In the most recent legislative session, the General Assembly amended the state’s emergency management act to impose new publication requirements on county and city state of emergency declarations (S.L. 2020-83, Sec. 11.7). Prior to enactment of HB593 which amended GS 166A-19.31(d), county and city state of emergency declarations went into effect “upon publication.” Although “publication” […]
Posts Tagged ‘emergency restrictions’
New Law Requires Electronic Publication of Local State of Emergency Declarations
Tuesday, July 7th, 2020Governor’s Stay At Home Order Extended – What Does This Mean for Local Governments?
Friday, April 24th, 2020On April 23rd, Governor Cooper issued Executive Order 135 extending his statewide Stay At Home Order (Executive Order 121) for another nine days. The Governor’s Stay At Home Order was due to expire on April 29th; EO 135 extends it to 5:00p.m. on May 8, 2020. Is this all that EO135 does? Below is the […]
Enacting and Amending County and City Emergency Ordinances: What Rules Apply?
Wednesday, April 8th, 2020As counties and cities continue their efforts to protect public health and safety during the COVID-19 crisis, some have discovered that their local emergency ordinances need updating. For jurisdictions that do not regularly face the threat of natural disasters such as hurricanes, wildfires, and winter ice storms, it is understandable that a local emergency ordinance […]
Governor Cooper’s COVID-19 Statewide Stay at Home Order: What Effect Does It Have On County and City Emergency Restrictions?
Sunday, March 29th, 2020In response to the escalating COVID-19 crisis, Governor Roy Cooper issued Executive Order 121 imposing a series of statewide restrictions, prohibitions, and directives referred to as a Stay-at-Home Order (“EO121” or “the Order”). The Order goes into effect on Monday, March 30, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. and remains in effect for 30 days until April […]
Can Counties and Cities Order “Stay-at-Home”?
Monday, March 23rd, 2020As state and local government officials across the country struggle to respond to the rapidly escalating coronavirus pandemic, some are exploring the need for increasingly stringent measures, including what are being referred to as “stay-at-home” restrictions (I’ll address the important point of how this term is defined below – see this blog for discussion of […]
Can Counties and Cities Shut Down Video Gaming and Sweepstakes Establishments During An Emergency?
Saturday, March 21st, 2020As local officials in our state continue to respond to the rapidly evolving and ever-changing COVID-19 pandemic, counties and cities wrestle with difficult decisions about imposing restrictions and prohibitions under a local state of emergency declaration to address the public health and safety needs of their communities. Among the myriad situations currently confronting local jurisdictions […]
Can Counties and Cities Close Roads During an Emergency?
Sunday, September 1st, 2019Counties and cities are vested with broad authority to impose restrictions and prohibitions during a locally declared state of emergency (GS 166A-19.31; for more information on local state of emergency declarations, see this blog post). These restrictions and prohibitions must be included in county and city local emergency ordinances (for more discussion on the restrictions […]