The government of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

is divided into three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. These consist of the

Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

(led by the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

), the

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single gr ...

legislature (called the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of pres ...

), and the state court system (headed by the

North Carolina Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina is the state of North Carolina's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consists ...

). The

Constitution of North Carolina The Constitution of the State of North Carolina governs the structure and function of the state government of North Carolina, one of the United States; it is the highest legal document for the state and subjugates North Carolina law. All U.S. st ...

delineates the structure and function of the state government.

Executive branch

North Carolina's executive branch is governed by Article III of the state constitution. The first North Carolina Constitution in 1776 called for a governor and a seven member Council of State elected by the legislature. Currently, the ten-member Council of State of North Carolina includes the following members elected by voters: #Governor #

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

# Secretary of State #

Commissioner of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...

Commissioner of Insurance An insurance commissioner (or commissioner of insurance) is a public official in the executive branch of a state or territory in the United States who, along with his or her office, regulate the insurance industry. The powers granted to the office ...

# Commissioner of Labor #

Superintendent of Public Instruction A state education agency or state department of education is the state-level government organization within each U.S. state or territory responsible for education, including providing information, resources, and technical assistance on educationa ...

State Treasurer In the state governments of the United States, 48 of the 50 states have the executive position of treasurer. New York abolished the position in 1926; duties were transferred to New York State Comptroller. Texas abolished the position of Texas ...

State Auditor State auditors (also known as state comptrollers, state controllers, state examiners, or inspectors general) are fiscal officers lodged in the executive or legislative branches of U.S. state governments who serve as external auditors, financi ...

The Council of State as a collective body is accorded little responsibility by the state constitution, though some statues grant it authority in certain cases, particularly in the acquisition of property by the state. NC Agriculture Dept

The nine

North Carolina Cabinet The North Carolina Cabinet is the group of unelected heads of the executive departments of the Government of North Carolina. It is separate and distinct from the North Carolina Council of State, the members of which are elected statewide, and wh ...

departments, headed by department secretaries, plus the Department of Administration, are appointed by the Governor are as follows: # Department of Administration, #

Department of Commerce The United States Department of Commerce is an executive department of the U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth and opportunity. Among its tasks are gathering economic and demographic data for busi ...

, # Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, # Department of Environmental Quality, #

Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...

, # Department of Information Technology # Department of Revenue, # Department of Public Safety, # Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, # Department of Transportation. The North Carolina Register includes information about state agency rules, administrative rules, executive orders and other notices, and is published bimonthly. The North Carolina Administrative Code (NCAC) contains all the codified rules.

Legislative branch

The legislature derives its authority from Article II of the North Carolina Constitution. The

North Carolina General Assembly The North Carolina General Assembly is the bicameral legislature of the State government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the Senate and the House of Representatives. The General Assembly meets in the North Caroli ...

is the

state legislature A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

. Like all other states except for

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

, the legislature is

, currently consisting of the 120-member

North Carolina House of Representatives The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, ...

and the 50-member

North Carolina Senate The North Carolina Senate is the upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the North Carolina House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the state legislature of North Carolina. The term of office for e ...

. The lieutenant governor is the ''

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...

'' president of the state Senate. The Senate also elects its own

president pro tempore A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase '' pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being". ...

and the House elects its

speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

. Its

session laws Session laws are the collection of statutes enacted by a legislature during a single session of that legislature, often published following the end of the session as a bound volume. The United States Statutes at Large are an example of session l ...

are published in the official '' North Carolina Session Laws'' and codified as the ''

North Carolina General Statutes North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' i ...

''. The first North Carolina General Assembly was convened on April 7, 1777 in

New Bern, North Carolina New Bern, formerly called Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 29,524, which had risen to an estimated 29,994 as of 2019. It is the county seat of Craven County and ...

. It consisted of a Senate, which had one member from each of 37 counties (regardless of population) and Washington District (became part of Tennessee in 1796), and a House of Commons, which had two members representing each county, plus one each from six districts or boroughs (Edenton, Halifax, Hillsborough, New Bern, Salisbury, and Wilmington). Only land-owning (100 acres for the House of Commons, for the Senate),

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

men could serve. The first legislature elected the Governor, Richard Caswell. The legislature was more powerful compared to the executive branch in the early government.

Judiciary

North Carolina's current judicial system was created in the 1960s after significant consolidation and reform. The judicial system derives its authority from Article IV of the North Carolina Constitution. The state court system is led by the

Supreme Court of North Carolina The Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina is the state of North Carolina's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consists ...

, the

state supreme court In the United States, a state supreme court (known by other names in some states) is the highest court in the state judiciary of a U.S. state. On matters of state law, the judgment of a state supreme court is considered final and binding in b ...

, which consists of seven justices. The

North Carolina Court of Appeals The North Carolina Court of Appeals (in case citation, N.C. Ct. App.) is the only intermediate appellate court in the state of North Carolina. It is composed of fifteen members who sit in rotating panels of three. The Court of Appeals was create ...

is the state's intermediate

appellate court A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...

and consists of fifteen judges who rule in rotating panels of three. Together, the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals constitute the appellate division of the court system. Wake County Justice Center

The trial division includes the Superior Court and the District Court. The Superior Court is the state

trial court A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction, in which trials take place. Appeals from the decisions of trial courts are usually made by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate courts). Mos ...

general jurisdiction {{Globalize, article, USA, 2name=the United States, date=December 2010 A court of general jurisdiction is a court with authority to hear cases of all kinds – criminal, civil, family, probate, and so forth. United States All federal courts ...

; all

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that res ...

criminal cases, civil cases involving an

amount in controversy Amount in controversy (sometimes called jurisdictional amount) is a term used in civil procedure to denote the amount at stake in a lawsuit, in particular in connection with a requirement that persons seeking to bring a lawsuit in a particular cour ...

in excess of $25,000, and appeals from the District Court are tried (

de novo review In law, the standard of review is the amount of deference given by one court (or some other appellate tribunal) in reviewing a decision of a lower court or tribunal. A low standard of review means that the decision under review will be varied or ...

) in Superior Court. A

jury A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Juries developed in England d ...

of 12 hears the criminal cases. The District Court is a court of

limited jurisdiction Limited jurisdiction, or special jurisdiction, is the court's jurisdiction only on certain types of cases such as bankruptcy, and family matters. Courts of limited jurisdiction, as opposed to general jurisdiction, derive power from an issuing auth ...

. It has

original jurisdiction In common law legal systems original jurisdiction of a court is the power to hear a case for the first time, as opposed to appellate jurisdiction, when a higher court has the power to review a lower court's decision. India In India, the Su ...

over

family law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriage ...

matters (

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving th ...

child custody Child custody is a legal term regarding '' guardianship'' which is used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent or guardian and a child in that person's care. Child custody consists of ''legal custody'', which is the ri ...

child support Child support (or child maintenance) is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child (or parent, caregiver, guardian) following the end of a marriage or other similar relationship. Child maintenance is paid d ...

); civil claims involving less than $25,000; criminal cases involving

misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than adm ...

s and lesser infractions; and juvenile cases involving children under the age of 16 who are

delinquent Delinquent or delinquents may refer to: * A person who commits a felony * A juvenile delinquent, often shortened as delinquent is a young person (under 18) who fails to do that which is required by law; see juvenile delinquency * A person who fa ...

and children under the age of 18 who are undisciplined, dependent, neglected, or abused.

Magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

s of the District Court may accept guilty

plea In legal terms, a plea is simply an answer to a claim made by someone in a criminal case under common law using the adversarial system. Colloquially, a plea has come to mean the assertion by a defendant at arraignment, or otherwise in response ...

s for minor misdemeanors, accept guilty pleas for

traffic violation A moving violation is any violation of the law committed by the driver of a vehicle while it is in motion. The term "motion" distinguishes it from other motor vehicle violations, such as paperwork violations (which include violations involving a ...

s, and accept

waiver A waiver is the voluntary relinquishment or surrender of some known right or privilege. Regulatory agencies of state departments or the federal government may issue waivers to exempt companies from certain regulations. For example, a United St ...

s of trial for worthless check and other charges. In civil cases, the magistrate is authorized to try small claims involving up to $10,000 including landlord-tenant and

eviction Eviction is the removal of a tenant from rental property by the landlord. In some jurisdictions it may also involve the removal of persons from premises that were foreclosed by a mortgagee (often, the prior owners who defaulted on a mortgag ...

cases. Magistrates also perform

civil marriage A civil marriage is a marriage performed, recorded, and recognized by a government official. Such a marriage may be performed by a religious body and recognized by the state, or it may be entirely secular. History Every country maintaining a ...

s. District Court only conducts

bench trial A bench trial is a trial by judge, as opposed to a trial by jury. The term applies most appropriately to any administrative hearing in relation to a summary offense to distinguish the type of trial. Many legal systems (Roman, Islamic) use bench ...

s, with no jury.

Local government

Local governments in North Carolina primarily consist of counties, cities, and towns. The state makes no legal distinction between a town and a city. There are also special purpose governments, most of which concern either soil and water conservation or housing and community development. Some local governments are joined in regional councils with others to improve coordination and cooperation. North Carolina has 100 counties and more than 500 municipalities. North Carolina is a

Dillon's rule John Forrest Dillon (December 25, 1831 – May 6, 1914) was an attorney in Iowa and New York, a justice of the Iowa Supreme Court and a United States circuit judge of the United States Circuit Court for the Eighth Circuit. He authored a highly ...

state, and municipalities are only able to exercise the authority that the General Assembly explicitly gives them since

Unlike most other states, North Carolina does not grant broad authority over local matters to local governments through its state constitution or a single state statute. Instead, North Carolina local governments derive their authority from a “patchwork of local and general laws.” These laws include “numerous general statutes” laying out the general powers of all local governments and local acts that apply only to a given municipality or set of municipalities. In some cases, the charter establishing a particular local government provides that government with additional authority.

The General Assembly's authority to create local governments comes from Article VII of the

. County governments in North Carolina include the following officials: *

Sheriffs A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly trans ...

* County commissioners * District attorneys *

Justices of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or '' puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission (letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sam ...

(historical) *North Carolina

register of deeds Recorder of deeds or deeds registry is a government office tasked with maintaining public records and documents, especially records relating to real estate ownership that provide persons other than the owner of a property with real rights over ...

*North Carolina

clerk of court A court clerk (British English: clerk to the court or clerk of the court ; American English: clerk of the court or clerk of court ) is an officer of the court whose responsibilities include maintaining records of a court, administer oaths to witn ...

(historical) *Alcoholic Beverage Control Board *

Board of Education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional ar ...

* Board of Elections *Public Health Board *Mental Health Board *Social Services Board Most municipalities in North Carolina operate under council-manager governments. Some of these municipalities have mayors, who preside over the elected city council, which determines local government policy and creates the city budget. Most mayors are popularly elected and do not typically vote in council meetings. The council hires the

city manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a "Mayor–council government" council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief exec ...

and, depending on the municipality, may directly hire a few other officials, such as the

city attorney A city attorney is a position in city and municipal government in the United States. The city attorney is the attorney representing the municipality. Unlike a district attorney or public defender, who usually handles criminal cases, a city att ...

. In cities with a manager, the manager acts as the head executive officer of the city and is responsible for municipal employees and implementing policy. Smaller municipalities are more likely to not employ a manager. All counties in the state are led by an elected board of commissioners who employ a county manager. Boards of commissioners vary in size from three to 11 members. In addition to the manager, the commissioners usually hire the county's clerk, attorney, assessor, and tax collector. Unlike in municipal council-manager governments in the state, the board of commissioners usually must approve all of the manager's hiring decisions unless they explicitly delegate sole hiring authority to the manager. County government is North Carolina is also more fractured than municipal government, due to the presence of other elected officials such as sheriffs and registers of deeds, who have control over their own staff. The office of county sheriff is established by the constitution, and sheriffs are not subject to the oversight of the state government. County government is largely funded through local property taxes.

Current Council of State officials

The 2019 elected ten-member Council of State of North Carolina is composed of: File:Gov. Cooper Cropped.jpg,

Roy Cooper Roy Asberry Cooper III (born June 13, 1957) is an American attorney and politician, serving as the 75th governor of North Carolina since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th attorney general of North Carolina from 200 ...

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File:3I3A3929 (cropped).jpg, Mark Robinson (R)

Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina The lieutenant governor of North Carolina is the second-highest elected official in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is the only elected official to have powers in both the legislative and executive branches of state government. A member o ...

File:Elaine Marshall IACA 2018 (cropped).jpg,

Elaine Marshall Elaine Folk Marshall (born November 18, 1945) is an American attorney and politician who has served as the North Carolina Secretary of State since 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, she is the first woman to be elected to statewide offic ...

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Secretary of State File:Josh Stein.jpg,

Josh Stein Joshua Stein (born September 13, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician who serves as the 50th and current Attorney General of North Carolina, a position he has held since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Stein previously served as a ...

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File:Steve Troxler USDA.jpg,

Steve Troxler Steve W. Troxler (born 1952) is an American farmer and Republican politician. He serves as the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services for North Carolina. Because of a contested election due to lost ballots in the November 2004 statewi ...

(R)

File:Mike Causey 2.jpg, Mike Causey (R)

File:Josh Dobson.jpg ,

Josh Dobson Josh Dobson (born July 19, 1981) is an American politician, currently serving as North Carolina Commissioner of Labor. He previously served in the North Carolina House of Representatives. Early life and education Dobson was born on July 19, 1981 ...

(R)
Commissioner of Labor File: No image.svg,

Catherine Truitt Catherine Truitt (born 1970/1971) is an American educator and politician who has served as the 24th North Carolina superintendent of public instruction since January 2, 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Truitt previously served as senior ...

(R)

File:Dale Folwell NC Assistant Secretary of Commerce.jpg,

Dale Folwell Dale Robbins Folwell (born December 17, 1958) is an American politician who has been the North Carolina State Treasurer since 2017. A Republican from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Folwell spent four terms in North Carolina House of Representati ...

(R)

File:No image.svg,

Beth Wood Beth A. Wood (born April 22, 1954) is an American politician and accountant serving as the Auditor of North Carolina since 2009. A Democrat, she is the first woman to hold the office. Born in New Bern, she initially worked as a dental hygienist ...

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References

Works cited

* * *

External links

* {{Governments of the United States