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.
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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 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 …
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…
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…
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…
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/…
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…
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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.