Local Government Law Bulletin Series

Most recently published bulletins are shown first. Displaying 1 - 69 of 69 bulletins
Bulletin Number Titlesort descending Author Date Description Download
140 "Full and Accurate" Minutes: A Primer 2019

Like other public bodies in North Carolina, local government boards must keep “full and accurate” minutes of their official meetings.

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30 "Taking" Found for Beach Access Dedication Requirement: Nolan v. California Coastal Commission Richard D. Ducker 1987

Discusses the second U.S. Supreme Court decision within two weeks in which the Court ruled in favor of property owners and against governments enforcing land-use restrictions.

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63 A Summary of Recent Legislation Authorizing "Guaranteed Energy Savings Contracts" (Chapter 775, 1994 Session Laws, Senate Bill 94) Frayda S. Bluestein 1994

Summarizes 1994 legislation authorizing local governments to enter into contracts for energy saving improvements to existing buildings in which the onctractor guarantees that the savings will, over

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105 Accountability Challenges in Government Funding of Faith-Based Organizations Anita R. Brown-Graham 2004

Focuses on the tension between the federal mandate to accommodate social programs operated by pervasively sectarian organizations and the need to hold these organizations accountable for their expe

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125 An Overview of North Carolina’s Rabies Control Laws Aimee N. Wall 2011

This bulletin provides a brief summary of the history of rabies control laws; presents an overview of their major components, including the recent changes; and highlights areas where local governme

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111 Animal Cruelty, Part I: An Overview of North Carolina's Criminal Remedies Aimee N. Wall 2007

Part One of a two-part series reviews the state's criminal cruelty laws in detail and discusses some of the federal cruelty-related laws.

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112 Animal Cruelty, Part II: An Overview of North Carolina's Civil Remedies Aimee N. Wall 2007

Part Two of a two-part series focused on animal cruelty, this bulletin addresses the civil remedies available for protecting animals.

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75 Appropriations to Church-Affiliated Organizations Christopher M. Bass 1996

Attempts to answer the question: Under what circumstances, if any, may local governments make contributions to churches or religiously affiliated organizations?

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78 Are "Green River" Ordinances Constitutional under the First Amendment? Lisa Lukasik 1997

Explores whether local ordinances regulating door-to-door solicitation violate a solicitor's right to free speech under the First Amendment.

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110 Are Immigrants Eligible for Publicly Funded Benefits and Services? Jill D. Moore 2007

Explains how federal law categorizes noncitizens for purposes of benefit eligibility.

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128 Are There Limits on the Size of Penalties to Enforce Local Government Ordinances? David M. Lawrence 2012

Both cities and counties enjoy statutory authority to enforce their ordinances through civil penalties, which if necessary can be collected in a civil action in the nature of debt.

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101 Attorney-Client Confidentiality, Minutes, and General Accounts of Closed Sessions: Some Questions and Answers from Multimedia II A. Fleming Bell, II 2002

Discusses public bodies holding closed sessions including the attorney-client privilege between the public body and its lawyer and how the privilege does not apply to all conversations between atto

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94 Behind Open Doors: North Carolina's Open Meetings Act and Mediator Standards of Confidentiality Chad Ford 2000

Explores the tension between North Carolina's Open Meetings Act and the desire for confidentiality in mediation hearings addressing public disputes.

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25 Business and Occupational Licensing by Cities and Counties William A. Campbell 1983

Discusses the authority of North Carolina local governments to license and regulate the conduct of businesses and occupations and the statutory and constitutional limitations on the exercise of tha

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52 Can a Local Government Rescind Its Award of a Contract under North Carolina's Formal Bidding Statute? Jaye Sitton, Frayda S. Bluestein 1993

Examines the issue of when a public contract governed by North Carolina's competitive bidding requirements becomes binding on the governmental unit.

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127 Civil Penalties for Ordinance Violations -- Specific or Variable? by David M. Lawrence, May 2012. View online. David M. Lawrence 2012

One statutory option a city or county has in enforcing its ordinances is to impose a civil penalty on a violator and, if necessary, sue for the penalty in a civil action in the nature of debt.

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103 Closed Sessions under the Attorney-Client Privilege David M. Lawrence 2002

Presents a broad review of questions that arise under the authorization for closed sessions, which has been the subject of four court of appeals decisions in recent years.

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142 Conflicts of Interest for Public Officials on Nonprofit Boards: An Analysis for North Carolina G.S. 14-234.3 Kristina Wilson 2022

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130 Criminal versus Civil Enforcement of Local Ordinances-What's the Difference? David M. Lawrence 2012

Cities and counties have a range of methods available to enforce their ordinances.

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98 Disappointed Bidder Claims against North Carolina Local Governments Frayda S. Bluestein 2001

Discusses some of the avenues the contractor and other disappointed bidders have for challenging decisions about bids, the legal basis for claims that may be brought by a disappointed bidder, and s

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139 Do Intentional Tort Claims Always Defeat Public Official Immunity? 2016

 

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117 Do State and Local Immigration Laws Violate Federal Law? Sejal Zota 2008

Many states and localities are enacting their own immigration-related laws and ordinances. Such laws raise a number of constitutional issues, including federal preemption issues.

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18 Enforcing Parking Regulations Fritz Richter, David M. Lawrence 1979

Discusses on-street and off-street legal issues that have arisen since the early 1950s, including enforcement of parking regulations by both criminal remedies and civil penalties; adoption, by ordi

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42 Exclusionary Policies Regarding Municipal Solid Waste and Hazardous Waste William A. Campbell 1992

Discusses two U.S.

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59 Flow-Control Ordinances Held Unconstitutional: C&A Carbone, Inc. v. Town of Clarkstown William A. Campbell 1994

Discusses a U.S.

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97 Health and Social Services Agencies' Legal Duties to Clients with Limited English Proficiency: new Federal Guidance David M. Lawrence 2001 PDF icon Download (60.62 KB)
131 HUB Participation in Building Construction Contracting by N.C. Local Governments: Statutory Requirements and Constitutional Limitations Jessica Jansepar Ross, Norma R. Houston 2013

This bulletin focuses on the legal requirements for Historically Underutilized Business [HUB] participation in local government contracting: Part I outlines the statutory requirements under North C

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57 Individual Liability of Board Members for Illegal or Improper Expenditures David M. Lawrence 1994

Examines whether, and in what circumstances, personal liability can occur when an elected official votes for or otherwise approves an illegal or improper expenditure of public funds.

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45 Informational Returns on Real Estate Transactions David M. Lawrence, William L. Christopher 1992

Discusses the definition of real estate transaction under the current regulations in the context of certain uniquely governmental transactions and outlines the reporting requirements to be

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85 Interpretations of the "Piggybacking" Exception to North Carolina's Formal Bidding Requirements Frayda S. Bluestein 1998

Addresses questions that arose after a 1997 law made several changes to the competitive bidding laws that apply to local government contracts, including a new exception commonly referred to as the

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136 Judicial Doctrines that Differentiate between Local Governments and Private Persons or Entities David M. Lawrence 2014

This bulletin is an annotated catalog of exceptions and special rules that are judicially created for the benefit of counties, cities, and other types of local government entities.

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96 Lawyers Running for City Council: A Prudent Look before Leaping William I. Thornton 2000

Discusses some of the ethical and statutory questions that a lawyer should consider before making the leap into the race for city or town council.

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65 Litter Control William A. Campbell 1995

Written in an effort to bring some light to the subject of litter control by analyzing the criminal statute prohibiting littering and discussing litter control by means of a local ordinance.

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143 Local Elected Officials' Leadership Derailment Lauren Dula, Maja Husar Holmes, Willow S. Jacobson, Kristina T. Marty 2022

 

77 Local Government Participation in the Permitting of Sanitary Landfills William A. Campbell 1997

Analyzes the role given local governments and concludes that they have not been granted the unrestricted power to veto a permit application for construction and operation of sanitary landfills.

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82 Local Government Power to Impose Fees on Tax-Exempt Property Lauralyn Beattie 1998

Addresses local government's power to assess fees for the services it provides tax-exempt property.

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118 Local Government Purchasing and Contracting Update: Statutory Requirements and Local Policies Eileen R. Youens 2009

This bulletin provides an overview of the statutory requirements and procedures that currently apply to local government contracts in North Carolina and uses examples to show how local governments

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55 Local Government Requirements for and Use of Social Security Account Numbers David M. Lawrence 1994

Addresses two questions: 1) can a citizen refuse to provide his or her Social Security account number to the government, and if so, when?

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132 Mandamus to Require Enforcement of Local Ordinances David M. Lawrence 2013

This bulletin reviews North Carolina case law on using mandamus to require enforcement of local ordinances.

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107 North Carolina Animal Control Law: 2005 Legislative Update Aimee N. Wall 2005

Summarizes animal control laws enacted by the 2005 session of the North Carolina General Assembly and briefly discusses the impact of the changes on local government animal control programs.

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43 North Carolina Supreme Court Issues Decision on Personnel Records Act Stephen Allred 1992

Summarizes a North Carolina Supreme Court decision regarding whether applications for employment are public records and thus subject to disclosure, or personnel records and thus confidential.

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106 Ordinances Targeting Pit Bulls Must Be Drafted Carefully David M. Lawrence, Jeanette Cox 2004 PDF icon Download (233.45 KB)
108 Public School Funding in the Summer of 2005: North Carolina School Boards Association v. Moore Shea Riggsbee Denning 2005

Discusses the constitutional provision at issue in North Carolina School Boards Association v.

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22 Publication of Legal Notices Steven Holt 1983

Local governments are frequently authorized or required to publish legal notices in a newspaper. This bulletin traces the requirements of G.S.

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89 Regulatory Fees: Can Nonresidents Be Charged More than Residents? Lisa Glover

Examines the constitutionality of imposing on nonresidents higher regulatory fees than those imposed on residents.

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133 Remote Participation in Local Government Board Meetings Frayda S. Bluestein 2013

This bulletin analyzes whether elected or appointed local government board members can legally participate in meetings without being physically present.

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141 Responding to First Amendment "Audits" in the Local Government Context Kristi Nickodem, Kristina Wilson 2022

Imagine you are a local government employee, working in the lobby of a county agency.

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95 Solid Waste Management: Franchise Agreement for Collecting and Processing Municipal Solid Waste Declared Invalid on Commerce Clause Grounds William A. Campbell 2000

Discusses a U.S.

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100 Solid Waste Management: New York Counties' Flow Control Ordinances Upheld William A. Campbell 2001

Discusses a U.S. Court of Appeals case that gave a green light to flow control ordinances in two New York counties, the latest in a series of cases decided by the U.S.

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92 Solid Waste Management: Recent Cases Upholding an Exclusive Hauling Contract and Designation of a Disposal Facility William A. Campbell 1999

Discusses three U.S. Courts of Appeals cases that show the continuing ingenuity of state and local governments in avoiding the C&A Carbone, Inc. v.

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71 Solid Waste Management: Recent Developments in Flow Control William A. Campbell 1995

Discusses three decisions of the courts of appeals regarding local governments' attempts to control the disposal of solid waste by using measures crafted to avoid the discriminatory aspects of flow

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135 State Government Ethics and lobbying Laws: What Does and Does Not Apply to Local Government: Revised through 2013 Norma R. Houston 2014

This bulletin focuses on changes through 2013 to the North Carolina State Government Ethics Act and the implications of these changes concerning local governments.

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38 State Preemption of Local Hazardous and Low-level Radioactive Waste Ordinances Donna Mussio 1989

Discusses the extent to which comprehensive ordinances dealing with the management of hazardous and low-level radioactive waste are preempted by North Carolina statutes and regulatory programs for

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53 Supreme Court Establishes Standard for Hostile Environment Sexual Harassment Stephen Allred 1993

Provides a brief background on sexual harassment hostile environment claims decided by the lower courts, summarizes the opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court in Harris v.

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39 Supreme Court Strikes Down Political Patronage Practices Stephen Allred 1990

Summarizes Rutan v. Republican Party of Illinois, and its implications for local governments in North Carolina. This U.S.

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61 Telling the Neighbors What You Think: City of Ladue v. Gilleo A. Fleming Bell, II 1994

Summarizes a U.S. Supreme Court decision that struck down a local ordinance that prohibited a resident of Ladue, Missouri, from displaying an antiwar sign in a window of her home.

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29 Temporary Damages for a Regulatory "Taking": First English Evangelical Lutheran Church of Glendale v. County of Los Angeles, California Philip P. Green 1987

Discusses U.S.

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104 The Court of Appeals Addresses Closed Sessions Held to Consider the Purchase of Real Property David M. Lawrence 2002

Discusses a Court of Appeals decision that addresses the purchase of real property and the circumstances in which the name of the landowner, the location of the property, and the city's proposed us

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137 The Impact of Williams v. Pasquotank County on Local Government Liability, Part I: Public Parks and Government Office Buildings 2015

This bulletin is the first in a two-part series examining the impact so far of Williams v. Pasquotank County on local government liability.

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138 The Impact of Williams v. Pasquotank County on Local Government Liability, Part II: Contract-Related Claims 2015

Updated September 30, 2015

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124 The Law of De Facto Officers David M. Lawrence 2010

This bulletin summarizes the law of de facto officers in North Carolina.

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121 The Revaluation Revolt of 2009 Christopher B. McLaughlin 2009

The 2009 property tax year saw unprecedented taxpayer uproar over revaluations conducted in the midst of the national economic crisis.

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126 Third-Party Beneficiaries of Contracts Entered into by Local Governments David M. Lawrence 2011

This bulletin reviews the general rules for determining whether third parties are intended beneficiaries of contracts, both as to contracts generally and as to contracts in which at least one party

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134 Trying to Recover Public Costs Incurred in Dealing with Man-Made Disasters: The Free Public Services Doctrine David M. Lawrence 2013

This bulletin analyzes the free public services doctrine that denies recovery against a tortfeasor by a governmental agency that has incurred costs in remedying the public health or public safety h

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34 Two Major Zoning Decisions: Chrismon v. Guilford and Hall v. City of Durham David M. Lawrence 1988 PDF icon Download (3.36 MB)
102 Understanding the Responsiveness Requirement in Competitive Bidding Frayda S. Bluestein 2002

Discusses the legal standard for determining when bids are responsive and summarizes rulings in cases evaluating a variety of commonly encountered bid irregularities.

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115 Unrecorded Utility Lines-A Second Look David M. Lawrence 2007

This bulletin is being issued to supersede Local Government Law Bulletin No. 114, "How Can Cities Deal with Unrecorded Utility Lines?" dated August 2007.

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69 What Kinds of Mistakes Allow a Contractor to Withdraw Its Bid for a Public Contract in North Carolina? Bentina Chisholm, Tammera Sudderth 1995

Examines statutes and case law from other jurisdictions in order to provide guidance to North Carolina public contracting officials who are faced with decisions about whether a withdrawn bid from a

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119 When Are Bids and Proposals Subject to Public Inspection? Eileen R. Youens 2009

This bulletin explains how the North Carolina public records laws apply to bids and proposals submitted to local governments in North Carolina and addresses specific questions regarding the obligat

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