On May 8, the Administrative Law Section conducted its first-ever free-for-all and open-to-all-section-members discussion by Zoom conference. We hope you will find the information below informative and that you will join us for our next teleconference.
We opened with Section legislative committee co-chair David Ferrell, who provided a brief overview of the action in the General Assembly regarding COVID-19. David outlined some of the key administrative law related provisions in the primary COVID-19 bill, S.L. 2020-3 (S 704), for which most of the provisions presently expire on August 1. He mentioned the following: health care changes, including some related to regulated professions, such as pharmacists and dentists; emergency video notarization (which is not the same as remote notarization, he said); emergency video witnessing; e-signatures for warrants; temporary loosening of witness/notary requirements for advance health care directives; rescheduling public hearings; authorization for the Chief ALJ to extend the time for filing contested case petitions; electronic meetings of public bodies; and regulatory flexibility for State agencies, including occupational licensing boards. David also discussed what people, including legislators, are saying about when they will return and what they will be doing when they return.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00Administrativehttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngAdministrative2020-05-21 16:14:122020-05-21 16:14:12What You Missed at the May 8 Administrative Law Discussion on COVID-19 Developments
On May 8, 2020, Julian Mann, Chief Administrative Law Judge of the Office of Administrative Hearings, issued an order regarding the timeliness of contested case petition filings. Read the order below or here. There are other orders related to the COVID-19 emergency on the OAH website here.
State of North Carolina
Office of Administrative Hearings
1711 New Hope Church Rd
Raleigh, NC 27609
On March 19, 2020, The Honorable Cheri Beasley, Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, issued an order pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 7A-39(b)(1) stating that “catastrophic conditions resulting from the public health threat posed by COVID-19 exist in all counties of this state.” The Chief Justice’s Order of March 19, 2020, was set to expire at the close of business on April 17, 2020. On April 13, 2020, The Honorable Cheri Beasley, Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, issued an order pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 7A-39(b)(1) stating that “catastrophic conditions resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak have existed and continue to exist in all counties of this state.” The Chief Justice’s Order of April 13, 2020, is set to expire at the close of business on June 1, 2020, with the caveat that “[a]dditional emergency orders or directives under N.C.G.S. § 7A-39(b) may be entered as necessary to support the continuing operation of essential court functions.”
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00Administrativehttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngAdministrative2020-05-12 13:15:042020-05-13 09:40:49Contested Case Petition Filing Time
At a time when our state and nation face a pandemic the scale of which has not been encountered in roughly a century, administrative law continues to be a prevalent and pronounced part of our modern world. While it has been said in the past that “the action of administrative agencies so pervasively impinges on the daily lives of citizens and has become so thoroughly accepted as a mode of carrying out government business that the phenomenon often goes largely unnoticed,” administrative law is hardly unnoticed at this time when such drastic changes are occurring. Charles E. Daye, North Carolina’s New Administrative Procedure Act: An Interpretive Analysis, 53 N.C. L. Rev. 833, 836 (1975).
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00Administrativehttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngAdministrative2020-05-05 12:15:152020-05-06 10:59:20Like the song in "Carousel," Administrative Law is "Bustin' Out All Over"
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00Administrativehttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngAdministrative2020-04-17 19:16:122020-04-20 16:45:05Administrative Law – Third-Party Articles of Possible Interest
Today’s NC Supreme Court opinions included several that may have a direct effect on the direction, interpretation and implementation of administrative law in NC.
The Communications Committee asks for your help in this regard. We are looking for authors for blog posts that highlight the impacts of the three cases listed below, each of which includes a dissent. If you are willing to write such an article (pros-cons articles are also welcome), please contact one of the members of the committee: Ann Wall, Chair, Nick Dowgul, Michael Byrne.
Cabarrus Cty. Bd. of Educ. v. Dep’t of State Treasurer, (369PA18 – Published) Author: Justice Sam Ervin IV. Whether the General Assembly intended to exempt by implication the Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System’s Board of Trustees from rulemaking requirements pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act, N.C.G.S. 150B, in adopting a Contribution-Based Benefit Cap pursuant to N.C.G.S. 135-5(a3).
Whether payments made pursuant to an agreement between the Attorney General’s Office and major hog producers constitute ‘penalties’ subject to article IX, section 7 of the North Carolina Constitution.
Members of the Administrative Law Section found the following recent third party articles to be interesting. Remember—if it says subscription required, your legal research provider may provide access.
Helpful School of Government Blog COVID-19 Related Posts if you represent governments or their employees
The posts listed below may be useful if you represent government agencies, boards and commissions or their employees or if you want to be able to answer questions people raise:
This blog post expands on an earlier post by Frayd Bluestein regarding meetings and public hearings during the COVID-19 crisis. It specifically address the lawfulness of local government prohibitions on public in-person attendance at public meetings. The article’s preface says that the author aims “to supplement her comments on in-person attendance bans by looking at the relevant case law in light of events of the past few days.”
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00Administrativehttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngAdministrative2020-04-02 18:17:252020-04-03 11:10:37COVID-19 and Administrative Law – Articles of Interest
Due to the state of emergency that has been declared by North Carolina’s Governor in response to the COVID-19 crisis, the Director of the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) has invoked the emergency waiver found in 26 NCAC 01 .0105 for the purpose of waiving all time limitations contained in all Sections of 26 NCAC Chapter 03 – Hearings Division, except 26 NCAC 03 .0127. (The time limitation in 26 NCAC 03 .0127 applies only to administrative law judges).
This waiver applies to all contested cases now pending and hereafter filed at OAH until this waiver is revoked.
Please direct any questions regarding the notice to:
Any administrative lawyer who represents a governmental entity of any size or who represents employees of governments will want to read this:
The new U.S. Families First Coronavirus Response Act affects all types of government employers, of all sizes. This blog postby the School of Government’s Diane Juffras indicates that the Act kicks in more or less immediately. The blog post is longer than usual because it offers examples of how the different new provisions of the complex new law interact with existing laws.
We are in unprecedented times with COVID-19 (Coronavirus). It is now more important than ever that we help our neighbors and those who are not as fortunate. I am confident that each of you is doing your part.
Even in the best of times, however, over 1.5 Million North Carolinians struggle with hunger—of those, nearly half a million are children. With public schools and many religious and nonprofit organizations that traditionally serve the food insecure in our communities being closed for indefinite periods, and government leaders calling for social distancing to help limit the spread of Coronavirus, that need is never more pressing than now.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00Administrativehttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngAdministrative2020-03-19 11:54:072020-03-19 13:40:40Fight Hunger, Help Others in the COVID-19 Pandemic - Participate in the Legal Feeding Frenzy and Support Your Local Food Bank!
Julian Mann, III, Director and Chief Administrative Law Judge of the NC Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH), has issued a response to the COVID-19 emergency. The responses addresses how OAH and all its constituent parts are responding to the COVID-19 emergency, as well as information for attorneys, litigants, agencies, boards and commissions. The response includes: general information, the Hearings Division, the Rules Division, the Civil Rights Division, the Rules Review Commission, and the Human Relations Commission.
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