Provisions in the just-passed North Carolina budget allow lawmakers to be exempted from public records requests, creating concerns about government transparency and accountability.

RALEIGH, N.C. (CN) — North Carolina lawmakers have been exempted from public records requests, through an item in the North Carolina budget which took effect Monday at midnight and was three months late.

Buried in the 625-page document allocating $30 billion in funding are provisions that shield legislators from public records requests, even once they’ve left office.

Section 27.7 of the 2023 Appropriations Act (HB 259) categorizes documents prepared by legislative employees as confidential, rather than public records, and their existence “may not be revealed” without the consent of the legislator.

The budget also names legislators “custodian of documents” to discern if a record is a public record or not, and to choose to retain or destroy it. They also cannot be required to reveal any documents or information requests made while they were in office.