§ 120-131.1.  Requests from legislative employees for assistance in the preparation of fiscal notes and evaluation reports.

(a) A request, including any accompanying documents, made to an agency employee by a legislative employee of the Fiscal Research Division for assistance in the preparation of a fiscal note is confidential. An agency employee who receives such a request or who learns of such a request made to another agency employee of his or her agency shall reveal the existence of the request only to other agency employees of the agency to the extent that it is necessary to respond to the request, and to the agency employee's supervisor and to the Office of State Budget and Management. All documents prepared by the agency employee in response to the request of the Fiscal Research Division are also confidential and shall be kept confidential in the same manner as the original request, except that documents submitted to the Fiscal Research Division in response to the request cease to be confidential under this section when the Fiscal Research Division releases a fiscal note based on the documents.

(a1) Repealed by Session Laws 2021-180, s. 27.2(a), effective July 1, 2021.

(b) As used in this section, "agency employee" means an employee or officer of every agency of North Carolina government or its subdivisions, including every public office, public officer or official (State or local, elected or appointed), institution, board, commission, bureau, council, department, authority, or other unit of government of the State or of any county, unit, special district, or other political subdivision of government.

(c) Violation of this section may be grounds for disciplinary action. (1995, c. 324, s. 8.1(a); c. 507, s. 8.2; 2000-140, s. 93.1(a); 2001-424, s. 12.2(b); 2008-196, s. 1(b); 2021-180, s. 27.2(a).)