About the Legislative Services Officer

The Legislative Services Officer prepares an explanation of any proposed Constitutional provision G.S. § 147-54.10

Duties

The Legislative Services Officer has duties to perform when the General Assembly enacts a law that creates a ballot question regarding whether North Carolina voters want to amend the Constitution of North Carolina in a specified way. Those duties include:

To prepare an explanation of the amendment, revision, or new Constitution in "“simple and commonly used language”, and
To prepare a short caption reflecting the contents [of the change].

After the Legislative Services Officer completes its work, by law, the Department of the Secretary of State prints the summary and publicizes it. The Legislative Services Officer’s captions will appear on the ballot.

What the Legislative Services Officer Does Not and Cannot Do

The Legislative Services Officer does not decide whether an amendment should be put before the voters on a ballot.
The Legislative Services Officer cannot alter the words of a proposed constitutional amendment. The Legislative Services Officer also does not have the authority to change the way the question about an amendment is worded on the ballot. The North Carolina General Assembly decides how a constitutional change will be worded and how the question about it will appear on the ballot.
It is not the role of the Legislative Services Officer to tell citizens how to vote on an amendment.