Local Government Law Bulletin Series

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Discusses a U.S.

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

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.

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.

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

Discusses U.S.

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