Welcome to NCPA’s Legislative e-Background

Follow the links below to find out more about bills pending in the General Assembly that have a potential impact on the newspaper industry and/or government transparancy.

This e-Background site is solely for informational purposes and is not a news service. Permission to reprint or repost any material from links to this site must be obtained from the original author.

All Twitter or other feeds on this site are for informational purposes only. NCPA is not responsible for the content.

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Senate budget would require EV/hybrid drivers to pay more for registration 5-21-13

Leading budget writers offer details on $20.6 billion plan 5-21-13

NC House, Senate plans differ on sales tax 5-16-13

HB 243, the bill concerning storage lien sales advertising, failed to receive approval on May 21 in a House concurrence vote. The bill will now be sent to a conference committee.

HB 504, SB 287 and HB 755 have all been referred back to the House Rules Committee after 755 was amended by substitution with the language of HB 723. View the breakdown of the vote on the amendment.

Hear the comments from Rep. Marilyn Avila on the amendment. Part 1 | Part 2

MEMBER SUPPORT NEEDED: Bill filed April 10 to require newspapers to publish public notices both in print and on their websites. HB 723
SB331: Sunshine Amendment to the N.C. Constitution
Ref To Com On Judiciary I
SB332: Government Transparency Act
Ref To Com On Judiciary I
HB837: Government Transparency Act - Companion bill to SB332
Ref to the Com on State Personnel, if favorable, Regulatory Reform
HB723: Requiring public notice advertising on newspaper websites in addition to being in print.
Ref To Com On Judiciary Subcommittee B
SB186: Public notice advertising allowed on websites in lieu of newspapers.
Ref To Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate
HB504: Local bill on public notice advertising affecting the counties (and any municipal government in them) of Buncombe, Guilford, Henderson, Mecklenburg, Mitchell, Perquimans, Stanly, Surry, and Wake.
Withdrawn from calender and referred to Rules Committee.
SB287: Local bill on public notice advertising applying only to Guilford County and the cities of Greensboro and High Point, and the Town of Morrisville. MORE COUNTIES, COMMUNITIES ADDED TO THIS BILL
Approved by the Senate on 4-23. Withdrawn from calendar and referred to Rules Committee
HB755: Allowing the state Department of Environmental and Natural Resources to use only electronic notifications rather than in newspapers.
Amended by full House, then withdrawn and referred to Rules Committee
HB870: Requires all public bodies to record, either audio only or video with audio, all closed meetings
Approved by the House. Sent to the Senate.
HB243: Advertisement of property claimed by lien in self-storage units allowed use other methods than newspapers.
Approved by House. Approved by the Senate. House concurrence vote on May 21.
SB617: Allows government agencies to charge people requesting copies of public documents the cost of labor by staff members.
Ref To Com On Judiciary I
SB549: Bill would make a closed record the list of people kept by the sheriff of people with a permit to purchase a handgun or have a concealed handgun permit.
Ref To Com On Judiciary I
HB349: Bill would permit the City of Fayetteville to provide limited personnel information to the city's Police Citizen Review Board when a complaint is filed.
Re-ref Com On Judiciary
HB516: Confidentiality of lottery winners' names and addresses.
Re-ref Com On Judiciary Subcommittee B
SB648: Makes it a felony to falsify an employment application to be able to get into an employer's facility to make recordings or obtain data.
Ref to Commerce. If fav, re-ref to Judiciary I
HB214: Real estate broker, sales licenses supporting information not a public record
Passed by House. Ref To Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate
HB565: Criminal history background checks for real estate appraiser license applications to be declared not a public record.
Assigned To Commerce and Job Development Subcommittee on Military and Agriculture
SB125: Making violations of open meetings and public records laws a misdemeanor.
Ref To Com On Judiciary I
HB17: Bill would remove concealed weapons permits from the public record. Also, records kept by gun dealers would also be declared confidential.
Passed by House. Ref to Senate's Judiciary 1
SB28: Similar to HB17 in that all records of gun permits and sales would be confidential.
Ref To Com On Judiciary II
SB44: Bill permits disclosure of certain details about employers' workers' compensation insurance plans.
Ratified. Signed by the governor.
SB85: Bill to clarify conditions when local, county boards can adopt an ordinance at same meeting as first introduced.
Ref To Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate
HB142: Bill would clarify that records of campus police at private institutions are available for inspection by the public, just like records of other law enforcement agencies.
Passed by the House. Sent to Senate. Ref to Com On Judiciary II
HB125: Computer code writen for proprietary use by government agencies or units not considered a public record.
Passed by the House. Sent to Senate. Ref to Com On Judiciary I
HB111: Workers comp information to be public records. Equvilent bill to SB44
Ref To Com On Judiciary Subcommittee A
HB659: Adds more ethical standards for city and county officials, including rules dealing with advertisements.
Ref to the Com on Government, if favorable, Appropriations