A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to modify certain definitions of the Administrative Procedure Act.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.(a)  Subdivisions (1b) and (7) of G.S. 150B‑2 are recodified as subdivisions (1a) and (5a) of G.S. 150B‑2, respectively.
SECTION 1.(b)  G.S. 150B‑2, as amended by subsection (a) of this section, reads as rewritten:
"§ 150B‑2.  Definitions.
As used in this Chapter, the following definitions apply:
(1)	Administrative law judge. – A person appointed under G.S. 7A‑752, 7A‑753, or 7A‑757.
(1a)	Adopt. – To take final action to create, amend, or repeal a rule.
(1b)	Agency. – An agency or an officer in the executive branch of the government of this State. The term includes the Council of State, the Governor's Office, a board, a commission, a department, a division, a council, and any other unit of government in the executive branch. A local unit of government is not an agency.
(1c)	Codifier of Rules. – The person appointed by the Chief Administrative Law Judge of the Office of Administrative Hearings pursuant to G.S. 7A‑760(b).
(1d)	Commission. – The Rules Review Commission.
(2)	Contested case. – An administrative proceeding pursuant to this Chapter to resolve a dispute between an agency and another person that involves the person's rights, duties, or privileges, including licensing or the levy of a monetary penalty. The term does not include rulemaking, declaratory rulings, or the award or denial of a scholarship, a grant, or a loan.
(2a)	Repealed by Session Laws 1991, c. 418, s. 3.
(2b)	Guidance document, bulletin, or memorandum. – A document developed by a State agency or staff that provides information or guidance of general applicability to the staff or public to interpret or implement statutes or the agency's rules or regulations, excluding agency minutes or documents that pertain only to the internal management of the agency. Nothing in this definition shall be construed or interpreted to expand the identification or release of any document otherwise protected by law.
(2c)	Hearing officer. – A person or group of persons designated by an agency that is subject to Article 3A of this Chapter to preside in a contested case hearing conducted under that Article.
(3)	License. – Any certificate, permit, or other evidence, by whatever name called, of a right or privilege to engage in any activity, except licenses issued under Chapter 20 and Subchapter I of Chapter 105 of the General Statutes, occupational licenses, and certifications of electronic poll books, ballot duplication systems, or voting systems under G.S. 163‑165.7.
(4)	Licensing. – Any administrative action issuing, failing to issue, suspending, or revoking a license or occupational license. The term does not include controversies over whether an examination was fair or whether the applicant passed the examination.
(4a)	Occupational license. – Any certificate, permit, or other evidence, by whatever name called, of a right or privilege to engage in a profession, occupation, or field of endeavor that is issued by an occupational licensing agency.
(4b)	Occupational licensing agency. – Any board, commission, committee, or other agency of the State that is established for the primary purpose of regulating the entry of persons into, or the conduct of persons within a particular profession, occupation, or field of endeavor, and that is authorized to issue and revoke licenses. The term does not include State agencies or departments that may as only a part of their regular function issue permits or licenses.
(5)	Party. – Any person or agency named or admitted as a party or properly seeking as of right to be admitted as a party and includes the agency as appropriate.
(5a)	Person. – Any natural person, partnership, corporation, body politic, and any unincorporated association, organization, or society that may sue or be sued under a common name.
(6)	Person aggrieved. – Any person or group of persons of common interest directly or indirectly affected substantially in his, her, or its person, property, or employment by an administrative decision.
(7a)	Policy. – Any nonbinding interpretive statement within the delegated authority of an agency that merely defines, interprets, or explains the meaning of a statute or rule. The term includes any document issued by an agency that is intended and used purely to assist a person to comply with the law, such as a guidance document.
(8)	Residence. – Domicile or principal place of business.
(8a)	Rule. – Any agency regulation, standard, or statement of general applicability that implements or interprets an enactment of the General Assembly or Congress or a regulation adopted by a federal agency or that describes the procedure or practice requirements of an agency. The term includes the establishment of a fee and the amendment or repeal of a prior rule. The term does not include the following:
…
b.	Budgets and budget policies and procedures issued by the Director of the Budget, by the head of a department, as defined by G.S. 143A‑2 or G.S. 143B‑3, or by an occupational licensing board, as defined by G.S. 93B‑1.
…
(8b)	Repealed by Session Laws 2011‑398, s. 61.2, effective July 25, 2011.
(8c)	Substantial evidence. – Relevant evidence a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.
(9)	Repealed by Session Laws 1991, c. 418, s. 3."
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.