Source: https://ncdoj.gov/opinions/mental-health-authorities/
Timestamp: 2020-02-23 20:50:26
Document Index: 86222819

Matched Legal Cases: ['§153', '§153', '§153', '§122', '§153', '§122', '§153']

Mental Health Authorities - NC DOJ
We do not read these statutes as exempting any county from the service delivery mandates of Chapter 122C because G.S. §153A-77(a) only pertains to the governing structure of a county program and not to the provision of services. In other words, if there are any conflicts between these two code sections, they would involve procedural or governance issues, not provision of service issues. It is also noted that North Carolina courts would seek to minimize conflicts when interpreting these sections. Our courts have held that statutes should be interpreted so as to avoid conflicts, “If possible, they are to be reconciled and harmonized.” Board of Education of Onslow County V. the Board of County Commissioners of Onslow County 240 N.C. 118; 81 S.E.2d 256; (1954). The Court will only resolve such questions, “If and when confronted by inescapable conflicts and inconsistencies….” Ibid. With that standard in mind we find that the courts would not construe G.S. §153A-77(a) as providing license to exempt a county from the mandates of Chapter 122C, because it would not find a conflict concerning the provision of services requirements.
Article II, Section 24(1)(a) of the North Carolina Constitution prohibits “any local, private, or special act or resolution…relating to health.” On behalf of the Board, as their attorney, you question whether G.S. §153A-77 is local legislation, on the premise that it effectively exempts Wake and Mecklenburg from the provisions of G.S. §122C. We respectfully disagree that G.S. §153A-77 effectively exempts any county from the provisions of 122C. It allows for an alternative governance process, but requires compliance with all the rules relating to the provision of services to clients. In short, Wake or Mecklenburg citizens have exactly the same mental health care provisions that Lee or Harnett citizens are entitled to. Statutes such as G.S. §122C-115 and G.S. §153A-77 that operate uniformly throughout the state are not unconstitutional local laws, even though there are different classifications based upon population. McIntyre v. Clarkson, 254 N.C. 510,518,119 S.E. 2d 888, 894 (1961).
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