North Carolina lawmakers consider withholding public records on minors

North Carolina legislators are considering legislation that would allow park and public recreation facilities to deny requests for information on children participating in their programs. 

The bill allows for the removal of the children’s names, parental information, birth dates, telephone numbers, and addresses from government documents that are considered public records. 

The bill was proposed by Rep. Alice Bordsen, who said she was inspired to push the legislation when she learned that County Recreation and Parks were asked for information about minors in their programs. Bordsen said it was unclear why the individuals asked for the information, though officials suspect it was to advertise to the youths.

Charles Marshall, a lawyer for the North Carolina Press Association, said the legislation could impede journalists’ ability to cover public recreation activities.