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City of Wilson seeks to rewrite public records law
The Wilson Times has reported on a bill authored by Rep. Susan Martin, R-Wilson, that would exempt information related to alarm registrations from the state Public Records law. The legislation would apply only to the city of Wilson, but the effect could be to erode the Public Records Law and eventually turn into statewide legislation. The Times…
Read MoreNC GOP requests 14 years of records from Attorney General Roy Cooper
The News & Observer has reported on a series of public records request to Attorney General Roy Cooper’s office by the North Carolina Republican Party. The article quotes SMVT attorney Brandon J. Huffman on the public records law: While the GOP request is a large one, media lawyer Brandon Huffman of Raleigh said the law doesn’t have…
Read MorePolice turn over video from officer shooting dog
Gaston Gazette has reported that one North Carolina police department decided to release police body camera video in the wake of the non-fatal shooting of a dog. The department cleared the officer involved of any wrongdoing and released the video to combat rumors that the dog was shot for no reason. The article quotes SMVT attorney…
Read MoreBuncombe leaders agreed to land deal in private
The Citizen-Times has reported that Buncombe County commissioners agreed in private to buy a piece of property as part of a deal to attract a company to the County. According to the article, several of board members believe there should have been transparency. But others, and the county attorney, maintain that they were discussing the…
Read MoreCharlotte officials used personal email for public work
In the wake of the revelation that Hillary Clinton used her personal email address while Secretary of State, rather than a government address, the Charlotte Observer has reported on similar activity at the local level. The story includes several examples of public officials using personal Gmail or Yahoo! accounts for official business. In some cases, the paper…
Read MoreHow open are Asheville’s records?
The Citizen-Times has published a thorough article on the City of Asheville’s public records practices as part of its ongoing reporting on Sunshine Week. The article quotes SMVT partner and North Carolina Press Association counsel Amanda Martin several times: “Our democracy is based on having an educated public,” North Carolina Press Association Attorney Amanda Martin says of…
Read MoreNew economic development group could keep more incentives records private
The News & Observer has reported on a new public-private partnership that will lead efforts to bring companies to North Carolina. The Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina will operate within a framework outside of the normal public records law, despite being funded by public money. The N&O quoted SMVT attorney Amanda Martin in the story. “A…
Read MoreWake school board security policy may violate the law
WRAL reports on changes to Wake County Schools’ security policy for its meetings. Now, meetings will require attendees show identification and submit to a simplified background check before entering the meeting. The article quotes SMVT attorney Mike Tadych, and suggests that the policy may violate the North Carolina Open Meetings laws. “There are ways to…
Read MoreHundreds of secret WNC county meetings, with few details released
The Asheville Citizen Times reports on an investigation by Carolina Public Press into how often county commissioners in North Carolina’s western counties went into closed session last year. The article quotes SMVT attorney Amanda Martin: “I get called with some frequency” about closed sessions, said Amanda Martin, an attorney for the North Carolina Press Association, which…
Read MoreNC policies on government emails hard to police, lead to delays in public access
In the wake of Hillary Clinton’s now-famous use of her personal email address for official business while Secretary of State, WRAL has investigated North Carolina’s laws on public employee emails. Federal and state law are similar: public business on private email accounts creates a public record. The account holder is the custodian of those records.…
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