GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1997

S	3 

SENATE BILL 844
Judiciary Committee Substitute Adopted 4/28/97
Third Edition Engrossed 5/1/97

Short Title:  Strengthen Open Government.	(Public)

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Sponsors:

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Referred to:  

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April 15, 1997

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO STRENGTHEN THE OPEN MEETINGS LAW TO REQUIRE ACCOUNTS OF CLOSED MEETINGS AND TO PROHIBIT VOTING ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVES IN CLOSED SESSIONS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 143-318.10(e) reads as rewritten:
"(e)	Every public body shall keep full and accurate minutes of all official meetings, including any closed sessions held pursuant to G.S. 143-318.11. Such minutes may be in written form or, at the option of the public body, may be in the form of sound or video and sound recordings. When a public body meets in closed session, it shall keep an account of the closed session so that a person not in attendance would have a reasonable understanding of what transpired.  Such accounts may be a written narrative, or video or audio recordings.  Such minutes and accounts shall be public records within the meaning of the Public Records Law, G.S. 132-1 et seq.; provided, however, that minutes or an account of a closed session conducted in compliance with G.S. 143-318.11 may be withheld from public inspection so long as public inspection would frustrate the purpose of a closed session."
Section 2.  G.S. 143-318.11(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Permitted Purposes. – It is the policy of this State that closed sessions shall be held only when required to permit a public body to act in the public interest as permitted in this section. A public body may hold a closed session and exclude the public only when a closed session is required:
(1)	To prevent the disclosure of information that is privileged or confidential pursuant to the law of this State or of the United States, or not considered a public record within the meaning of Chapter 132 of the General Statutes.