Posts Tagged ‘privacy’

Should a Local Government Be a HIPAA Hybrid Entity?

Tuesday, April 28th, 2015

The federal HIPAA regulations apply directly to certain types of entities and individuals, referred to as “covered entities” and “business associates.” These regulations govern standardization of electronic healthcare transactions and identifiers, as well as the privacy and security of health information. Depending on the services provided and the relationships that exist, a local government may […]

How Public Are Law Enforcement Vehicle or Body Camera Videos? (Not Very, in North Carolina.)

Wednesday, September 17th, 2014

[Update: Legislation clarifying the status of vehicle and body-worn camera recordings under the North Carolina public records law was enacted in July, 2016. The law is summarized in a blog post here.] “We may have reached the point where video technology is producing a full-fledged revolution in policing. That revolution has been crystalized, or at least […]

Privacy, Privatization, and Transparency: 2014 Public Records and Open Meetings Legislation

Tuesday, August 26th, 2014

Should private information in government hands be considered public record? What about information in the hands of private entities that are carrying out governmental functions? These two issues dominated legislative consideration of the public records and open meetings laws in the 2014 session of the General Assembly. They involve the delicate balance between the strong […]

Are Security Videos Public Records?

Friday, November 16th, 2012

Local governments, like many other organizations, place cameras in strategic locations to monitor activities that take place on their property or in public places. Security cameras are used for various purposes, including to apprehend and deter criminal behavior by employees or members of the public and to monitor and document employee performance for evaluation, discipline […]

Individual Board Member Access to Email

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

Imagine that you’re a local government IT administrator, clerk, manager, or other employee, and your job requires you to have access to employee and board members emails for your unit of local government. A member of your governing board contacts you and says, “I need to review all the emails sent to or received by […]