(a) In accordance with Chapter 132 of the N.C. Gen. Stat., all rules, regulations and public records of the State Board of Community Colleges, the Community Colleges System Office, and local boards of trustees shall be available for examination and reproduction on payment of fees by any person.

(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, documents submitted to the North Carolina Community College System’s Small Business Center Network by an individual seeking business counseling or technical assistance and documents created by the Network to provide the individual with counseling and technical assistance are not public records as defined by N.C. Gen. Stat. § 132-1 (1979, c. 462, s. 2; c. 896, s. 13; 1979, 2nd Sess., c. 1130, s. 1; 1999-84, s. 16; 2011-297, s. 1.)