Chapter 143B

No person shall discriminate or retaliate in any manner against any resident or relative or guardian of a resident, any employee of a long-term care facility, or any other person because of the making of a complaint or providing of information in good faith to the State Ombudsman…

No representative of the Office shall be liable for good faith performance of official duties. (1989, c. 403.)

Willful or unnecessary obstruction with the State or Regional Long-Term Care Ombudsman in the performance of his official duties is a Class 1 misdemeanor and subject to a fine of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500). (1989, c. 403, s. 1; 1993, c. 539, s. 1039; 1994, Ex. Ses…

(a) The North Carolina General Assembly finds the following: (1) Older adults should be able to live as independently as possible, and to live free from abuse, neglect, and exploitation. (2) Older adults should have opportunities to be involved in their communities in ways they d…

Responsibility for developing policy to carry out the purpose of this Part is vested in the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services as provided in G.S. 143B-181.1 who may assign responsibility to the Assistant Secretary for Aging. The Assistant Secretary for Agin…

The North Carolina General Assembly finds that the aging of the population and advanced medical technology have resulted in a growing number of persons who require long-term services and supports. The primary resources for long-term assistance continues to be family and friends. …

(a) There is created the North Carolina Senior Tar Heel Legislature. It shall: (1) Provide information and education to senior citizens on the legislative process and matters being considered by the General Assembly; (2) Promote citizen involvement and advocacy concerning aging i…

The development and implementation of policies for long-term services and supports should reflect the intent of the North Carolina General Assembly as follows: (1) Long-term services and supports administered by the Department of Health and Human Services and other State and loca…

No action or proceeding pending at the time the Executive Organization Act of 1973 takes effect and brought by or against any State agency whose functions, powers, and duties are transferred by the Executive Organization Act of 1973 to a principal State department shall be affect…

The Executive Organization Act of 1973 shall be applicable only to the following named departments: (1) Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. (2) Department of Health and Human Services. (3) Department of Revenue. (4) Department of Public Safety. (5) Repealed by Session L…

The abolition of certain agencies by the Executive Organization Act of 1973 should not be construed as invalidating any lawful prior act of such agency. (1973, c. 476, s. 21.)

The following definitions shall apply throughout this Part unless otherwise specified: (1) "Council" means the Council for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing of the Department of Health and Human Services. (2) "Deaf" means the inability to hear and/or understand oral communication,…

There is hereby created the Council for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing of the Department of Health and Human Services. The Council shall have duties including the following: (1) To make recommendations to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services for cost-eff…

(a) The Council for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing shall consist of 28 members. Twenty members shall be members appointed by the Governor. Three members appointed by the Governor shall be persons who are deaf and three members shall be persons who are hard of hearing. One appoi…

(a) There is hereby created within the Department of Health and Human Services, the Division of Services for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing. The Division shall have the powers and duties including the following: (1) To review existing programs for persons who are deaf or hard o…

(a) There is established an assistive equipment loan program for the deaf, hard of hearing, and speech impaired to be developed, administered, and implemented by the Division of Services for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing. The assistive equipment loan program supplements the te…

(a) The office of Internal Auditor is established in the Department of Health and Human Services. The office of the Internal Auditor shall provide independent reviews and analyses of various functions and programs within the Department that will provide management information to …

(a) To ensure that Department audits are performed in accordance with applicable auditing standards, the Internal Auditor shall possess the following qualifications: (1) A bachelors degree from an accredited college or university with a major in accounting, or with a major in bus…

(a) The Justus-Warren Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Task Force is created in the Department of Health and Human Services. (b) The Task Force shall have 27 members. The Governor shall appoint the Chair, and the Vice-Chair shall be elected by the Task Force. The Director of t…

There is established the North Carolina Brain Injury Advisory Council in the Department of Health and Human Services to review traumatic and other acquired brain injuries in North Carolina. The Council shall have duties including the following: (1) Review how the term "traumatic …

(a) The Council shall consist of 23 voting and 10 ex officio nonvoting members, appointed as follows: (1) Three members by the General Assembly, upon the recommendation of the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, as follows: a. A representative of the North Carolina Medical Socie…

(a) To promote coordinated policy development and strategic planning for the State's health and human services systems, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall establish an Office of Policy and Planning from existing resources across the Department. The Director of the O…

(a) There is hereby established the Division of Health Benefits of the Department of Health and Human Services. The Director shall be the head of the Division of Health Benefits. Upon the elimination of the Division of Medical Assistance, the Division of Health Benefits shall be …

(a) Term. - The Director of the Division of Health Benefits shall be appointed by the Governor for a term of four years subject to confirmation by the General Assembly by joint resolution. The initial term of office for the Director of the Division of Health Benefits shall begin …

There is hereby recreated and reestablished a department to be known as the "Department of Revenue" with the organization, duties, functions, and powers defined in the Executive Organization Act of 1973. (1973, c. 476, s. 184.)

It shall be the duty of the Department to collect and account for the State's tax funds, to insure uniformity of administration of the tax laws and regulations, to conduct research on revenue matters, to exercise general and specific supervision over the valuation and taxation of…

(a) The functions of the Department of Revenue shall comprise, except as otherwise expressly provided by the Executive Organization Act of 1973 or by the Constitution of North Carolina, all executive functions of the State in relation to revenue collection, tax research, tax sett…

Any reference or designation in any statute, contract, or other document pertaining to functions, powers, obligations, and duties of a State agency assigned by the Executive Organization Act of 1973 to a principal State department shall be deemed to refer to the principal State d…

The Secretary of Revenue shall be the head of the Department. (1973, c. 476, s. 187.)

Any business or other matter undertaken or commenced by any State agency or the commissioners or directors thereof, pertaining to or connected with the functions, powers, obligations, and duties hereby transferred to a principal State department, and pending on July 1, 1973, may …

(a) Except as otherwise provided by law, each principal State department may, with the approval of the Department of Administration, enter into cooperative agreements with the federal government, any state government, any agency of the State government, any local government of th…

The following definitions apply throughout this Part: (1) Alternative nicotine product. - As defined in G.S. 14-313(a)(1). (2) Consumable product. - As defined in G.S. 14-313(a)(1a). (3) Distribute. - As defined in G.S. 14-313(a)(1b). (4) FDA. - As defined in G.S. 14-313(a)(1c). …

(a) Certification. - Beginning March 1, 2025, and annually thereafter, every manufacturer of vapor products and consumable products sold for retail sale in this State, whether directly or through a distributor, retailer, or similar intermediary or intermediaries, shall execute an…

(a) Development and Maintenance of Directory. - Beginning on May 1, 2025, the Secretary shall develop, maintain, and make publicly available on the Secretary's public website a directory listing all manufacturers of consumable products or vapor products that have provided certifi…

(a) Products Prohibited from Retail Sale. - Except as provided in subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection, beginning May 1, 2025, or on the date that the Department of Revenue first makes the directory available for public inspection on its public website as provided in G.S. …

(a) Registered Agent. - The following conditions apply: (1) A manufacturer not registered to do business in the State shall, as a condition precedent to having its name or its products listed and retained in the directory, appoint and continually engage without interruption a reg…

(a) Unannounced Compliance Check. - Each retailer, distributor, and wholesaler that sells or distributes consumable products or vapor products in this State shall be subject to unannounced compliance checks by the Secretary or its designee, which may include State and local law e…

(a) Rules. - The Secretary shall adopt rules for the implementation and enforcement of this Part. (b) Use of Fees and Penalties. - The fees received under this Part and the penalties collected under G.S. 14-313(h) by the Department of Revenue shall be used by the Department of Re…

Any agency not enumerated in the Executive Organization Act of 1973 but established or created by the General Assembly shall continue to exercise all its powers, duties, and functions subject to the provisions of Chapter 143A of the General Statutes of the State of North Carolina…

All references to the Constitution of North Carolina in the Executive Organization Act of 1973 refer to the Constitution of North Carolina as effective July 1, 1973. (1973, c. 476, s. 26.)

(a) There is hereby created and constituted a department to be known as the Department of Environmental Quality, with the organization, powers, and duties defined in this Article and other applicable provisions of law. (b) The provisions of Article 1 of this Chapter not inconsist…

(a) The owner of the real property on which a site is located that is subject to current or future use restrictions approved as provided in G.S. 143B-279.9(a) shall submit to the Department a survey plat as required by this section within 180 days after the owner is notified to d…

(a) The definitions set out in G.S. 143-215.94A and G.S. 143B-279.9 apply to this section. This section applies only to a cleanup pursuant to a remedial action plan that addresses environmental damage resulting from a discharge or release of petroleum from an underground storage …

(a) The Department of Environmental Quality shall establish a one-stop environmental permit application assistance and tracking system program for all its regional offices. The Department shall provide to each person who submits an application for any environmental permit subject…

(a) The Department of Environmental Quality shall develop an express review program to provide express permit and certification reviews in all of its regional offices. Participation in the express review program is voluntary, and the program shall be supported by the fees determi…

The Express Review Fund is created as a special nonreverting fund. All fees collected under G.S. 143B-279.13 shall be credited to the Express Review Fund. The Express Review Fund shall be used for the costs of implementing the express review program under G.S. 143B-279.13 and the…

(a) The purpose of this section is to provide to the person receiving a notice of violation of an environmental statute or an environmental rule a greater opportunity to understand what corrective action is needed, receive technical assistance from the Department of Environmental…

The Department of Environmental Quality shall track the time required to process all permit applications in the One-Stop for Certain Environmental Permits Programs established by G.S. 143B-279.12 and the Express Permit and Certification Reviews established by G.S. 143B-279.13 tha…

Except to the extent required by federal or State law, the Department of Environmental Quality shall not refuse to accept an application for a permit, authorization, or certification or refuse to issue any permit, authorization, or certificate based solely on the failure of an ap…

(a) Adjustment for Legislatively Mandated Salaries and Benefits. - Beginning July 1, 2025, and every four years thereafter, the Department shall adjust the fees and rates imposed pursuant to the statutes listed in this subsection in accordance with the Consumer Price Index comput…