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S.L. 2019-201 (S 230) NC Military and Veteran Act of 2019

By Nicholas “Nick” Dowgul

S.L. 2019-201 (S 230) NC Military and Veteran Act of 2019

North Carolina is home to the highest number of active and inactive military members in the entire Union. The legislature has taken steps to make sure that members of the military and veterans are not negatively influenced by their service to our country. The changes under the NC Military and Veteran Act may also help service members decide to stay in NC or help position NC to keep its bases when the next BRAC base closure commission acts. In August of 2019, the General Assembly enacted changes to numerous military and veteran related statutes. S.L. 2019-201 (S 230) is called the “NC Military and Veteran Act of 2019”. The statutory changes concern the State Board of Education, occupational licensing, social service investigations, as well as in-state tuition residency requirements.

Children of military members and providing for excused absences from school

Prior to the below additions to North Carolina General Statute 115C-379(b)(2), the State Board of Education was only authorized by the state legislature to adopt rules that excused absences of a temporary nature for a student with a physical or mental inability to attend school as well as circumstances whereby a student may be excused for nonattendance to do farm work or work at home. In an effort to ensure that children of military members do not receive unexcused absences because of a military member’s change in deployment status, part 1 of the Military and Veteran Act of 2019 directs the State Board of Education to enact rules providing for specified excused absences from school for children of members of the armed forces of the United States.

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Writs Of Mandamus At the CAVC

By Robert Davis

For those unfamiliar, a writ of mandamus is an order directing a government official to perform his or her duty.  This writ is a request of last resort, but belongs in any administrative lawyer’s repertoire.  Indeed, notification of intent to seek mandamus is often enough to prompt government action.  Recent case law has resolved issues related to the writ’s usage against the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).  This article gives some general information about writs of mandamus before exploring these recent decisions.

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Chair’s Comments: Be Stubborn About Your Goals and Flexible About Your Methods

By Janet Thoren

Like most lawyers, and most people in general, I often find myself in a position of needing to “upgrade” the way I have done something for years. I recall years ago when I started doing on-line bill pay with my bank. It seemed so strange to not write checks each month. As a lawyer and a business major, getting bills paid accurately and on time and keeping good records was something I was stubborn about, so making that switch was hard for me. Now, if I have to write a check, I often find myself staring at it for a few minutes to recall exactly how I need to write out the dollar amount. I can’t imagine going back to writing and mailing paper checks every month. I’ve also cleared out a lot of space in my home office by keeping electronic records, and they are easy to locate.

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The One CLE You Don’t Want To Miss

If you’re a lawyer who is interested in administrative law, then there is one CLE you cannot afford to miss this year:  the NCBA’s Nov. 16-17 CLE entitled, “The Only Constant is Change: 2017 Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Updates.”

Let me give you two reasons why you need to sign up now, if you aren’t signed up already:

First, the CLE features an all-star cast of speakers from all three branches of government.  These speakers include Supreme Court justices, Court of Appeals judges, and the recently retired Speaker Pro Tempore of the North Carolina House of Representatives.  Simply put, there is no more qualified group of individuals than these current and former public officials to speak about the sweeping changes that our state government and local governments have experienced in the past year, which could impact your practice.

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