(a) Every State department, State agency, or State institution shall furnish the Legislative Services Office and the Legislative Analysis, Fiscal Research, and Legislative Drafting Divisions any information or records requested by them and access to any facilities and personnel requested by them. Except when accessibility is prohibited by a federal statute, federal regulation, or State statute, every State department, State agency, or State institution shall give the Legislative Services Office and these divisions access to any database or stored information maintained by computer, telecommunications, or other electronic data processing equipment, whether stored on tape, disk, or otherwise, and regardless of the medium for storage or transmission.

(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, access to the BEACON/HR payroll system by the Legislative Analysis and Legislative Drafting Divisions shall only be through the Fiscal Research Division.

(c) Consistent with subsection (a) of this section and notwithstanding any other law relating to privacy of personnel records, the Retirement Systems Division of the Department of State Treasurer shall furnish the Fiscal Research Division direct online read-only access to active and retired member information or records maintained by the Retirement Systems Division in online information systems. Direct online read-only access shall not include access to medical records of individual members or to tax records and other tax-related documents of members and beneficiaries. Nothing in this subsection limits the provisions of subsection (a) of this section.

(d) For the purpose of ensuring financial transparency, accountability, and efficient operation of the Medicaid program finances by the Department of Health and Human Services, employees of the Fiscal Research Division designated by the Director of Fiscal Research shall have access to all records related to the Medicaid program. The Department of Health and Human Services shall cooperate fully with the designated employees of the Fiscal Research Division to facilitate (i) the evaluation of all financial and policy components of the Medicaid program, including financial projections, (ii) the evaluation of the budgetary construction and management of the Medicaid program, and (iii) the identification of unusual financial events. The Department shall also provide the Fiscal Research Division with electronic access to any departmental data for assessing or predicting Medicaid financial outcomes, and to any modeling software used for assessing or predicting Medicaid program financial outcomes. Employees of the Department shall not impede, delay, or restrict the provision of information or limit access to any departmental personnel necessary for the Fiscal Research Division to perform its monitoring and analysis of the Medicaid program.

Nothing in this subsection grants Fiscal Research Division employees access to medical records of individuals or other information protected under the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Nothing in this subsection limits the provisions of subsection (a) of this section.

(e) The Department of Health and Human Services shall provide its annual financial projection of Medicaid program expenditures and requirements for any future fiscal years to the Chairs of the House Appropriations Committee and to the Chairs of the Senate Appropriations/Base Budget Committee no later than the date the Governor presents budget recommendations in accordance with N.C. Gen. Stat. § 143C-3-5. Prior to providing this projection, the Secretary shall cooperatively engage designated employees of the Fiscal Research Division in ongoing bilateral analytical discussions about historical, current, and unanticipated factors that may impact projected Medicaid program financial outcomes that may affect the formulation of an official departmental annual financial projection.

Nothing in this subsection limits the provisions of subsection (a) of this section. (1983 (Reg. Sess., 1984), c. 1034, s. 177; 1996, 2nd Ex. Sess., c. 18, s. 8.2; 2007-78, s. 2; 2007-103, s. 1; 2011-145, s. 29.21C; 2012-142, s. 6.12; 2012-178, s. 1; 2018-142, s. 4(d); 2021-180, s. 27.2(d), (g).)