AN ACT to clarify legislators' and legislative committees' access to certain confidential information.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 120‑19 reads as rewritten:

§ 120‑19.  State officers, etc., upon request, to furnish data and information to legislative committees or commissions.

Except as provided in G.S. 105‑259, all officers, agents, agencies and departments of the State State and any political subdivision of the State, are required to give to any committee of either house of the General Assembly, or any committee or commission whose funds are appropriated or transferred to the General Assembly or to the Legislative Services Commission for disbursement, upon request, all information and all data within their possession, or ascertainable from their records. Except as provided in G.S. 105‑259, and notwithstanding any other provision of law, this requirement applies to all information and data whether it is a public record or is confidential. This requirement is mandatory and shall include requests made by any individual member of the General Assembly, one of its standing committees or the chair of a standing committee, or any other legislative panel duly appointed by the President Pro Tempore and/or Tempore, the Speaker of the House House, or both, or an agent or employee of such a the legislative panel.

SECTION 2.  G.S. 120‑19.1 reads as rewritten:

§ 120‑19.1.  Hearings; examination of witnesses; counsel.counsel; confidential information.

(a)        Committees of either the House or Senate of the General Assembly of North Carolina may hold separate or joint hearings, issue subpoenas for testimony or documents, call witnesses, and compel testimony relevant to any bill, resolution or other matter properly before the committee.

(b)        Witnesses may be examined under oath.

(c)        When any person is examined before a committee, any member wishing to ask a question must address it to the chairman or presiding officer, who repeats the question or directs the witness to answer the member's question. Staff members or counsel employed by the committee may propound questions to the chairman for a witness to answer.

(d)       Objections to the propriety of a question are directed to the committee as a whole. The committee must determine whether the objection is to be sustained or overruled by majority vote of the committee.

(e)        When any witness is examined under oath, the proceedings must be taken and transcribed verbatim. Upon request, a witness must be furnished a copy of the transcript of his appearance before the committee.

(f)        Witnesses may be accompanied by their own counsel for the purpose of advising them concerning their rights.

(g)        Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no witness may refuse to testify, refuse to produce a document, or both, based on a claim that the information, the document, or both is confidential. The committee may meet in closed session if deemed necessary by the chair to receive testimony or review documents containing confidential information. Closed session meetings shall be attended by members of the committee. Legislative employees, as that term is defined in G.S. 120‑129(2), may attend a closed session at the discretion of the chair. The Legislative Services Officer shall provide a method by which documents and testimony received by a committee and containing confidential information shall be kept confidential and shall be accessible only upon request by members of the committee. The chair of the committee may grant legislative employees access to the records and information at the discretion of the chair. A member of the committee and a legislative employee who obtains confidential information or confidential documents pursuant to this subsection shall keep the information and documents confidential and shall not disclose the information to any other individual.

SECTION 3.  G.S. 120‑19.2 reads as rewritten:

§ 120‑19.2.  Invitations to witnesses; when hearings and examinations held; subpoenas.

(a)        Committees of the General Assembly may invite witnesses to appear and testify concerning pending legislation or other matters properly before the committee and may require the attendance of witnesses and the production of documents by subpoena as hereinafter provided. subpoena, subpoena duces tecum, or both, as provided in subsection (c) of this section. The committee may submit questions in writing to the witness in advance of his the witness's appearance. Witnesses may be permitted, in the discretion of the committee, to submit written, sworn statements in addition to or in lieu of sworn oral testimony before the committee.

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(c)        A subpoena for the purpose of obtaining the testimony of a witness witness, a subpoena duces tecum for the purpose of obtaining documents, or both may be issued by the chairman of a committee, upon authorization of the Speaker of the House or the Speaker pro tempore Pro Tempore of the House for House committees, and the President of the Senate or the President pro tempore Pro Tempore of the Senate for Senate committees, and by majority vote of the committee. A subpoena for the purpose of obtaining the testimony of a witness witness, a subpoena duces tecum for the purpose of obtaining documents, or both before a joint committee of the House and Senate may be issued by the joint action of the cochairmen of the joint committee, upon authorization of one of the above officers from each house and by majority vote of the joint committee. The subpoena subpoena, subpoena duces tecum, or both shall be signed by the committee chairman and either the Speaker of the House, the President of the Senate, the President pro tempore Pro Tempore of the Senate, or the Speaker pro tempore Pro Tempore of the House and shall be directed to the witness, and state the name of the witness, and a description of any papers, documents, or records that he the witness is required to bring with him; bring; and the subpoena shall state the subject matter of the hearing before the committee, the name of the committee, and the name and address of the committee chairman; and the subpoena shall also clearly designate the date, time, and place at which the witness's presence is required.

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SECTION 4.  This act is effective when it becomes law.