Fraud prevention laws recently enacted by the North Carolina General Assembly are guarding against identity theft and protecting millions in state revenue from scammers this tax season. The state Department of Revenue (DOR) attributed an 18% uptick in cases of identified fraud and a 20% uptick in savings for the 2016-2017 Fiscal Year to the […]
Privacy
House Passes Kelsey Smith Act
Ahead of National Crime Victim Rights Week, the House passed the “Kelsey Smith Act” this afternoon by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 113-5. House Bill 315 allows law enforcement officials to access a cell phone’s tracking technology to quickly locate a missing person in an emergency situation and the legislation shields cell phone service providers from prosecution for potential privacy violations while […]
North Carolina’s Body Cam Law
After the events in Charlotte over the past few days, there is a renewed interest in North Carolina’s laws regarding the release of police video camera footage. Although we first covered the issue in this August 1 article, there remains considerable misinformation being spread by some folks on social media. The left is pushing a […]
Responding to the NCAA
The following post is reformatted from a September 13 press release from the Office of Speaker Pro Tem Representative Paul Stam. You may download the original version from Representative Stam’s website here. The Breathtaking Hypocrisy of the NCAA Citing a commitment to “fairness and inclusion,” the NCAA announced September 12 that it will move seven championship […]
Keeping Police Cam Video Private
A bipartisan bill was signed into law by Governor Pat McCrory last month that establishes clear and uniform standards and procedures that law enforcement must follow in disclosing or releasing video captured by body-worn cameras or “dash cams” used by law enforcement officers. According to the North Carolina Police Benevolent Association, the legislation contained in House […]
Legislative Leaders Seek Clarity
Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham) and House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) announced Monday they have filed a lawsuit in the federal Eastern District of North Carolina, asking the court to declare that North Carolina’s commonsense law to maintain sex-specific restrooms complies with federal law. Last week, the Obama administration threatened to withhold federal funding for […]
Some Additional Bathroom Reading
Revenues for the current year are projected to finish $330 million above initial budget projections, according to the latest figures released by the North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management and the legislature’s nonpartisan Fiscal Research Division. The latest revenue forecast also boosts projections for FY 2016-17 by $231 million above the certified budget. […]
Bipartisan Majority Protects Privacy
[youtube_sc url=”https://youtu.be/pyoWo1kZfvI” width=”590″ modestbranding=”1″ autohide=”1″ fs=”1″ border=”1″ hd=”1″] On a strong bipartisan vote of 83-25, the North Carolina House of Representatives passed legislation this afternoon invalidating a recently-passed Charlotte City Council ordinance that would have forced private businesses to allow grown men to use restrooms, locker rooms, saunas, and other facilities normally designated for […]
Outlawing Cyberstalking by GPS
There’s quite a lot to be said for technology that allows us to pull out a smartphone and have a nice voice tell us the quickest route over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house. But for all of its upsides, this same technology can also have a dark side; in the hands […]
Protecting Your Privacy
With the passage of a new law this year, your privacy will now be better protected when registering your security alarm system with local law enforcement. House Bill 797 would exempt from the definition of “public record” any registration or sensitive security information received or compiled by a city that has an alarm registration ordinance […]