North Carolina § 7A-752 - Chief Administrative Law Judge; appointments; vacancy.

§ 7A-752. Chief Administrative Law Judge; appointments; vacancy.

The Chief Administrative Law Judge of the Office of Administrative Hearings shall be appointed by the Chief Justice for a term of office of four years. The first Chief Administrative Law Judge shall be appointed as soon as practicable for a term to begin on the day of his appointment and to end on June 30, 1989. Successors to the first Chief Administrative Law Judge shall be appointed for a term to begin on July 1 of the year the preceding term ends and to end on June 30 four years later. A Chief Administrative Law Judge may continue to serve beyond his term until his successor is duly appointed and sworn, but any holdover shall not affect the expiration date of the succeeding term. The Chief Administrative Law Judge shall designate one administrative law judge as senior administrative law judge. The senior administrative law judge may perform the duties of Chief Administrative Law Judge if the Chief Administrative Law Judge is absent or unable to serve temporarily for any reason. History (1985, c. 746, s. 2; 1985 (Reg. Sess., 1986), c. 1022, ss. 3, 6(2), 6(3); 1987 (Reg. Sess., 1988), c. 1111, ss. 15, 25; 1991, c. 103, s. 1.) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 1985, c. 746, s. 18.1 directed the substitution of "Attorney General" for "Chief Justice" in the first sentence of the first paragraph, but s. 19 of c. 746 made this amendment effective only if the Supreme Court issued an advisory opinion that the appointment of the chief hearing officer by the Chief Justice was unconstitutional. Section 18.2 of Session Laws 1985, c. 746, provided: "The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall request the Supreme Court to issue an advisory opinion on the constitutionality of Sections 5 and 6 of this act and the appointment of the chief hearing officer by the Chief Justice as provided in G.S. 7A-752 in Section 2 of this act." By letter of October 28, 1985, addressed to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House, the Supreme Court declined to issue an advisory opinion as contemplated by Session Laws 1985, c. 746, on the grounds that to issue such an opinion would be to place the Court directly in the stream of the legislative process, and in view of the prerogative of the General Assembly to first address and determine the constitutionality of its own legislation. See In re Advisory Opinion, - N.C. - , 335 S.E.2d 890 (1985). At the direction of the Revisor of Statutes, the amendment by Session Laws 1985, c. 746, s. 18.1 has not been effectuated. Legal Periodicals. - For note on the separation of powers and the power to appoint, see 66 N.C.L. Rev. 1109 (1988).