North Carolina 2025 Session Status: In Committee Bipartisan · 20 D · 1 I cosponsors

HB 322 — Make General Assembly Records Public.

Last action — Passed 1st Reading

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced March 06, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the House.

Prognosis

Advancing 42% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 21 sponsors

    3 primary, 18 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (20 D · 1 I) — cross-party backing.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

71 added · 70 removed

Plain-language change summary

The latest version of House Bill 322 includes changes that clarify the responsibilities of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources in assisting public officials with records management. Specifically, it emphasizes that public officials must help create an inventory of records, which includes a schedule for how long different types of records should be kept or when they can be disposed of. This matters because it helps ensure that important public records are properly managed, preserved, and disposed of in accordance with established guidelines, fostering better transparency and accountability in government.

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GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA H.B.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA SESSION 2025 H 1 HOUSE BILL 322 Short Title:
322 Mar 6, 2025 SESSION 2025 HOUSE PRINCIPAL CLERK H D HOUSE BILL DRH40194-MC-75A Short Title:
Representative Prather.
Representatives Prather, Harrison, Morey, and Helfrich (Primary Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT TO INCREASE ACCESS TO LEGISLATIVE RECORDS, TO REPEAL CHANGES REGARDING THE ARCHIVING OF RECORDS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, AND TO AMEND CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAWS REGARDING FEDERAL POLITICAL COMMITTEES AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS.
Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House March 10, 2025 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT TO INCREASE ACCESS TO LEGISLATIVE RECORDS, TO REPEAL CHANGES REGARDING THE ARCHIVING OF RECORDS OF THE GENERALASSEMBLY, AND TO AMEND CAMPAIGN FINANCE LAWS REGARDING FEDERAL POLITICAL COMMITTEES AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS.
When any State, county, municipal, or other governmental records shall have been destroyed or otherwise disposed of in accordance with the procedure authorized *DRH40194-MC-75A* General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 in this subsection, any liability that the custodian of such records might incur for such destruction or other disposal shall cease and determine.
When any State, county, municipal, or other governmental records *H322-v-1* General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 shall have been destroyed or otherwise disposed of in accordance with the procedure authorized in this subsection, anyliabilitythat the custodian of such records might incur for such destruction or other disposal shall cease and determine.
Subject to the availability of funds, such program shall be extended to the records of permanent value of the cities, municipalities, and other subdivisions of government.
Subject to the availabilityof funds, such program shall be extended to the records of permanent value of the cities, municipalities, and other subdivisions of government.
Any State, county, municipal, or other public official is hereby authorized and empowered to turn over to the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources any State, county, municipal, orotherpublicrecordsnolongerin current official use,andtheDepartment ofNatural and Cultural Resources is authorized in its discretion to accept such records, and having done so shall provide for their administration and preservation in the North Carolina State Archives.
Any State, county, municipal, or other public official is hereby authorized and empowered to turn over to the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources any State, county, municipal, orotherpublicrecordsnolongerin current official use, and theDepartment ofNatural and Cultural Resources is authorized in its discretion to accept such records, and having done so shall provide for their administration and preservation in the North Carolina State Archives.
The Fund consists of donations, gifts, devises, and the fees credited to it under Chapter 161 of the General Statutes.
The Fund consists of donations, gifts, devises, and Page 2 House Bill 322-First Edition General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 the fees credited to it under Chapter 161 of the General Statutes.
Revenue in the Fund may be Page 2 DRH40194-MC-75A General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 used only to offset the Department's costs in providing essential records management and archival services for public records pursuant to Chapter 121 and Chapter 132 of the General Statutes." SECTION 3.
Revenue in the Fund may be used only to offset the Department's costs in providing essential records management and archival services for public records pursuant to Chapter 121 and Chapter 132 of the General Statutes." SECTION 3.
DRH40194-MC-75A Page 3
House Bill 322-First Edition Page 3
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View plain text versions (2)

How this bill changes current law

3 changes Share ↗

Compared against the N.C. General Statutes as published AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

This bill repeals certain provisions affecting the handling of records in the General Assembly and modifies existing laws on the archiving of public records.

  • N.C.G.S. § 121-5(d1)

    A custodian of a General Assembly record shall not certify to the Department that records have no further use or value for official business for, and the Department shall not certify that such records appear to have no further use or value for research or reference for, a period equal to the longer of (i) the time when such records, in fact, have no further use or value for official business or (ii) 10 years. If such records are records of a member of the General Assembly, the 10-year period begins at the time the member ceases serving as a member of the General Assembly.

    Removes the restrictions on certifying the value of General Assembly records, potentially allowing for quicker disposal or classification of such records.

  • N.C.G.S. § 121-5(d1)

    The custodian of any General Assembly record shall determine, in the custodian's discretion, whether a record is a public record and whether to turn over to the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, or retain, destroy, sell, loan, or otherwise dispose of, such records.

    Clarifies that the custodian of General Assembly records holds discretion over the classification and management of these records.

  • N.C.G.S. § 121-5(e)

    The Archives and Records Management Fund is established as a special revenue fund. The Fund consists of donations, gifts, devises, and the fees credited to it under Chapter 161 of the General Statutes. Revenue in the Fund may be used only to offset the Department's costs in providing essential records management and archival services for public records pursuant to Chapter 121 and Chapter 132 of the General Statutes.

    Establishes a fund specifically for financing records management and archival services related to public records.

Action History

  1. Passed 1st Reading

  2. Ref To Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House

  3. Filed

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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3 sponsors · 18 co-sponsors · 158 not signed on

Sponsors (3)

Co-sponsors (18)

Not signed on (158)

158 members have not signed on to this bill.

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"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

public-safety elections
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors HB 322?
HB 322 is sponsored by Brian Turner (Democratic), Renée A. Price (Democratic), Rodney D. Pierce (Democratic), Nasif Majeed (U), Jordan Lopez (Democratic), Tim Longest (Democratic), Zack Hawkins (Democratic), Julia Greenfield (Democratic), Allison A. Dahle (Democratic), Sarah Crawford (Democratic), Tracy Clark (Democratic), Maria Cervania (Democratic), Deb Butler (Democratic), Mary Belk (Democratic), Cynthia Ball (Democratic), Eric Ager (Democratic), Marcia Morey (Democratic), Pricey Harrison (Democratic), Lindsey Prather (Democratic), Beth Helfrich (Democratic), and Julie von Haefen (Democratic).
What is the current status of HB 322?
This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced March 06, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HB 322?
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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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