North Carolina HB 923: Protect Personal Information/Judicial Personnel.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 2
HOUSE BILL 923
Committee Substitute Favorable 4/29/25

Short Title: Protect Personal Info/Judicial Personnel. (Public)
Sponsors:
Referred to:
April 14, 2025
*H923-v-2*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO REQUIRE REMOVAL OF PERSONAL IDENTIFYING INFORMATION 2
FROM WEBSITES MAINTAINED BY THE STATE, COUNTIES, AND CITIES WHEN 3
REQUESTED BY CERTAIN PROSECUTORS, PUBLIC DEFENDERS, AND JUDICIAL 4
PERSONNEL. 5
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 6
SECTION 1. Chapter 132 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new 7
section to read: 8
"§ 132-20. Removal of personal identifying information from public websites; judicial 9
personnel. 10
(a) Any judicial official may request, in writing, that all personal identifying information 11
be removed from any website, online computer database, or geographical information system 12
maintained by any public agency and available to the general public, provided the request 13
includes all of the following: 14
(1) The name of the judicial official. 15
(2) Information indicating the judicial official is eligible to make the request. 16
(3) The specific personal identifying information to be removed. 17
(b) Each public agency shall develop and make available a process by which any judicial 18
official may request removal of that individual's personal identifying information from any 19
website, online computer database, or geographical information system maintained by the public 20
agency and available to the general public. The request to remove personal identifying 21
information may also include a request to remove the personal identifying information of the 22
individual's spouse. 23
(c) The public agency must remove the personal identifying information if requested in 24
accordance with this section. The personal identifying information removed in accordance with 25
this section shall not be made available online again unless the public agency receives a written 26
revocation from the judicial official who made the original request. Personal identifying 27
information removed in accordance with this section continues to be a public record if it would 28
otherwise be subject to disclosure under this Chapter. 29
(d) Neither the request to remove the personal identifying information nor the revocation 30
of the request is a public record as defined by G.S. 132-1, and the public agency shall keep the 31
request and any revocation confidential. 32
(e) A public agency and its officers, officials, employees, and agents, both past and 33
present, in their official and individual capacity, shall be immune and held harmless from liability 34
in any action brought by or on behalf of any person injured or harmed by the action or inaction, 35
in good faith, of the public agency or its officers, officials, employees, and agents in 36

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 923-Second Edition
implementing the provisions of this section. However, if the actions of an officer, official, 1
employee, or agent which result in harm were not within the course and scope of the duties of 2
the officer, official, employee, or agent, the officer, official, employee, or agent may be subject 3
to liability as an individual to the extent permitted by the laws of this State. 4
(f) For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply: 5
(1) Judicial official. – Any of the following individuals, while serving in that 6
capacity: 7
a. A magistrate. 8
b. A justice or judge of the general court of justice. 9
c. A district attorney or assistant district attorney. 10
d. An assistant attorney general employed by the North Carolina 11
Department of Justice. 12
e. A United States Attorney, Assistant United States Attorney, or Special 13
Assistant United States Attorney. 14
f. A public defender or assistant public defender. 15
g. A federal judge. 16
h. A clerk of the superior court. 17
i. A resource prosecutor employed by the Conference of District 18
Attorneys. 19
(2) Personal identifying information. – Excluding the name of the individual, any 20
of the following: 21
a. A physical residential address. 22
b. A personal phone number. 23
c. Any identifying information as defined in G.S. 14-113.20(b). 24
d. A birth certificate. 25
e. A marriage certificate." 26
SECTION 2. G.S. 132-6.1(a1) reads as rewritten: 27
"(a1) Notwithstanding G.S. 132-6.2(a), a public agency may satisfy the requirement under 28
G.S. 132-6 to provide access to public records in computer databases by making public records 29
in computer databases individually available online in a format that allows a person to view the 30
public record and print or save the public record to obtain a copy. A public agency that provides 31
access to public records under this subsection is not required to provide access to the public 32
records in the computer database in any other way; provided, however, that a a public agency 33
that provides access to public