A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to allow licensed private investigators to access the Administrative Office of the Courts real‑Time criminal records information system.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Article 1 of Chapter 74C of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 74C‑24.  Private Investigator access to criminal court records.
(a)	Access. – In order to assist private investigators in conducting investigations regarding any of the matters set forth in G.S. 74C‑3(a)(8), the Administrative Office of the Courts shall provide any individual with a current license issued under this Chapter to act as a private investigator with access to search criminal records in the Administrative Office of the Courts' real‑time criminal information systems.
(b)	Conditions and limitations. – Access provided under subsection (a) of this section shall:
(1)	Be limited to information systems containing general criminal case information as maintained by the clerks of superior court. Access shall not include systems for the production of criminal process by law enforcement officials and judicial officials under G.S. 15A‑301.1 or other information not subject to public disclosure.
(2)	Be without charge for individual searches of the Administrative Office of the Courts' criminal information systems except as expressly provided in this subdivision. The Administrative Office of the Courts shall charge initial setup fees equivalent to its fees for governmental agencies granted access to its systems to each individual granted access pursuant to subsection (a) of this section in order to defray the costs of establishing access. However, a private investigator that has access to the Administrative Office of the Courts' criminal information systems as of July 1, 2015, shall not be charged setup fees.
(c)	All hardware, software, telecommunications charges, or other expenditures required for such access shall be the sole responsibility of the individual private investigator. No State funds may be expended for such expenses.
(d)	The Commissioner shall coordinate the access granted under subsection (a) of this section by providing all information requested by the Administrative Office of the Courts for the establishment of access. The Administrative Office of the Courts shall not provide access to any private investigator who fails to provide all information requested by the Commissioner.
(e)	The Director of the Private Protective Services Board shall notify the Administrative Office of the Courts within 24 hours of any action to suspend or revoke a private investigator's license or authority to act as a private investigator. The Administrative Office of the Courts shall immediately revoke access of the suspended or revoked private investigator to its criminal information systems.
(f)	The Administrative Office of the Courts shall provide to the Director of the Private Protective Services Board copies of its current policies for access to court information systems for users outside the Judicial Branch. Any private investigator granted access pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall adhere to all such policies. The Administrative Office of the Courts shall revoke access of any private investigator violating those policies.
(g)	It is unlawful for any person to willfully do any of the following:
(1)	For any person to access information systems of the Administrative Office of the Courts by means of an online identifier, as defined in G.S. 14‑208.6(1n), that was assigned to another individual by the Administrative Office of the Courts pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.
(2)	For any private investigator granted access pursuant to subsection (a) of this section to allow any other person, directly or indirectly, to make use of access granted to the private investigator pursuant to subsection (a) of this section. The prohibition in this subsection shall not apply to persons employed by and under the direct supervision of the private investigator.
(3)	For any private investigator granted access pursuant to subsection (a) of this section to make use of that access at any time when the private investigator knows or has reason to know that the investigator's license issued under this Article is in a state of suspension or revocation.
(4)	For any private investigator granted access pursuant to subsection (a) of this section to distribute, in any medium or manner, information obtained from the information systems of the Administrative Office of the Courts to any person for any reason not directly related to the evaluation of the individual to whom the information pertains for the purposes of criminal records history checks without the express written consent of that individual.
Unless the conduct is covered under some other provision of law providing for a greater punishment, any violation of this subsection shall be a Class H felony."
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.