PUBLISHED

N.C.G.S. § 132-1.1

Confidential communications by legal counsel to public board or agency; State tax information; public enterprise billing information; Address Confidentiality Program information.

Effective date: 2026-08-08
Last verified: 2026-08-09
Source: official source
Revision history: view all versions

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(a) Confidential Communications. - Public records, as defined in G.S. 132-1, shall not include written communications (and copies thereof) to any public board, council, commission or other governmental body of the State or of any county, municipality or other political subdivision or unit of government made within the scope of the attorney-client relationship concerning any claim against or on behalf of the governmental body or the governmental entity for which such body acts, or concerning the prosecution, defense, settlement or litigation of any judicial action, or any administrative or other type of proceeding to which the governmental body is a party or by which it is or may be directly affected. Such written communication and copies thereof shall not be open to public inspection, examination or copying unless specifically made public by the governmental body receiving such written communications. (b) State and Local Tax Information. - Tax information may not be disclosed except as provided in G.S. 105-259. As used in this subsection, "tax information" has the same meaning as in G.S. 105-259. Local tax records that contain information about a taxpayer's income or receipts may not be disclosed except as provided in G.S. 153A-148.1 and G.S. 160A-208.1. (c) Public Enterprise Billing Information. - Billing information compiled and maintained by a city or county or other public entity providing utility services in connection with the ownership or operation of a public enterprise, excluding airports, is not a public record as defined in G.S. 132-1. Nothing contained herein is intended to limit public disclosure by a city or county of billing information: (1) That the city or county determines will be useful or necessary to assist bond counsel, bond underwriters, underwriters' counsel, rating agencies or investors or potential investors in making informed decisions regarding bonds or other obligations incurred or to be incurred with respect to the public enterprise; (2) That is necessary to assist the city, county, State, or public enterprise to maintain the integrity and quality of services it provides; or (3) That is necessary to assist law enforcement, public safety, fire protection, rescue, emergency management, or judicial officers in the performance of their duties. As used herein, "billing information" means any record or information, in whatever form, compiled or maintained with respect to individual customers by any owner or operator of a public enterprise, as defined in G.S. 160A-311, excluding subdivision (9), and G.S. 153A-274, excluding subdivision (4), or other public entity providing utility services, excluding airports, relating to services it provides or will provide to the customer. (d) Address Confidentiality Program Information. - The actual address and telephone number of a program participant in the Address Confidentiality Program established under Chapter 15C of the General Statutes is not a public record within the meaning of Chapter 132. The actual address and telephone number of a program participant may not be disclosed except as provided in Chapter 15C of the General Statutes. (e) Controlled Substances Reporting System Information. - Information compiled or maintained in the Controlled Substances Reporting System established under Article 5E of Chapter 90 of the General Statutes is not a public record as defined in G.S. 132-1 and may be released only as provided under Article 5E of Chapter 90 of the General Statutes. (f) Personally Identifiable Admissions Information. - Records maintained by The University of North Carolina or any constituent institution, or by the Community Colleges System Office or any community college, which contain personally identifiable information from or about an applicant for admission to one or more constituent institutions or to one or more community colleges shall be confidential and shall not be subject to public disclosure pursuant to G.S. 132-6(a). Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, any letter of recommendation or record containing a communication from an elected official to The University of North Carolina, any of its constituent institutions, or to a community college, concerning an applicant for admission who has not enrolled as a student shall be considered a public record subject to disclosure pursuant to G.S. 132-6(a). Nothing in this subsection is intended to limit the disclosure of public records that do not contain personally identifiable information, including aggregated data, guidelines, instructions, summaries, or reports that do not contain personally identifiable information or from which it is feasible to redact any personally identifiable information that the record contains. As used in this subsection, the term "community college" is as defined in G.S. 115D-2(2), the term "constituent institution" is as defined in G.S. 116-2(4), and the term "Community Colleges System Office" is as defined in G.S. 115D-3. (g) Public Agency Proprietary Computer Code. - Proprietary computer code written by and for use by an agency of North Carolina government or its subdivisions is not a public record as defined in G.S. 132-1. (h) Employment Security Information. - Confidential information obtained, compiled, or maintained by the Division of Employment Security may not be disclosed except as provided in G.S. 96-4. As used in this subsection, the term "confidential information" has the same meaning as in G.S. 96-4(x). (1975, c. 662; 1993, c. 485, s. 38; 1995 (Reg. Sess., 1996), c. 646, s. 21; 2001-473, s. 1; 2002-171, s. 7; 2003-287, s. 1; 2005-276, s. 10.36(b); 2007-372, s. 2; 2013-96, s. 1; 2014-117, s. 2; 2023-134, s. 27.7(g).)