Are there term limits for board of health members?
The number of terms a board member may serve and the length of each term varies by type of board.
County and district board of health members are appointed to three-year terms and may serve a maximum of three consecutive three-year terms. There are a couple of exceptions to this general rule. First, if the member is the only county or district resident who is a member of one of the licensed professions that must be represented on the board, the member may serve more than three consecutive three-year terms.[1] Second, if a member of a district board of health is serving in his or her capacity as a county commissioner, the NC Attorney General has advised that the member may serve for as long as he or she remains a commissioner, even if that time exceeds three consecutive three-year terms.[2]
Consolidated human services board members are appointed to four-year terms and may serve a maximum of two consecutive four-year terms. There is no exception for a situation in which a member is the only county resident who is a member of a licensed profession that must be represented on the board.[3] The county commissioner member of the board may serve only as long as he or she remains a county commissioner.
Public health authority board members are appointed to three-year terms. but there is no limit to the number of terms they may serve.[4]
If the county commissioners are serving as the board of health, a person’s service as a board of health member ends when his or her service as a county commissioner ends.
Local board of health | Term Length | Term Limit | Statute |
County board of health | 3 years | 3 consecutive 3-year terms | G.S. 130A-35 |
District board of health | 3 years | 3 consecutive 3-year terms | G.S. 130A-37 |
Public health authority board (single and multi-county) | 3 years | None | G.S. 130A-45.1 |
Consolidated human services board | 4 years | 2 consecutive 4-year terms | G.S. 153A-77 |
Board of county commissioners as board of health | Coincides with time in office | None |
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[1] G.S. 130A-35(c) (county board of health); 130A-37(c) (district board of health).
[2] Attorney General Advisory Opinion to Hal G. Harrison, Mitchell County Attorney, 1998 WL 856356 (Oct. 8, 1998).
[3] G.S. 153A-77(c). In the past, state law allowed only counties with populations exceeding 425,000 to form consolidated human services board. This could explain why there is no provision for a term to be extended if an individual is the only person in the county available to represent one of the professions that is required on the board, as it is less likely that a highly-populated county would encounter that circumstance. G.S. 153A-77(f).
[4] G.S. 130A-45.1.
