Understanding North Carolina Public Records Laws

North Carolina's General Statute 121 and 123, state that every document (hardcopy or electronic), map, book, pictures, film, audio or video recordings, electronic data processing record regardless of physical form that is made or received while conducting government business is a public record. The Public Record Statutes apply to all state, county, municipal agency or any other political subdivision of the state.

Records management and disposal schedules of all government related documents are set by North Carolina's Department of Cultural Resources. Also, any record that doesn't have any more value can be destroyed once their value is gone. For example, fax cover sheets, reservations and confirmations, draft documents (as long as you have a final document) and other like documents.

Destroying or not producing a requested record is a misdemeanor offense. Trade Secret and Confidential information such as social security numbers, citizen billing information and other like information are exempt from being released to any requestor.

Any citizen can request any information they want from any government body. When requesting information it's a good idea to send a hard copy letter to the City Clerk or someone similar. Also, if you know the persons email address it's a good idea to send that request as well, so that your request is officially noted. When you request a public record, the government entity can either charge you a reasonable fee for producing hardcopies. If the government entity has the information electronically they'll usually just email it to you without a charge.

Vendors that are competing for business with any government entity in the state of North Carolina can request copies of other vendor's proposals minus any trade secret/confidential information. When you make any request the government staff should produce them as reasonably as possible. There's no time limit set to any public record request in North Carolina. Also, if you want to see the pricing comparison on any Invitation to Bid or Request For Proposal documents then you can get that information.

As a vendor either providing or trying to get government business in North Carolina you can request copies of any of the following information such as vendor proposals, contracts, pricing comparisons, any recordings and other related data that you might want to see. Don't let any government entity tell you that pricing is confidential or that they can't provide you that information because pricing is open to everyone to review.

To learn more about what public records are in North Carolina or to see what documents are exempt from being released visit Government Records Branch of North Carolina.

Source:
http://www.records.ncdcr.gov/guidelines.htm