| 12 | 13 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1 |
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| 13 | 14 | | AN ACT TO ENACT THE PERSONAL PRIVACY PROTECTION ACT . 2 |
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| 14 | 15 | | The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 3 |
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| 15 | 16 | | SECTION 1. Title. – This act shall be known as The Personal Privacy Protection 4 |
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| 16 | 17 | | Act. 5 |
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| 17 | 18 | | SECTION 2. Purpose. – This act prohibits public agencies from collecting, 6 |
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| 18 | 19 | | disclosing, or releasing personal information about members, volunteers, and financial and 7 |
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| 19 | 20 | | nonfinancial donors to 501(c) nonprofit organizations, except as required by law. This act 8 |
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| 20 | 21 | | provides penalties for violation of these privacy protections. 9 |
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| 21 | 22 | | SECTION 3. Definitions. – The following definitions apply in this act: 10 |
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| 22 | 23 | | (1) Nonprofit organization. – An entity that is exempt from federal income tax 11 |
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| 23 | 24 | | under section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code, has submitted an 12 |
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| 24 | 25 | | application with the Internal Revenue Service for recognition of an exemption 13 |
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| 25 | 26 | | under section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code, or is a not-for-profit 14 |
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| 26 | 27 | | business entity recognized under State law. 15 |
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| 27 | 28 | | (2) Person. – Defined in G.S. 12-3. 16 |
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| 28 | 29 | | (3) Personal information. – Any list, record, register, registry, roll, roster, or other 17 |
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| 29 | 30 | | compilation of data of any kind that directly or indirectly identifies a person 18 |
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| 30 | 31 | | as a member, supporter, volunteer, or donor of financial or nonfinancial 19 |
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| 31 | 32 | | support to any nonprofit organization. 20 |
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| 32 | 33 | | (4) Public agency. – Any State or local governmental unit and its employees, 21 |
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| 33 | 34 | | however designated, including, but not limited to, this State; any department, 22 |
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| 34 | 35 | | agency, office, commission, board, division, or other entity of this State, 23 |
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| 35 | 36 | | including all boards, departments, divisions, and institutions of higher 24 |
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| 36 | 37 | | education; any political subdivision of this State, including, but not limited to, 25 |
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| 37 | 38 | | a county, city, township, village, school district, community college district, 26 |
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| 38 | 39 | | or any other local governmental unit, agency, authority, council, board, or 27 |
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| 39 | 40 | | commission; or any State or local court, tribunal, or other judicial or 28 |
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| 40 | 41 | | quasi-judicial body. 29 |
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| 41 | 42 | | SECTION 4. Protections Afforded. – Notwithstanding any law, and subject to 30 |
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| 42 | 43 | | Section 5 of this act, a public agency shall not do any of the following: 31 |
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| 43 | 44 | | (1) Require any person or nonprofit organization to provide the public agency 32 |
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| 44 | 45 | | with personal information or otherwise compel the release of personal 33 |
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| 45 | 46 | | information. 34 |
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| 46 | 47 | | (2) Release, publicize, or otherwise publicly disclose personal information in 35 |
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| 49 | 54 | | (3) Request or require a current or prospective contractor or grantee with the 1 |
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| 50 | 55 | | public agency to provide a list of nonprofit organizations to which the current 2 |
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| 51 | 56 | | or prospective contractor or grantee has provided financial or nonfinancial 3 |
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| 52 | 57 | | support. 4 |
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| 53 | 58 | | Personal information is not a public record under Chapter 132 of the General Statutes. 5 |
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| 54 | 59 | | SECTION 5. Exemptions. – This act does not preclude any of the following: 6 |
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| 55 | 60 | | (1) Any report or disclosure required by State law. 7 |
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| 56 | 61 | | (2) Any lawful warrant for personal information issued by a court of competent 8 |
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| 57 | 62 | | jurisdiction. 9 |
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| 58 | 63 | | (3) A lawful request for discovery of personal information in litigation if both of 10 |
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| 59 | 64 | | the following conditions are met: 11 |
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| 60 | 65 | | a. The requestor demonstrates a compelling need for the personal 12 |
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| 61 | 66 | | information by clear and convincing evidence. 13 |
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| 62 | 67 | | b. The requestor obtains a protective order barring disclosure of personal 14 |
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| 63 | 68 | | information to any person not named in the litigation. 15 |
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| 64 | 69 | | (4) Admission of personal information as relevant evidence before a court of 16 |
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| 65 | 70 | | competent jurisdiction. However, no court shall publicly reveal personal 17 |
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| 66 | 71 | | information absent a specific finding of good cause. 18 |
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| 67 | 72 | | (5) A public agency from releasing personal information that was voluntarily 19 |
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| 68 | 73 | | released to the public by the person or the nonprofit organization to which it 20 |
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| 69 | 74 | | relates. 21 |
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| 70 | 75 | | (6) Collection of information disclosing the identity of any director, officer, 22 |
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| 71 | 76 | | registered agent, or incorporator of a nonprofit organization in any report or 23 |
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| 72 | 77 | | disclosure required by statute to be filed with the Secretary of State, except 24 |
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| 73 | 78 | | that information that directly identifies a person as a donor of financial support 25 |
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| 74 | 79 | | to a nonprofit organization shall not be collected or disclosed. 26 |
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| 75 | 80 | | (7) Disclosure of personal information derived from a donation to a nonprofit 27 |
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| 76 | 81 | | organization that is affiliated with a public agency and required by statute, if 28 |
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| 77 | 82 | | the person has not previously requested anonymity from the nonprofit 29 |
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| 78 | 83 | | organization. 30 |
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| 79 | 84 | | (8) Nothing in this act shall apply to a national securities association that is 31 |
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| 80 | 85 | | registered pursuant to section 15A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as 32 |
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| 81 | 86 | | amended, or regulations adopted thereunder or any information such national 33 |
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| 82 | 87 | | securities association provided pursuant to State law. 34 |
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| 83 | 88 | | SECTION 6. Penalties. – A person alleging a violation of this act may bring a civil 35 |
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| 84 | 89 | | action for appropriate injunctive relief, damages, or both. Damages awarded under this section 36 |
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| 85 | 90 | | may include one of the following, as appropriate: 37 |
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| 86 | 91 | | (1) A sum of money not less than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) to 38 |
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| 87 | 92 | | compensate for injury or loss caused by each violation of this act. 39 |
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| 88 | 93 | | (2) For an intentional violation of this act, a sum of money not to exceed three 40 |
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| 89 | 94 | | times the sum described in subdivision (1) of this section. 41 |
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| 90 | 95 | | A court, in rendering a judgment in an action brought under this act, may award all or 42 |
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| 91 | 96 | | a portion of the costs of litigation, including reasonable attorneys' fees and witness fees, to the 43 |
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| 92 | 97 | | complainant in the action if the court determines that the award is appropriate. 44 |
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| 93 | 98 | | A person who knowingly violates this act is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by 45 |
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| 94 | 99 | | imprisonment for not more than 90 days or a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) 46 |
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| 95 | 100 | | or both. 47 |
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| 96 | 101 | | SECTION 7. Severability. – If any provision of this act or its application to any 48 |
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| 97 | 102 | | person or circumstance is held invalid, then the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or 49 |
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| 98 | 103 | | applications of the act that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application and, 50 |
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| 99 | 104 | | to that end, the provisions of this act shall be severable. 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025 |
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