2005 North Carolina Code - General Statutes § 126-4.1. Commission panels may recommend final agency decisions.

§ 126‑4.1.  Commission panels may recommend final agency decisions.

(a)       The State Personnel Commission ("Commission") may make a final agency decision in a contested case brought under Article 3 of Chapter 150B of the General Statutes upon the recommendation of a panel of its members appointed by the Chair.

(b)       For contested case purposes, the Chair of the Commission may appoint panels of four members, with three panelists constituting a quorum of the panel. The Chair shall make every effort to provide that each category of Commission membership enumerated in G.S. 126‑2(b) shall be represented on the appointed panels.

(c)       When a panel hears and makes a recommendation in a contested case, that recommendation shall then be referred to the full Commission. Upon referral, the full Commission may either:

(1)       Accept the recommendation of the panel and incorporate the panel's recommendation as the Commission's final decision; or

(2)       Reject the recommendation of the panel and make a final decision upon consideration by the full Commission. (1998‑181, s. 2.)