OPEN GOVERNMENT IN NORTH CAROLINA:
                             A CITIZEN'S GUIDE

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 Produced by North Carolina Attorney General Mike Easley’s Sunshine Office.

About the Sunshine Office

Attorney General Mike Easley established the Sunshine Office in 1994 to
help the public and government agencies understand and apply the public
records and open meetings laws. These laws require that government agencies
in North Carolina allow citizens to examine their records and attend their
meetings. The Sunshine Office also mediates disputes between the public and
government agencies involving access to public documents and meetings.

The services of the Sunshine Office are available to:

* Private citizens,
* Public officials,
* Newspapers and other media organizations,
* Businesses trying to access government information.

How to Contact the Sunshine Office

You may write or call the Sunshine Office at the following address:

                            The Sunshine Office
                          Citizens’ Rights Section
                       Office of the Attorney General
                            Post Office Box 629
                     Raleigh, North Carolina 27602-0629

                            Phone: (919)733-4726
                             Fax: (919)715-7199

The Public Records Law

* What is the public policy regarding public records?

# The North Carolina General Assembly has declared as a matter of public
policy that the public records and public information compiled by the
agencies of North Carolina government or its subdivisions are the property
of the people. G.S. § 132-1(b).

* What are public records?

# Public records are documentary materials that are either made or received
by government agencies in North Carolina in carrying on public business.
Public records include documents, papers, letters, maps, books,
photographs, films, sound recordings, magnetic or other tapes, electronic
data-processing records, artifacts or other documentary material,
regardless of physical form or characteristic. G.S. § 132-1.

* Who may inspect or get copies of public records?

# Any person may inspect and get copies of public records. G.S. § 132-6.

* Is there a procedure for requesting to inspect records?

# The public records law does not describe any specific procedure that a
person must follow in requesting to inspect public records.

* When are public records available for inspection or copying?

# The public records law says that inspection and examination of records
should be allowed at "reasonable times" and under the supervision of the
agency. G.S. § 132-6.

* May citizens request copies of public records in any media available?

# If an agency has the capability to provide copies of public records in
different kinds of media (for example, in print or on computer disc),
people requesting copies may choose to get copies in any and all the media
available. People requesting copies of computer databases may be required
to make their requests in writing. G.S. § 132-6.2(c).

* May an agency charge fees for public records?

# Government agencies may not charge fees for inspecting public records.
Under certain circumstances fees may be charged for copies of public
records. G.S. § 132-6.2(b).

* Must an agency provide information in verbal form?

# The public records law requires that government agencies permit people to
inspect or get copies of information that is in recorded form. The law does
not indicate that government agencies are required to provide information
verbally to people who request it. G.S. § 132-6.2(e).

* What about inspecting or getting copies of records that contain both
public and confidential information?

# Some records contain both public and confidential information. Government
agencies may not refuse to permit inspection or to provide copies because
public records contain some confidential information. Agencies must permit
inspection and provide copies of the public, non-confidential, parts of
these records. G.S. § 132-6(c).

* What are the remedies available if an agency refuses to release or
disclose a public record?

# Any person who is denied access to public records for the purposes of
inspection or examination, and any person who is denied copies of public
records, may bring a civil action in court against the government agency or
official who is denying access or copies. Courts are required to set public
records suits for immediate hearings, and give hearings of these cases
priority over other cases. The court may order the agency to permit
inspection or provide copies if the court determines that the person
seeking the records is entitled to them. G.S. § 132-9.

* Are certain government records exempt from disclosure?

# The public records law exempts certain types of records from required
disclosure. The law says that records containing certain communications
between attorneys and their government clients, State tax information,
trade secrets, certain lawsuit settlements, criminal investigation records,
and records about industrial expansion are not public records.

Several statutes regulate public disclosure of personnel information of
government employees. Although some personnel information is public (e.g.
name, age, date of employment, current position, title, current salary,
date of most recent salary or position assignment change and location of
current assignment) personnel files of State, county, and municipal
employees are generally confidential. See, G.S. §§ 126-22, 153A-98,
160A-168, 115C-321, 115D-29, 122C-158, 130A-42, 131E-97.1, 162A-6.1. These
rules apply to personnel information for applicants, current employees, and
former employees.

* Does the public records law cover access to records of federal agencies?

# Records of federal agencies in North Carolina are not covered by the
Public Records Law. However, in 1966, Congress passed the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA). The Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. § 552)
generally provides that any person has a right, enforceable in court, of
access to federal agency records, except to the extent that such records
(or portions thereof) are protected by one of the nine exemptions or by one
to three special law enforcement record exclusions.

Persons seeking federal records under FOIA should contact an agency public
information officer. If this informal contact is not successful, a formal
written request should be filed. Appropriate contacts may be determined by
calling the agency or by referencing the Federal Register.

The Open Meetings Law

* What is the public policy of North Carolina concerning meetings of public
bodies?

# The North Carolina General Assembly has declared it is the public policy
of North Carolina that the hearings, deliberations, and actions of public
bodies be conducted publicly. G.S. § 143-318.9.

* What are public bodies?

# Groups that are required to hold their official meetings publicly
("public bodies") include government authorities, boards, commissions,
committees, councils, or other bodies. The law applies to all these bodies
of the State, or of one or more counties, cities, school administrative
units, constituent institutions of the University of North Carolina, or
other political subdivisions or public corporations in the State.

These groups are public bodies if they have two or more members, if their
members are elected or appointed, and if they exercise a legislative,
policy-making, quasi-judicial, administrative, or advisory function. G.S.
§§ 143-318.10(b) and (c).

* What are official meetings?

# An official meeting is a meeting, assembly, or gathering together of a
majority of the members of a public body for the purpose of conducting
hearings, participating in deliberations, voting upon public business, or
otherwise transacting public business. G.S. § 143-318.10(e).

* What kind of public notice is required for official meetings?

# Notice is required for all public meetings. The open meetings law
contains detailed procedures that public bodies must follow to give the
public advance notice of their official meetings. Requirements differ
depending on whether the official meeting is a regular meeting, a meeting
other than a regular meeting, or an emergency meeting. G.S. § 143-318.12.

* Is a public body required to set up a schedule of regular meetings?

# A public body is not required to set up a schedule of regular meetings.
However, if a public body does make a schedule of regular meetings it is
required to keep a copy of that schedule on file with a clerk or secretary.

* Does the open meetings law guarantee the public's right to speak at
official meetings?

# All people and media have the right to attend official meetings of public
bodies. G.S. § 143-318.10(a). However, the open meetings law does not give
members of the public the automatic right to speak or participate in an
official meeting. In fact, if a person interrupts, disturbs, or disrupts an
official meeting, the presiding officer may direct that person to leave the
meeting. If that happens and the disruptive person refuses to leave, he may
be charged with a misdemeanor. G.S. § 143-318.17.

Note: There is a difference between public meetings and public hearings.
Public hearings, which are mandated by statute, generally include a
provision for public comment. The Open Meetings Law does not apply to
public hearings.

* What are the public's rights to listen to electronic meetings?

# A public body may hold a meeting by conference telephone or other
electronic means. If it does so, it has to provide a location and means for
members of the public to listen to the meeting. The meeting notice should
indicate where the public may listen. The public body may charge up to
twenty-five dollars to each listener to help pay for the cost of providing
the location and listening equipment. G.S. § 143-318.13(a).

* What are the public's rights to record and/or broadcast official
meetings?

# Any person may photograph, film, tape-record, or otherwise reproduce any
part of an official meeting required to be open. Radio and television
stations are entitled to broadcast all or any part of an official meeting
required to be open. G.S. § 143-318.14.

* May public bodies conceal the subject of their actions or deliberations?

# If members of a public body deliberate, vote or take other action on a
matter at an official meeting, they must do so in a way that allows the
public in attendance to understand what subject is being considered. G.S. §
143-318.13(c).

* May public bodies vote by secret ballot? # Public bodies may not vote by
secret ballot. G.S. § 143-318.13(b).

* May public bodies call emergency meetings?

# Public bodies may call emergency meetings if there are generally
unexpected circumstances that require immediate consideration by the public
body. At an emergency meeting, the public body may consider only the
business connected with the emergency circumstances. G.S. §
143-318.12(b)(3).

* Must public bodies keep minutes of official meetings?

# Every public body is required to keep full and accurate minutes of all
official meetings (including closed sessions). Minutes of legitimate closed
sessions are public records, but they may be withheld from public
inspection so long as public inspection would frustrate the purpose of the
closed session. G.S. § 143-318.10(e).

* May a public body ever hold a closed Session of an official meeting?

# The open meetings law permits public bodies to exclude the public from
certain portions of official meetings. These are referred to as closed
sessions. The subjects that may be discussed and the actions that may be
taken in closed sessions are listed specifically in the open meetings law,
and only these things may be considered during a closed session. G.S. §
143-318.11.

* What is the procedure for holding a closed session?

# The proper procedure for holding a closed session is as follows. A public
body may hold a closed session only if it first begins an open official
meeting after proper public notice. During the open part of the official
meeting, the public body must make and adopt a motion to hold a closed
session. In making the motion to hold a closed session the public body must
state which of the legally acceptable purposes (as listed in the open
meetings law at G.S. § 143-318.11(a)) it is relying upon to justify the
closed session.

* What are the permitted purposes for holding closed sessions?

# The open meetings law says that a public body may hold a closed session
during one of its official meetings only when a closed session is required
to prevent public disclosure of the following seven types of information:
legally confidential information, honorary degrees, scholarships, prizes
and awards, attorney-client discussions, location or expansion of
businesses, contract negotiations, certain personnel matters, and criminal
investigations. G.S. § 143-318.11(a).

* What are the civil remedies for violations of Open Meetings Law?

# Any person may bring a civil court action against a public body for past
violations or possible future violations of the open meetings law. If the
person bringing a suit shows that the public body violated or is going to
violate the open meetings law, the court may issue an injunction. An
injunction may prohibit a threatened violation of the law, or prevent past
violations of the law from recurring. G.S. § 143-318.16(a).

* Are all public bodies subject to the open meetings law?

The open meetings law specifies several public agencies or organizations
that are not subject to the law. G.S. §§ 143-318.10(c) and 143-318.18.

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