Local Government Law Bulletin Series

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

Discusses a U.S.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

Updated September 30, 2015

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