The North Carolina Local Government Commission (LGC) has announced that, effective September 1, 2026, its staff will no longer serve as the primary drafter of the preliminary official statement, official statement, and the notice of sale for competitively bid general obligation (GO) bond transactions.

As a result, every issuer with a competitive GO sale planned on or after September 1 will need to decide, ideally well before that sale is scheduled, who will take on this drafting and coordinating role going forward. Key questions to work through include who on the team is best positioned to serve as drafter and custodian of the offering documents, how that work will fit into your existing financing timeline and budget, and how historical and financial data will be gathered and maintained for future issuances.

Some issuers may prefer to have bond counsel absorb this expanded role; others may prefer to add separate disclosure counsel, or lean more heavily on their municipal advisor or internal staff. Each arrangement carries its own cost, coordination, and continuity trade-offs, and the right fit depends on your finance team's capacity and the complexity of your borrowing program.

Parker Poe has been serving in this drafting capacity for many of our local government clients on recent GO bond transactions, and has seen firsthand the time savings it can provide for finance teams that are already stretched thin. We are glad to walk through these options with you, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each, and help tailor an approach that works for your unit before your next competitive GO sale.

Please feel free to reach out to any member of Parker Poe's public finance team with any questions about how this change affects your next financing. Click here to subscribe to our latest alerts and insights.