constitution requires legislative approval only when dedicated park property is used for purposes 'unrelated to' the preserve's purposes. Wake County's flood-control pro…
When a North Carolina county department of social services has legal custody of a handicapped child, can the DSS director sign consent forms for the child's special education services, or must a separate surrogate parent be appointed to represent the child's educational interests?
A surrogate parent must be appointed; the DSS director cannot consent. Federal IDEA law (20 U.S.C. § 1415) requires a surrogate parent for wards of the state, and prohibits any employee of a public ag…
When a defendant in North Carolina Small Claims Court (magistrate court) thinks the plaintiff might not be able to pay court costs if the defendant wins, can the defendant force the plaintiff to post a $200 prosecution bond under G.S. § 1-109?
No. G.S. § 1-109's plaintiff prosecution bond is a 'provisional or incidental remedy.' G.S. § 7A-231 lists which provisional and incidental remedies are available in small claims (claim and delivery, …
Does NCSU's TACIT program, which sells consulting services to North Carolina local governments to help them select computer systems, violate the Umstead Act's prohibition on state agencies competing with private business?
No. The Umstead Act forbids state agencies from rendering services 'to the public' that are ordinarily provided by private business. TACIT provides services to local governments, not to the general pu…
If a North Carolina county denies, terminates, or reduces a public-assistance or social-services benefit, does the appeal follow the regular state Administrative Procedure Act, or does the special Chapter 108A appeal statute govern?
Chapter 108A's § 108A-79 controls the appeal. Article 3 of the APA fills in only the procedural details (hearing-officer powers, notice, conduct of the hearing) that are not already in § 108A-79 and t…
Can a North Carolina home school recognized by the Office of Non-Public Schools 'validate' another family's home school in a different location as a 'satellite,' allowing the satellite family to comply with the compulsory attendance law without separately registering?
No. Each home school must independently meet the Article 39 requirements, register with the Office of Non-Public Schools, and submit to inspection. The Supreme Court's Delconte v. North Carolina decis…
Do North Carolina businesses that install or service retail storefront anti-theft alarms (the kind that beep when tagged merchandise passes the sensor) need a license under the Alarm Systems Licensing Act?
Yes for businesses that install or service the alarms for retail customers. No for retailers who buy and install their devices themselves; no for in-house employees who respond to the alarm. The Act c…
When a North Carolina couple has been separated for a year and then the defendant spouse becomes incompetent from an injury that happened after the separation, can the plaintiff still get a no-fault divorce under § 50-6, or is the only path the longer three-year incurable-insanity statute under § 50-5.1?
The plaintiff should be able to proceed under § 50-6 (one-year separation). § 50-5.1 only applies when the separation was 'by reason of' the defendant's incurable insanity. Here the parties separated …
Can a North Carolina district health department charge fares for a public transit service it operates as part of its health care mission, without first creating a separate transportation authority under § 160-496?
Yes, for transportation operated in conjunction with the department's health care responsibilities. G.S. § 62-260(a)(1) exempts political subdivisions from Utilities Commission regulation, and a distr…
Does the Governor of North Carolina have authority to declare a moratorium on issuing permits for new hazardous waste facilities?
No. The General Assembly's elaborate hazardous waste scheme directs the Department of Human Resources, the Commission for Health Services, the Governor's Waste Management Board, and the Hazardous Wast…
When a North Carolina student transfers between school systems by written agreement of the two local boards, can the agreement bar the transfer student from playing sports or joining other extracurricular activities at the new school?
No, absent unusual circumstances. The AG read § 115C-366 in light of the In Re Varner best-interest-of-the-child standard and concluded that conditioning a transfer on giving up extracurricular activi…
Does an owner who builds an apartment complex on his own land for rent to the general public need a North Carolina general contractor license if construction costs $30,000 or more?
No. The owner-builder exception in G.S. § 87-1 carves out a person building on land they own when the building is 'intended for use by that person, firm or corporation after completion.' The AG read '…
Under Chapter 387 of the 1985 NC Session Laws, how many special registration commissioners must a county appoint, and is the per-party cap a combined or separate limit for Democrats and Republicans?
The cap is per party, not combined. Each major-party county chair may separately recommend one commissioner per 2,500 county residents, with a floor of five and a ceiling of 100. So a 300,000-resident…
Can the North Carolina State Board of Education set the number of hours per week that a teacher or school support employee must work to earn the state-funded salary, or does that decision belong to the local board of education?
The State Board can set the workweek for both certified employees (teachers, principals, etc.) and noncertified support employees who are paid from state funds. The Constitution and Chapter 115C give …
Can a North Carolina city pass an ordinance setting a speed limit below 35 mph on a city street that is not part of the State highway system?
Yes. G.S. § 20-141(e) gives local authorities express power to set higher or lower speed limits on streets that are not part of the State highway system. The lowered limit takes effect only when appro…
If a North Carolina law enforcement officer reasonably suspects welfare fraud (AFDC, Food Stamps, Medicaid, State County Special Assistance), can the officer get the confidential public assistance records without a search warrant, subpoena, or the applicant's consent?
Yes. The 1984 AG concluded that the 'administration of the program' exception in North Carolina's confidentiality statute, and the parallel 'directly connected with program administration' language in…
Under G.S. 148-4.1(c) and the 1983 Acceleration Act, when the Secretary of Correction directs parole acceleration, does the Parole Commission have to release every Fair Sentence inmate within the eligibility window, or can it choose which inmates to release?
The Parole Commission has unfettered discretion to choose which otherwise-eligible inmates to include in the pool released under G.S. 148-4.1(a). The (c) provision does not vest any individual inmate …
Can a school let a county social services worker interview a child suspected of being abused or neglected at school without telling the parents first or having them present?
Yes. The AG concluded school officials may cooperate with DSS protective services workers and allow them to interview a reported child abuse or neglect victim at school without parental notice or pres…
Can a North Carolina hospital require its nurses, doctors, and other staff who work around pregnant women to show that they're immune to rubella, or be tested for it, or get the vaccine?
Yes. The 1984 AG concluded that a hospital, clinic, or other medical facility may, as a reasonable condition of employment, require personnel in contact with pregnant women to document rubella immunit…
Did defendants convicted of drug trafficking under the first version of G.S. 90-95 (offenses between July 1, 1980 and June 30, 1981) qualify for good time and gained time credits, and were they eligible for parole after serving the statutory minimum?
Yes on all counts. The AG concluded that prisoners sentenced under the first version of G.S. 90-95 were eligible for good time and gained time under DOC regulations, and were eligible for parole, but …
If a North Carolina county sets up a public transportation authority under Article 25 of Chapter 160A, does the county still have legal responsibility when the authority signs a contract or causes an injury?
Yes. The 1984 AG advised that a public transportation authority is a quasi-municipal corporation acting as an agency of the county that created it, so the county remains liable on the authority's cont…
Can the North Carolina Building Code Council adopt a rule that forces existing buildings to install energy efficient water heaters or boilers when they replace old units, even if the building was built in full compliance with the code when it went up?
No, unless the building is being altered, reconstructed, or its use is changed. The 1984 AG concluded that the Building Code Council's statutory authority covered new construction, reconstruction, and…
When a North Carolina depositor on a joint bank account with right of survivorship dies, must the personal representative of the estate take the appropriate portion of the joint account into the estate even though the funds would otherwise pass to the survivor?
Yes. The 1984 AG advised that G.S. 41-2.1(b)(4) requires the appropriate portion of a joint-with-survivorship bank account to be delivered to the personal representative for use in estate administrati…
If a North Carolina will excuses a testamentary trustee from filing inventories and annual accounts, does the trustee still have to qualify before the clerk of superior court?
Yes. The 1984 AG concluded that for wills executed after January 1, 1978, a testamentary trustee must qualify before the clerk under G.S. 36A-107, even if the will waives the duty to file inventories …
When North Carolina's 1984 redistricting bill ended up with contradictory language placing all of Vance County in Senatorial District 11 in one part of the bill but parts of Vance County in District 2 in another part, which version actually controls?
District 11. AG Rufus L. Edmisten concluded that the legislative history of Chapter 5 of the Extra Session of 1984 (the Senate floor amendment expressly placed all of Vance County in District 11) made…
Can a pregnant teenager in North Carolina give legal consent on her own for a sickle cell test as part of her prenatal care, or does she need a parent's permission first?
Yes, she can give consent on her own. The 1984 AG concluded that a minor may give effective consent for sickle cell testing as part of pregnancy-related medical care, because pregnancy is one of the c…
After a major airline pulled out of the Rocky Mount/Wilson airport and a smaller commuter carrier replaced it, can the NC Department of Transportation use Article 7 of Chapter 63 aviation funds to support an airport authority's advertising campaign to attract more travelers?
No. The 1984 AG concluded that while Article 7 of Chapter 63 authorizes NCDOT to promote aviation generally statewide (under G.S. 63-66), the statute's list of activities eligible for loans or grants …
If a North Carolina durable power of attorney references Chapter 32B of the General Statutes (the session-law designation) instead of Chapter 32A (the codified designation), is it still legally effective?
Yes. The 1984 AG concluded that a North Carolina power of attorney citing either Chapter 32A or Chapter 32B of the General Statutes is legally effective as a durable power of attorney. The 1983 act wa…
Can North Carolina's Parole Commission grant a prisoner eligible for '1/3 parole' under G.S. 15A-1371(g) an unsupervised parole, and does the '1/3 parole' rule reach Fair Sentencing Act felons (those with sentences under 18 months for crimes committed on or after July 1, 1981)?
Yes to unsupervised parole; no to Fair Sentencing Act felons. The 1984 AG concluded that the Parole Commission has discretion to waive the supervision condition in G.S. 15A-1374(b)(6) when granting '1…
Can a North Carolina resort developer that owns the local country club refuse club membership to buyers whose homes were listed exclusively with a competing real estate broker?
No. The 1984 AG concluded that the Lake Toxaway Company's policy of denying country club membership to purchasers of homes listed exclusively with competing brokers was both an unfair method of compet…
Can a North Carolina probation or parole officer, including an intensive probation officer, lawfully carry a concealed weapon while on duty?
Yes. The 1984 AG concluded that because probation and parole officers possess the power to arrest under G.S. 15-205, they fit within the G.S. 14-269 exemption permitting officers of the State charged …
Can a county voter registration official register an eligible voter when the official is physically outside the boundaries of the county where the official was appointed?
No. The AG concluded that under longstanding common-law rules, a public officer cannot exercise official authority beyond the territorial limits of the political subdivision that appointed the officer…
If a Scotland County commissioner dies during the first two years of a four-year term after the filing deadline for the upcoming primary, but before the general election, how does the county select party nominees for the November ballot to fill the seat?
The county should look to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 163-115, even though that statute by its terms addresses clerk-of-superior-court vacancies and state/district offices, not county commissioner vacancies. Th…
When a North Carolina county has already built a Rural Land Schedule that shows present-use value is lower than market value, does a farmer still have to prove anything else to get the present-use appraisal on his farm?
No. The 1984 AG concluded that if the county has already adopted a valid Rural Land Schedule showing the differential between present use value and highest-and-best-use value, the taxpayer only has to…
Can a person convicted of a felony in North Carolina ever obtain a handgun permit from the sheriff or clerk of court?
Generally no. The 1984 AG concluded that a convicted felon could not get a handgun permit under G.S. 14-404 or G.S. 14-409.3 until the federal firearms disability was lifted by the U.S. Treasury, and …
Is it legal in North Carolina to sell or to carry a combination weapon (the 'Assassin') that consists of metallic knuckles with an attached 3 1/2 inch blade?
Yes to selling; yes to carrying it openly. The 1983 AG concluded that the sale of the combination knuckle-blade weapon is legal, and that carrying it is legal provided it is not concealed. Carrying th…
Can a North Carolina county social services board adopt its own grievance procedure and appoint itself as the appeal body for personnel decisions made by the county social services director?
No. The 1983 AG concluded that a county social services board cannot constitute itself as a grievance-appeal panel for personnel decisions of the county social services director. Personnel authority o…
Are leases of buildings on the North Carolina State Fair grounds, including year-round leases to flea-market vendors, exempt from the statutory ban on government competition with private enterprise (G.S. 66-58), or does the exemption apply only during the nine-day October fair?
Year-round exempt. The 1983 AG concluded that 'The North Carolina State Fair' in G.S. 66-58(b)(12) refers to the year-round operation of the State Fair, not just the nine-day October event. The conclu…
After the U.S. Supreme Court's Lehr v. Robertson decision in 1983, do North Carolina adoption courts and child-placing agencies still have to notify a child's biological father of adoption or termination-of-parental-rights proceedings when the parents were not married?
Yes, in every case, regardless of Lehr. The 1983 amendment to G.S. 48-6(a)(3) added an explicit statutory requirement: a court can dispense with a putative father's consent only after giving him notic…
In a North Carolina nonpartisan town or city election, can a candidate drop out after the filing deadline has passed and have their name taken off the ballot?
Yes, if there is still time to reprint the ballots before election day. If the candidate withdraws before the ballots are printed, the name should not appear at all. If withdrawal happens after the ba…
Can a North Carolina life care center receive a certificate of need to add nursing home beds, even though the 1983 session law has a cross-reference to a subsection that doesn't quite fit, suggesting the legislature may not have meant to include life care centers?
Yes. The 1983 AG concluded that the reference in section 1 of Chapter 920 to 'section 31(f)' was a clerical mistake. The reference should be read as a reference to section 31 (which does authorize lif…
Does a Superior Court or Appellate Court judge who took the bench before January 1, 1974 but retired after that date get later increases to keep his retirement at two-thirds of the current salary paid to the office he left?
No. The 1983 AG concluded that the Uniform Judicial Retirement System protected the initial retirement allowance for pre-1974 judges by using the higher of the old (Chapter 7A) or new (Chapter 135) ca…
Did North Carolina have to provide a free public education to children with disabilities through age 21, the same as for nondisabled students, even though the special-needs definition statute only mentioned ages 5-18?
Yes. The AG concluded that the State's obligation to children with disabilities extended through graduation or age 21, the same as for other students. The narrower age range in the special-needs defin…
In North Carolina, does a company that builds commercial billboards for lease to advertisers need a Building Code permit before putting one up?
Yes. Commercial billboards (permanent outdoor advertising displays) are governed by Chapter XXIII of Volume 1 of the State Building Code, which requires a permit from the Building Official before any …
Can a retired North Carolina state employee participate in the state employee suggestion system and collect cash awards for cost-saving ideas submitted after retirement?
No. The 1983 AG concluded that G.S. 143-340(1) limits participation in the state employee suggestion system to current state employees. The statute speaks of 'state employees' suggestions' and 'employ…
If a North Carolina truck has four axles total but only three of them are touching the road (one lift axle is raised), does it count as a four-axle truck for the higher gross-weight limit, or as a three-axle truck capped at 47,500 pounds?
Three. The 1983 AG concluded that the legislative intent behind G.S. 20-118 was that the higher four-axle weight limit (64,000 pounds) applies only when the axles are actually load-bearing. A truck wi…
When can a North Carolina National Guard member start drawing the state pension under G.S. 127A-40, and which kinds of separation, federal-technician status, or other federal-pension status disqualify the member?
Only after separation. The 1983 AG concluded that the G.S. 127A-40 pension is payable only after the member meets the age and service requirements AND has been honorably discharged and separated from …
In North Carolina, can a county board of commissioners get around the two-consecutive-term limit on county social services board members by appointing each of two sitting members to serve the 'unexpired term' of the other?
No. The 1983 AG concluded that the swap maneuver does not work. G.S. 108A-6 allows a vacancy-fill appointment to not count as a term, but a swap between two sitting members does not produce any vacanc…
Can the president of a North Carolina telephone membership corporation also serve as a member of the state Rural Electrification Authority, or does that combination violate the state's dual-office-holding rule or its conflict-of-interest statute?
Yes, both seats. The 1983 AG concluded that simultaneously serving as president of a telephone membership corporation's board and as a member of the Rural Electrification Authority is not prohibited d…
If a North Carolina professional house mover's $350,000 comprehensive general liability policy carries a rider excluding the act of moving a building, does the policy still satisfy the licensing requirements of G.S. 20-359.1?
No. The 1983 AG concluded that a CGL policy whose rider excludes liability arising during the movement of a building or structure fails to meet G.S. 20-359.1's licensing requirement. The exclusion gut…
When a sheriff's drug raid seizes cash that nobody at the scene will claim, and the cash never gets used as evidence at trial, who eventually gets the money — the county school board, or the state escheat fund?
The county school board. The AG concluded that NC's specific statute on law-enforcement-seized property (Article 2 of Chapter 15) controls over the general escheat statute (G.S. § 116B-19), even thoug…
When a North Carolina precious-metals dealer is required to hold a purchased item for five days before sale or melting under G.S. § 66-170, exactly how do you count those five days, and does the count include or exclude weekends and holidays?
The five-day hold is counted under Rule 6(a) of the Rules of Civil Procedure. You exclude the day of purchase, exclude intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays (because the period is under …
Does a self-propelled golf cart driven on a North Carolina public highway require a license, liability insurance, and a safety inspection?
Yes to all three. The AG concluded a self-propelled golf cart used on the public highway was a 'motor vehicle' under G.S. 20-4.01(23). The driver needed at least a Class C license, the cart had to mee…
When a North Carolina court or county DSS sends a child to live with the child's parent, grandparent, or other relative who lives in another state, does the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children apply, or is this kind of relative placement exempt?
The Compact applies. The AG concluded that when a NC court, government agency, or child-placing agency arranges to send a NC child to live with a parent, relative, or guardian in another party state, …
Who regulates septic systems in North Carolina after the 1981 Ground Absorption Sewage Act, and what happens to permits issued before the transition? Can a local health board write its own septic rules?
DHR (now DHHS) generally controls. Local boards of health that want their own septic rules normally need DHR approval, but they can adopt stricter rules without approval if local conditions justify it…
Can the North Carolina Attorney General's Office act on behalf of counties under the Set-off Debt Collection Act to collect judgments against social services recipients?
No. The AG concluded N.C.G.S. § 105A-2(1)h made the Attorney General's Office a 'claimant agency' only for State agencies whose claims had been reduced to judgment. Counties were defined as claimant a…
Can a coastal North Carolina county like New Hanover regulate where floating homes can be located, how dense they can be, and how they can be built when those homes sit on public waters that border the county's shoreline?
Yes. The AG concluded that New Hanover County has authority under both its general zoning power (G.S. § 153A-340) and its land use plan under the Coastal Area Management Act to regulate floating homes…
Is a North Carolina restaurant's parking lot a 'public vehicular area' for purposes of the Motor Vehicle Code when the restaurant is closed for the night?
Yes. The AG concluded G.S. 20-4.01(32)'s 'public vehicular area' definition covers a restaurant parking lot whether the restaurant is open or closed. The statute does not condition coverage on whether…
When North Carolina paused new rest-home licensing in 1982 to slow the growth of institutional elder care, did that moratorium also block existing rest homes from getting relicensed when they changed owners or administrators?
No. The AG concluded that the moratorium's 'initial licensure' restriction applied only to new facilities or new beds, not to changes of ownership or administrator at an already-licensed facility. The…
Do North Carolina vocational-education instructors need a general contractor's license to supervise student construction of residential dwellings as a classroom project on school board property?
No. The AG concluded G.S. 87-1's general-contractor licensing requirement does not apply to vocational instructors supervising student-built residential dwellings on local school board property. G.S. …
After North Carolina rewrote its alcoholic beverage laws in 1981, could the ABC Commission issue on-premises wine permits to Gastonia restaurants and hotels even though Gastonia voters had previously voted for ABC stores only (no on-premises wine)?
Yes. The AG concluded that the 1981 rewrite of NC's ABC laws (Chapter 412) preempted prior local-option election results that had limited wine sales in ABC-store jurisdictions. Under new G.S. 18B-603(…
May a North Carolina county adopt an ordinance regulating the method of trapping wildlife?
No. The AG concluded the General Assembly had preempted the entire field of wildlife regulation in G.S. 113-133.1, leaving only ordinances with 'minor and incidental' impact (such as a no-firearm-disc…
Did the 1981 amendment to North Carolina's interest-on-judgments statute, G.S. 24-5, allow clerks to assess interest on costs?
No. The AG concluded the 1981 amendment to G.S. 24-5 (Session Laws 1981, c. 327) was aimed at changing the accrual period for interest on compensatory damages in tort actions covered by liability insu…
If a North Carolina business holds a federal firearms license and brings handguns into inventory for resale, does the business also need a sheriff's permit for each handgun, and what happens when a pawn shop owner pulls a handgun out of inventory for personal use?
No sheriff's permit is required to bring a handgun into a federally licensed dealer's or pawn shop's resale inventory. But once a handgun is removed from inventory and converted to the dealer's or paw…
When can a North Carolina sheriff deny a permit to possess a machine gun for scientific or experimental purposes, and does federal firearms registration override the state permit requirement?
The AG concluded a sheriff had wide discretion under G.S. 14-409. The sheriff had to satisfy himself the applicant fit within the statute's scientific-or-experimental exception and complied with any c…
Does the 1981 dual-compensation rule in G.S. 135-72 cut off Uniform Judicial Retirement System benefits for North Carolina judges who had already retired and started serving as federal judges before the statute's October 9, 1981 effective date?
No. The AG concluded G.S. 135-72 (enacted by Chapter 978 of the 1981 Session Laws) used the future-oriented phrases 'members who are appointed' and 'should a retired former member be appointed,' which…
Can a North Carolina nonprofit raffle off a house or other real estate, and if so, who has to be licensed (the organization, the ticket sellers, real estate brokers), and is there a cap on how valuable the property can be?
Yes, an exempt nonprofit may raffle real estate. The $500 prize cap in G.S. § 14-292.1(g) covers cash raffle prizes only, leaving no statutory cap on real estate prize value. The exempt organization's…
When Congress changed federal depreciation rules in August 1981 to apply retroactively to property placed in service after December 31, 1980, did NC corporations get to use those faster federal write-offs for state income tax purposes too, given that NC's corporate tax statute cross-referenced the Internal Revenue Code 'in effect on January 1, 1981'?
Yes. The AG concluded that the federal Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981's accelerated depreciation rules flowed through to NC corporate income tax for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 1…
Can a North Carolina court order a criminal defendant to take psychotropic medication against his will, when the medication is needed to make him competent to stand trial and he is refusing it?
Yes, under limited conditions. The AG concluded that a NC court can order involuntary administration of psychotropic medication if a psychiatrist testifies directly that the medication is likely to re…
Can a city police officer tow a car off a private restaurant's parking lot just because the restaurant owner asks, and does the city police department have any duty to arrest people loitering on that private lot?
No on both counts. The AG concluded that the police should not tow a vehicle from private property unless the owner first puts the request in writing and assumes responsibility for damages. And police…
If a retired North Carolina district or superior court judge bought back his military service time within the Uniform Judicial Retirement System, does that purchased military service count toward the 15 years of creditable service required to be commissioned as an emergency judge?
Yes. The AG concluded that purchased military service in the Uniform Judicial Retirement System is creditable service for purposes of the 15-year requirement to serve as an emergency judge under G.S. …
Once a North Carolina felon is fully released from probation, parole, and the Department of Correction, can he legally possess a handgun outside his home or business right away, and does a Governor's Pardon of Forgiveness give him his full firearms rights back?
No on both counts. The AG concluded that, after the 1975 repeal of the restoration-of-citizenship exception, a NC felon cannot possess a handgun or weapon of mass destruction outside his home or busin…
If a North Carolina district court judge was serving as a non-attorney judge on January 1, 1981, when a new constitutional amendment required judges to be licensed attorneys, can that judge later sit out a term and then run again, or does taking a break end the grandfather protection?
The judge can run again. AG Rufus L. Edmisten concluded that Article IV, Section 22 of the NC Constitution creates a permanent grandfather clause for any person who was elected or serving as a judge o…
When a child gets a dental exam or dental treatment under North Carolina's Medicaid EPSDT program (Early Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment), do the regular Medicaid prior-approval rules and copayment rules apply, or are EPSDT dental services treated separately?
EPSDT dental services are separate and are not subject to prior approval or copayment. The AG concluded that the 1979-81 Appropriations Act's prior-approval requirement for 'dental services' applied o…
If someone in North Carolina got welfare benefits by lying on the application and then files for bankruptcy, does the bankruptcy wipe out the county's claim to be paid back, or does the county still have a route to recover the money?
The county can still recover, if the county DSS properly presents its claim in the bankruptcy. A debt for public assistance obtained by fraud, false representation, or a materially false written finan…
Can a North Carolina city deny a special use permit for a bingo establishment to a for-profit corporation whose prizes exceed ten dollars per game?
Yes. The AG concluded a Goldsboro city ordinance conditioned on compliance with the Bingo and Raffles law could be enforced to deny a permit. G.S. 14-292.1 limits regular bingo to tax-exempt organizat…
Do the administrative and investigative assistants a district attorney can hire under G.S. 7A-68 and 7A-69 have to take an oath of office, or are they just employees?
No oath required by default. The 1981 AG concluded that these positions, as defined by the statutes, do not involve the exercise of sovereign State power, so they are employees and not public officers…
When North Carolina's Child Support Enforcement statute says 'the county attorney or an attorney retained by the county and/or State shall represent the State in all proceedings brought under this section' (G.S. 110-135), does that requirement reach only debt-collection actions under 110-135, or also subrogation actions under 110-137?
Both. The 1981 AG concluded that G.S. 110-135's last sentence requires representation by a county or retained attorney in all State-instituted child support enforcement proceedings, whether the action…
When a fugitive in North Carolina waives extradition and agrees to return to the demanding state, can he post bond and walk out while waiting for officers from that state to come pick him up, or must he stay locked up until they arrive?
Must stay locked up. The 1980 AG concluded that the Uniform Criminal Extradition Act allows bail at one stage only (between arrest as a fugitive and issuance of the Governor's warrant). After arrest o…
Can a member of the Uniform Judicial Retirement System whose only prior service was as a Superior or Appellate Court judge retire from the bench before January 1984 and then later buy military service credit?
No. The 1980 AG concluded that the purchase right under G.S. 135-4(f)(6) requires ten years of 'membership service,' which for judges means service as a judge while a member of the system. The Uniform…
In a county health department's venereal disease clinic with no physician on site, can a registered nurse give gonorrhea treatment (penicillin, tetracycline if allergic, spectinomycin if pregnant) under written standing orders from a physician?
Yes. The 1980 AG concluded the protocol was valid: confirmation of a positive culture or contact status is not a diagnosis the nurse makes, and the physician who wrote the standing orders pre-selected…
In North Carolina, can a Chief Medical Examiner refuse to release a body to the surviving spouse or closest relative because that person is a suspect in the death?
No. Even when the spouse or next of kin is under suspicion, has been arrested, or has been indicted, the Medical Examiner must release the body for burial once examiner duties are complete. The Chapte…
Do North Carolina foster parents who have cared for a child for two or more years have legal standing to file a petition to terminate the biological parents' rights, even if the foster parents are working as agents of the county Department of Social Services that placed the child with them?
Yes. The AG concluded that under G.S. § 7A-289.24(5), any person (including a foster parent) with whom a child has continuously resided for two or more years before the petition has standing to bring …
In North Carolina, can someone other than a licensed physician legally pronounce a person dead?
No, as a matter of medical-practice law: determining whether a person is dead is part of the practice of medicine and must be done by a licensed physician applying ordinary and accepted standards. But…
If a North Carolina defendant on probation falls behind on court-ordered restitution and then files Chapter 13 bankruptcy, does the automatic stay or the eventual discharge prevent the Superior Court from arresting him for violating probation?
No. The 1980 AG concluded that the defendant-probationer may be jailed. The bankruptcy automatic stay expressly does not apply to criminal proceedings (11 U.S.C. § 362(b)(1)). Restitution ordered as a…
Can a volunteer citizen group, even one sanctioned by the Chief District Court Judge to advise the Juvenile Court on custody review, see the confidential protective service case files DSS keeps on children in foster care?
No, unless the group's review is specifically authorized by Social Services Commission or DHR rules as 'directly connected with the administration of public assistance programs.' The 1980 AG concluded…
When a Mecklenburg County partition proceeding's clerk-issued interim ruling on commissioner fees is appealed to Superior Court, does the Superior Court take over the whole case, or does the case go back to the clerk after the judge rules on the appealed issue?
The Superior Court may keep the case. G.S. 1-276 lets the judge 'hear and determine all matters in controversy' in any civil action or special proceeding that comes up from the clerk, or remand to the…
If a North Carolina parent voluntarily admits their child to a psychiatric or mental-health treatment facility, can the parent later remove the child before the required judicial hearing happens?
No. Once the child is admitted on the parent's voluntary application, only the court or the treatment facility itself can release the child, and only when one of them determines the child does not nee…
If a North Carolina county can't pay its share of Medicaid because the legislature suddenly raised the county percentage, can the county borrow money from the State Public Assistance Contingency Fund without holding a referendum?
Yes, but only if the Governor formally declares in writing that the situation is an emergency immediately threatening public health or safety. That route uses the Art. V, Sec. 4(2)(e) constitutional e…
If the State drops or loses a criminal prosecution, does that automatically let the court tax court costs against the prosecuting witness, and does the judge have to make written findings of fact before doing so?
No to automatic taxation; yes to required findings. The 1980 AG concluded that G.S. 6-49 only authorizes taxing costs against the prosecuting witness when the court forms the opinion that 'there was n…
If a North Carolina defendant enters a no-contest (nolo contendere) plea to a felony charge and is sentenced, does that plea by itself strip away the defendant's right to vote, the way a guilty plea or jury verdict of guilty would?
No. The AG concluded that the 1971 NC Constitution, which disqualifies only persons 'adjudged guilty of a felony,' is more specific than the pre-1971 language that disqualified anyone 'convicted, or w…
If a North Carolina driver gets convicted of DWI in a different North Carolina county than where they live and loses their license, do they have to apply for a limited driving privilege in the same level of court (superior or district) that convicted them, or can they pick whichever court is easier in their home county?
The driver has to apply to the equivalent level of court. The AG concluded that when an in-state out-of-county conviction triggers the limited driving privilege application, the driver must apply in t…
If a county or the State has appropriated less money for Aid to the Needy Blind than is needed to pay every fully qualified applicant, can DHR or the county turn applicants away because the money ran out?
No. The 1980 AG concluded that the obligation to accept all duly qualified and otherwise eligible applicants is not reduced or limited by the amount appropriated. A county's failure to fund its share …
Under North Carolina's new Domestic Violence Act, if a police officer has probable cause to believe someone is violating a court protective order but the offender doesn't know the order exists, must the officer make a mandatory arrest under G.S. 50B-4(b)?
No. The 1980 AG concluded that the mandatory arrest provision should be read as requiring probable cause to believe the violation was 'willful.' Civil contempt requires willful disobedience, which req…
When North Carolina police arrest a juvenile under age 14, can the juvenile waive the right to have an attorney present during interrogation, or does the law require an attorney to be present no matter what the child says?
The juvenile under 14 can waive the right to have an attorney present. But the juvenile cannot waive the separate right to have some supporting adult, a parent, guardian, custodian, or attorney, prese…
Can a registered nurse give a refill dose of caudal anesthesia through a catheter the physician already set in place, when the physician orders the specific refill amount each time?
Yes. The 1979 AG concluded that injecting additional doses of a caudal analgesic through a catheter the physician inserted, on the physician's specific direct order each time, falls within the RN's sc…
Can the North Carolina State Auditor audit the books of hospitals and other Medicaid vendors to verify that DHR paid them correctly, and can the auditor see records that are confidential under state public-assistance law?
Yes to both. The 1979 AG concluded that G.S. 147-58(16) gives the State Auditor general authority to examine vendor books for transactions with State agencies. The confidentiality statute (G.S. 108-45…
Does the State Budget Manual, which dictates how agencies prepare and execute the budget, count as 'rules' under North Carolina's Administrative Procedures Act, and if so does it have to be filed with the Attorney General and go through the standard rulemaking procedure?
Yes to both, with exceptions. The 1979 AG concluded that portions of the Budget Manual that are 'rules' under G.S. 150A-58 must be filed with the Attorney General (under Article 5, Publication of Admi…
Three configurations: (1) Can public assistance pay for care in a rest home owned by an employee of a State Alcoholic Rehabilitation Center? (2) Same, but the home is owned by a corporation where the employee is officer or shareholder? (3) The home is rented from an employee of an area mental health, mental retardation and substance abuse authority?
No, No, and Yes. The 1979 AG concluded that G.S. 108-65.2's prohibition reaches State Alcoholic Rehabilitation Center employees (they are DHR employees) whether they own the home directly or through a…
Can a North Carolina city be served with a garnishment for child support when the noncustodial parent is a city employee, or does sovereign immunity protect the city from garnishment proceedings?
Cities are not immune. The 1979 AG concluded that the general rule (governments cannot be garnished without statutory authorization) does not control under G.S. 110-136, because the statute starts wit…
When a sheriff's deputy or police officer serves or tries to serve a civil summons, does North Carolina law require the court to add a process fee to the case costs and collect it, then send the money to the right governmental unit?
Yes. The 1979 AG concluded that G.S. 7A-311(a)(1) requires the fee to be assessed, collected and remitted whether the officer successfully serves the process or only attempts to serve it. The legislat…
In a worthless check prosecution, can the prosecuting witness get the new $5 witness fee added to costs if the witness wasn't actually present when the magistrate took payment or when the defendant pleaded guilty in court?
No. The 1979 AG concluded that the witness must be in actual attendance on the court to be entitled to the fee. G.S. 14-107(5)'s new fee provision (added by Chapter 837, Session Laws of 1979) is an ex…
When the State of North Carolina is the majority stockholder of a railroad company chartered as a private corporation, can the railroad sell or buy land on its own, or does it need the Governor and Council of State to sign off first?
Sales (dispositions) need Governor and Council approval; ordinary purchases (acquisitions) do not. The 1979 AG read G.S. 124-5 as covering only dispositions, leases, mortgages, and other encumbrances …
When a person under 18 with no prior convictions has three misdemeanor charges consolidated for trial and gets a sentence within the limit for a single offense, can the judge expunge the whole batch under G.S. 15-223?
Yes. The 1979 AG concluded that consolidated misdemeanor charges receiving a single-offense sentence should be treated as one misdemeanor for expungement purposes. The statute is remedial and should b…
Can a North Carolina parent satisfy the state's compulsory attendance law by teaching her child at home, either under the new 1979 nonpublic-school deregulation statutes (Articles 32A and 32B) or under the longstanding 'private school' provision in G.S. 115-166?
No to both. The 1979 AG concluded that home instruction was not a 'school of religious charter' or a 'nonpublic school' under Articles 32A and 32B, which were intended to reach only established educat…
Can an attorney who sits on the local Area Mental Health Board be paid for legal services he renders to a private nonprofit group home that has a service contract with the Area Authority his board governs?
No. The 1979 AG concluded that the arrangement would violate G.S. 14-234, the public-officials self-dealing bar. While prior AG opinions had distinguished between (a) a board member who was a partner,…
Can North Carolina use its uniform reciprocal enforcement of support law to enforce child support obligations between NC residents and residents of West Germany, the same way it enforces support orders across state lines within the U.S.?
Yes. The 1979 AG concluded that the 1975 amendment to N.C. Gen. Stat. 52A-3(13) expanded the definition of 'State' under URESA to include 'any foreign jurisdiction in which this or a substantially sim…
Under the 1977 rewrite of the North Carolina statutes governing Area Mental Health Authorities, does a satellite unit operated by an Area Mental Health Authority require its own license? What about a private agency that contracts with the Area Mental Health Authority to provide services that are statutorily required of the Authority?
Yes to both. The 1979 AG concluded that under G.S. 122-35.51 (effective July 1, 1977) every 'area mental health facility' operated under Chapter 122 must obtain a license issued by the Department of H…
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?
The State Personnel Director. The 1979 AG concluded that the Office of State Personnel was a largely independent agency placed under the Department of Administration only for organizational purposes. …
When a driver crashes into someone because the driver did not slow down even though the driver was within the posted speed limit, is failure-to-decrease-speed only a civil negligence question, or can the State also charge it as a crime?
Both. The 1979 AG concluded that N.C.G.S. § 20-141(m) creates a misdemeanor offense of failure to decrease speed as necessary to avoid a collision, punishable under § 20-176 by up to $100 in fines and…
In North Carolina, if a woman who is 22 weeks pregnant learns through testing that her fetus has a severe genetic disorder that will leave the child severely intellectually disabled or unlikely to live past infancy, can she request and obtain an abortion based on that diagnosis alone under the state's abortion statutes as they stood in 1979?
No, under the 1979 AG reading of the statutes then in force. The 1979 AG concluded that G.S. 14-45.1(b) authorized post-20-week abortions only when there was a 'substantial risk that continuance of th…
If a North Carolina National Guardsman is hurt at a federally required two-week summer training camp and the federal government already pays his medical bills, full duty pay, and other federal benefits, can he also collect North Carolina workers' compensation from the State?
No. The 1979 AG concluded that under G.S. 97-2(2), a Guardsman injured while in the service of the United States is not a State employee for workers' compensation purposes, so no State workers' comp i…
If the State Treasurer's Retirement and Health Benefits Division gets a request from someone other than the retirement system member, asking for information from that specific member's individual retirement account, does the Division have to turn over the records, or can it withhold them based on its internal rule that says individual retirement benefits won't be publicly disclosed?
Yes, the Division has to turn over the records. The 1979 AG concluded that individual member retirement account information is a 'public record' under G.S. 132-1, and any person may seek access under …
After a person is convicted of driving under the influence, can the district court still grant the person a limited driving privilege through a motion for appropriate relief that the person files more than ten days after the trial?
Generally no. The 1979 AG concluded that under G.S. 15A-1411 and 15A-1415(b), a defendant could only obtain post-judgment relief through a motion for appropriate relief filed more than 10 days after e…
When someone signs and delivers a deed giving real property to a North Carolina county, does the county legally own the land on the date the deed is signed, or only on the later date when the county board of commissioners formally votes to accept the gift?
Only on the date the board of commissioners formally accepts the deed. The AG concluded that NC law requires county actions to be taken by the board of commissioners, so a deed signed in 1968 but not …
After a DUI conviction, the court can order the defendant to complete an alcohol rehabilitation course. Can the judge make the program's tuition fee part of the court costs, have the clerk of court collect it along with the other costs, and then forward it to the rehab provider?
No. The 1979 AG concluded that Article 28 of Chapter 7A (the uniform-cost statute, § 7A-304 et seq.) defines the costs the clerk may collect in the trial divisions, and a third-party rehabilitation co…
Is a notary public considered a public officer in North Carolina, and if so, can a notary hold one appointive office with a city and one appointive office with a county at the same time, or does that count as three public offices and run afoul of the constitutional limit?
Notary yes, three offices no. The 1979 AG concluded that a notary public is a public officer under North Carolina law, and that under Article VI, Section 9 of the State Constitution as supplemented by…
When North Carolina amended its intangibles tax in 1978 to reach money on deposit in stock-owned savings and loan associations, did the tax also apply to deposits in federally chartered stock savings and loan associations, or did federal law block the state from taxing those federal deposits?
Federal law blocked it. The 1979 AG concluded that, although G.S. 105-199 as amended in 1978 was written broadly enough to reach deposits in all stock-owned S&L associations, applying it to federal st…
If a moped (a bicycle with a small helper motor) is going faster than 20 miles per hour, does it lose its 'exempt bicycle with helper motor' status and become a regulated motor vehicle?
Yes, if the engine is doing the work. The 1979 AG concluded that N.C.G.S. § 20-4.01(23) and (27)(d) exempt bicycles with helper motors only if the engine produces 'ordinary pedaling speeds up to a max…
When a doctor writes standing orders telling a nurse to give certain medications under specified conditions, can the nurse legally carry them out? And does it make a difference whether the medications are controlled substances?
Yes for routine medications, no for controlled substances. The 1979 AG concluded that under G.S. 90-18(14) and the joint Board of Medical Examiners and Board of Nursing regulations at 32E NCAC, only a…
The City of Raleigh made a $12,500 appropriation to the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority and conditioned the grant on the Authority signing a nondiscrimination agreement. Can a city use a funding appropriation to impose policy conditions on a separately governed regional airport authority?
No. The 1979 AG concluded that the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority was created by Chapter 168 of the 1939 Session Laws as a quasi-municipal corporation governed by directors appointed by the cities o…
Does someone need a North Carolina general contractor's license if they're an employee of the owner who manages a construction project worth more than $30,000?
Yes, if the employee has overall supervision and control of the project. The 1979 AG concluded that an employee of an owner who has overall authority and control of a $30,000-or-more construction proj…
When a sheriff is told to enforce a court judgment against someone who owes money, how hard does the sheriff have to look for the debtor's property before reporting back to the court that the debtor has nothing to seize?
Due diligence. The 1979 AG concluded that under Parks v. Alexander, 29 N.C. 412, a sheriff cannot return 'no property' on an execution simply because of a general report that the debtor is insolvent. …
Who decides who gets a key to the register of deeds' office, the register of deeds or the county board of commissioners?
The register of deeds. The 1979 AG concluded that even though G.S. 153A-169 makes the board of county commissioners responsible for supervising the maintenance, repair, and use of county property and …
When the North Carolina Child Support Enforcement Program is trying to locate a parent who has abandoned and deserted children, can it force a state, county, or city agency to hand over otherwise confidential personnel records about that parent, even though state personnel records statutes normally prohibit releasing them for use in a criminal prosecution like criminal nonsupport?
Yes. The 1979 AG concluded that G.S. 110-139, the parent locator confidentiality override enacted in 1975, supersedes the State, county, and city personnel-confidentiality statutes (G.S. 126-24(5), G.…
If the State of North Carolina (through the Wanchese Harbor Commission or a successor) operates water and sewage facilities at the Wanchese Industrial Park and bills tenants and outside hookups, does the State need a certificate from the Utilities Commission to do that?
No. The 1978 AG concluded that the Utilities Commission's regulatory authority under Chapter 62 only reaches entities that meet the statutory definition of 'public utility' in N.C.G.S. § 62-3(23), and…
In North Carolina, can my employer take money out of my paycheck to cover a cash register shortage, missing inventory, or a returned bad check that I accepted, even if I signed something saying it was okay?
No. Under NC's Uniform Wage Payment Law, an employer cannot withhold any portion of an employee's wages for cash register shortages, inventory shortages, damages to property, or bad checks the employe…
Can a defense lawyer or a member of the public demand copies of the chemical test operator's log, breathalyzer rights form (HP-332A), or alcoholic influence report (HP-327) from a North Carolina law enforcement agency under the public records law?
No, while held by the law enforcement agency. The 1978 AG concluded all five categories of breathalyzer-related records (chemical test operator's log, HP-332A rights form, HP-327 alcoholic influence r…
If a town council member or county commissioner owns stock in a corporation, or serves as an officer of that corporation, can the town or county lawfully enter into a contract with the corporation?
No. The 1978 AG concluded that a public officer who is a stockholder or officer of a corporation violates G.S. 14-234 by participating, directly or indirectly, in a contract between his public body an…
Are the Highway Patrol's copies of a North Carolina Uniform Traffic Ticket (the District First Sergeant's transmittal copy and the issuing officer's enforcement copy with notes) public records that any member of the public can inspect, either before or after the trial of the offense?
No on all three counts. The District First Sergeant is a temporary conduit, not a 'custodian' of public records under § 132-2, and the public can get the same information from the clerk of court or th…
When a North Carolina criminal court finds that a defendant lacks the mental capacity to proceed with trial and orders involuntary civil commitment proceedings under G.S. 15A-1003(a), is the defendant required to first be examined by a qualified physician at one of the facilities described in G.S. 122-58.4, or can a law enforcement officer skip that local-physician step and take the defendant directly to a regional state psychiatric hospital?
The local physician examination is required. The 1978 AG concluded that under G.S. 15A-1003(a) and the related involuntary commitment statutes, a defendant found incapable of proceeding with trial mus…
When someone serving a sentence in a state prison becomes mentally ill and dangerous to himself or others, who is the person responsible for filing the petition to involuntarily commit him to a mental health treatment facility?
Only a staff psychiatrist at the prison. The 1978 AG concluded that G.S. 122-85, which specifically addresses involuntary commitment of prisoners, overrode the general rule in G.S. 122-58.3 that any p…
When deciding whether a child-care arrangement is big enough that it has to be licensed as a day-care facility, do you count kids who are there for only a few hours after school? And does the exclusion for relatives caring for children only cover parents and grandparents, or does it also cover great-aunts and other relatives?
Don't count the short-stay kids; do count the kids with non-grandparent relatives. The 1978 AG concluded that because violating the day-care licensing requirement is a criminal offense (G.S. 110-103 m…
When North Carolina adds new required immunizations (like red measles or rubella) to its school-entry rules, do all children currently in school have to catch up, or only kids enrolling for the first time after the new rule took effect? And if a school district let an unimmunized child stay past the 30-day grace period by mistake, can the school still exclude that child later?
Only first-time enrollees are caught by each new requirement, and the school can still enforce the rule after a missed grace period. The 1978 AG concluded that G.S. 130-87 (as amended by 1971 and 1977…
After a district court judge has involuntarily committed someone to a state mental hospital under Article 5A of Chapter 122, does the Department of Human Resources need a new court order to move the patient to a private hospital later, or can the Department transfer the patient on its own?
On its own. The 1978 AG concluded that G.S. 122-80 authorized the Department of Human Resources to order a transfer from a state hospital to a licensed private hospital without going back to court for…
Can a local Board of Realtors, which is a private trade association, require a licensed real estate agent to first join the Board (and pay Board membership fees) before that agent can apply for access to the multiple listing service that the Board operates?
No, if the MLS is an essential competitive tool. The 1978 AG concluded that real estate brokering is a 'trade' within both federal and state antitrust law, and that conditioning MLS access on Board me…
If a will has a self-proving affidavit certificate signed by the testator and the witnesses, but no separate attestation by the witnesses, can the clerk admit the will to probate? And if not, can the witnesses come back into court later and attest the will so it can be probated?
No to both. The 1978 AG concluded that the self-proving certificate under N.C.G.S. § 31-11.6 was an alternative method of proving an already-attested will, not a substitute for the underlying attestat…
In North Carolina, when a chiropractor's patient was previously imaged at a public hospital, can the chiropractor get access to those existing diagnostic X-rays for treatment, or does the hospital get to refuse and force the chiropractor to take new images?
The chiropractor can review the existing X-rays. After the 1977 amendment to G.S. § 90-153, a licensed chiropractor has the right of access to a patient's diagnostic X-ray records and laboratory recor…
If a hospital or other health provider has already started building or developing a new health service before North Carolina's new Certificate of Need law was ratified in mid-1978, but the project will not be finished by the January 1, 1979 effective date, does the provider have to go back and get a Certificate of Need from the state to keep going?
No, the AG concluded, if the provider had already 'proceeded with development' before the Act was ratified on June 16, 1978. The Act applies to new institutional health service projects, but reading i…
Can a North Carolina city and the county it sits in enter into an interlocal cooperation agreement under which the city designates the county tax collector to also serve as the city tax collector, consolidating tax collection duties for both governments?
Yes. The 1978 AG concluded that under Article 20 of Chapter 160A (Interlocal Cooperation), a city and county can contract for one to perform the tax collection function of the other. G.S. 160A-460 def…
If a North Carolina county or city passes a floodplain ordinance, does it apply to the State of North Carolina when the State builds something on State-owned land inside that county or city?
It depends on the source of the ordinance. The 1978 AG concluded that floodplain ordinances enacted under the general local zoning statutes (Chapter 153A, Art. 18, Part 3 for counties; Chapter 160A, A…
Can a North Carolina corporation legally spend money to take a public position for or against a question on the ballot, like a bond referendum or a school referendum, when the state's election statutes broadly prohibit corporate expenditures 'for any political purpose whatsoever'?
Yes. The 1978 AG concluded that the First Amendment, as explained by the U.S. Supreme Court in First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti (decided April 26, 1978), protects a corporation's right to mak…
If a customer pays a North Carolina retail merchant with a check that bounces, can the merchant tack on a $5 (or similar) service fee for processing the returned check? And if so, can a collection agency that takes over the account collect that service fee from the customer?
Under certain circumstances yes for the merchant; only with an express agreement yes for the collection agency. The 1978 AG concluded: (1) G.S. 6-21.3 authorizes a $5 court-cost recovery only after a …
When the Governor of North Carolina formally declares an 'energy crisis' under the Energy Policy Act of 1975 and triggers the Emergency Energy Program, does he have the legal authority to compel the Public Utilities Commission and other state agencies to implement the Program's rules and rationing measures, and can he set up his own administrative-appeal procedures for decisions made under the Program?
Yes to both. The 1978 AG concluded that under G.S. 113B-23 the Governor, on declaring an energy crisis and obtaining Legislative Committee on Energy Crisis Management approval, has authority to order …
When a state employee in North Carolina is disciplined and appeals, can the department spill the details to the news media? Does it matter whether the hearing is at the agency level or at the State Personnel Commission level, and does the public have a right to attend?
The 1978 AG concluded: (1) Departmental grievance hearings are not 'contested cases' required by law, so they need not be open and the information disclosed there stays confidential as part of the per…
Can a North Carolina county spend its money on advertising the county's advantages (to attract tourists, businesses, and industry), and can it hand a chunk of that money over to the local Chamber of Commerce to do the actual advertising? Does it matter whether the money is property tax revenue or non-tax revenue?
Yes for both, but with significant limits. The 1978 AG concluded that under G.S. 153A-149(d) and Chapter 158, Article 1, a county may levy a property tax for advertising / local development only with …
When a deed of trust and the note it secures have been lost, and the original trustee is missing or has become incompetent, can the secured party (the beneficiary or 'cestui que trust' under the deed of trust) acknowledge satisfaction of the deed of trust under N.C.G.S. § 45-37(a)(1) to clear the title from the public records?
No. The 1978 AG concluded that N.C.G.S. § 45-37(a)(1) allows only the trustee, the mortgagee, their legal representative, or a duly authorized agent of any of them to acknowledge satisfaction. The sec…
If a borrower dies before a deed of trust is foreclosed and nobody has been appointed to handle his estate, can the lender just go ahead with a power-of-sale foreclosure by publishing notice in the newspaper, or does the lender first have to get a personal representative appointed so notice can be served on someone?
The lender has to get someone appointed. The 1978 AG concluded that a power-of-sale foreclosure conducted with no notice to the deceased record owner and no hearing (because no personal representative…
When the North Carolina Department of Correction takes the money that inmates earn on work-release jobs and deposits it in interest-bearing accounts, can the Department take a slice of the interest to cover the staff cost of administering the work-release program or the cost of running the accounts?
No, the AG concluded. G.S. 148-33.1(f) provides an exhaustive, priority-ordered list of permitted deductions from inmate work-release earnings: cost of the prisoner's keep, employment-related travel a…
If a North Carolina parent signs a voluntary child support agreement under G.S. 110-133 rather than going to court, how much does the clerk charge to file it, and is the fee the same as for filing a regular civil lawsuit?
Four dollars. A voluntary support agreement is the statutory equivalent of a confession of judgment, which carries a $4.00 fee under G.S. § 7A-308. The full civil-action cost ($24.00 in 1977) does not…
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Attorney general opinions in North Carolina are written by the North Carolina Attorney General's office in response to questions from state agencies, legislators, and prosecutors. They are not binding like court decisions, but courts and agencies treat them as persuasive guidance on how state law applies. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original text.