Jonathan Jones

Watchdog.org: Requests for email of two university professors were denied on the grounds that the emails on N.C. State accounts related to private consulting jobs and therefore did not qualify as public records.

Fayetteville Observer: A bill making state government records related to military base realignment a secret unamimously passed the General Assembly Wednesday and is headed to Gov. McCrory. The information will become public after federal officials announce realignment decisions.  

The Daily Tar Heel: Superior Court Judge Howard Manning ordered that search warrants and a 911 call related to the 2012 killing of Faith Hedgepeth be unsealed. The records had remained sealed since shortly after the UNC junior's death. 

Charlotte Observer: Gov. Pat McCrory vowed Monday to override a charter school reform bill if it allows schools to withhold names of employees. 

Charlotte Observer (6/27/14): As some charter school's around the state have balked at providing employee names and salaries under the public records law, the Senate moved to make it clear that charter schools must comply. The House approved an amendment to the bill Thursday that would allow the schools to withhold only the employees' names. 

Gov. Pat McCrory on Tuesday signed an economic development reform bill that significantly reduces the amount of information available under the public records law.

News & Record (6/18/2014): Photographs taken of people after they are arrested would  only become public records upon conviction if a proposal pending in the General Assembly passes into law. 

WRAL (6/4/2014): As part of a reorganization of how economic development activities are carried out in North Carolina, the General Assembly is considering broadening the public records exemption for tax incentives programs. 

A provision in the budget bill would require records seekers asking for booking photographs to affirmatively state their intent for the photograph. The bill would make it a crime to publish mug shot photos for publishers that demand money before taking them down. It also would require publishers to remove or retract the photographs and any descriptions of an arrest if the charges are dropped or the person is acquitted. 

Independent Tribune: A bill introduced last week would require school systems to create schematic diagrams of school facilities and then provide a copy to local law enforcement. The diagrams would be exempted from the public records law.