Park Records

The Senate postponed a vote Wednesday on a bill that would exempt identifying information about children participating in local recreation programs from public records. Sen. Tony Foriest, D-Alamance, said the House-approved bill would keep the name, address, age, phone number and other identifying information, as well as information about the child's parents, outside the purview of the public records law. Foriest said that the bill would help keep the identities of children participating in county and municipal recreation programs from child predators. Other senators, however, had reservations. "It sounds to me like they're going overboard," said Sen. Tom Apodaca, R-Henderson. Some senators also complained that it was unfair or inappropriate for the Senate to have a floor vote on the bill when the bill hadn't had the opportunity to go through the normal Senate committee process. House lawmakers gutted an already-approved Senate bill to create the measure.
Representatives from the N.C. Press Association have opposed the bill, saying that it could keep photographers from obtaining the name of a child in a photo for caption information. On Wednesday, Foriest sought to address that concern, saying the proposed change wouldn't prevent newspapers from covering games sponsored by local recreation departments or prevent reporters and photographers from obtaining the children's names. Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, D-Orange, said that information about children could still be released to the press by getting parents to sign consent forms. A vote on the bill is scheduled for today. If the Senate approves the measure, it will be sent to Gov. Mike Easley for his signature. If senators decline to approve it, a conference committee could be appointed to come up with a final bill. (Barry Smith, FREEDOM NEWSPAPERS, 6/25/08).