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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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…
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…
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 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…
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…
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 …
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 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…
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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.