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Executive Office
Declaratory Rulings | Rule-Making Procedures | Public Hearings
General Information
The Executive Director of the Board, Robert N. Brooks, and the Deputy Director, J. Michael Barham, CPA, direct the overall
administration of the Board staff and Board operations in accordance with the
statutes, regulations, and policy directives of the Board. They are
responsible for drafting legislative bills and proposed regulations,
represent the Board at legislative and rule-making hearings, represent the
Board at various local, State, regional, national, and international meetings,
and work closely with the Board’s Legal Counsel and Professional
Standards staff to enforce the Rules of
Professional Ethics and Conduct adopted by the Board pursuant to NCGS
93-12(9).
Mailing Address: NC State Board of CPA Examiners,
PO Box 12827, Raleigh, NC 27605-2827
Fax Number: (919) 733-4209
Declaratory Rulings
Any person aggrieved, as defined in NCGS 150B-2(6), by a
statute administered or rule promulgated by the Board may request a
declaratory ruling as to how the statute or rule applies to a given factual
situation or whether a particular Board rule is valid. All requests for
declaratory rulings must be in writing and should be mailed to the
Board’s Executive Director, Robert N. Brooks.
All requests for a
declaratory ruling must include the following information:
- name and address of
petitioner;
- statute or rule to which the
petition relates;
- concise statement of the
manner in which the petitioner is aggrieved or thinks that he or she may
be injured by the rule or statute and its application to him or her; and
- statement of whether an oral
hearing is desired and if so, the reasons for such an oral hearing.
As a general
rule, a declaratory ruling will be issued except:
- when the Board believes for
good reason that issuing a ruling is undesirable;
- when the subject of a
requested ruling is also the subject of a lawsuit pending in a court of this
State or a federal court;
- when the facts presented in
the case were considered at a rule-making hearing; or
- in other special
circumstances.
Pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act and Board
rules, declaratory rulings set no precedents and are limited to the facts of
the request and may be relied upon only by the requesting party.
Rule-Making Procedures
Any person who wishes to submit a petition requesting the
adoption, amendment, or repeal of a rule by the Board must address a petition
to the Board.
A petition requesting the
adoption of a rule should contain the following information:
- either a draft of the
proposed rule or a summary of the contents of the proposed rule;
- reason for the proposal;
- effect of the new rule on
existing rules;
- data supporting the rule
proposal;
- effects of the rule on
existing practices in the area involved; and
- name, address, and telephone
number of each petitioner.
A
petition requesting the amendment or repeal of a rule should contain the
following information:
- rule affected;
- reasons for change;
- either a draft of the
proposed amendment or a summary of the contents of the proposed
amendment, if the petition is to change a rule;
- data supporting the rule
proposal;
- effects of the rule on
existing practices in the area involved; and
- name, address, and telephone
number of each petitioner.
The Executive Director and Deputy Director will make a
recommendation to a specially-convened committee of the Board and the committee
will recommend to the full Board, based on a study of the facts stated in the
petition, whether the public interest will be better served by granting or
denying the petition. The Board will consider all the contents of the
submitted petition plus any additional information deemed relevant.
Public Hearings
Prior to any Board action in a contested case, the Board
will give the parties in the case an opportunity for a hearing without undue
delay and notice not less than 15 days before the hearing. The notice of
hearing is given personally or by certified mail. The notice to the parties
includes:
- a statement of the date,
hour, place, and nature of the hearing;
- a reference to the particular
section(s) of the statutes and rules involved;
- a short and plain statement
of the facts alleged;
- the name, title, address, and
telephone number of the Board personnel to contact for further
information; and
- the date and place of any
pre-hearing conference.
Hearings are open to the public and are conducted in a
fair and impartial manner. At the hearing, the Board and the parties are
given an opportunity to present evidence on issues of fact, examine and
cross-examine witnesses, submit rebuttal evidence, and present arguments on
issues of law or policy. If a party fails to appear in a contested case after
he or she has been given proper notice, the agency may continue the hearing
or proceed with the hearing and make its decision in the absence of the
party.
The
Board may itself conduct an informal pre-hearing conference or may designate
a committee to conduct such a conference. The purposes of a pre-hearing
conference in a contested case are:
- to determine the possibility
of simplifying or eliminating the issues;
- to facilitate the stipulation
to facts or findings by the parties;
- to identify evidence which
will be needed at the hearing;
- to determine the validity of
the proposed evidence;
- to determine the need for
depositions or subpoenas;
- to determine the relevance of
findings in some other case to the case at hand;
- to determine the need for
consolidation of cases or joint hearings; and
- to determine any other
matters which will reduce cost or save time or otherwise aid in the
expeditious disposition of the contested case.
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