By Brianna Kraemer for The Carolina Journal

The North Carolina House of Representatives passed the Kelsey Smith Act on Tuesday with overwhelming bipartisan support. The bill aims to expedite law-enforcement access to cell-phone location data during emergencies involving imminent threats to safety.

House Bill 211 is named after Kelsey Smith — a young woman abducted, assaulted, and murdered in 2007. Despite law enforcement citing exigent circumstances, it took 72 hours to obtain her phone location data. Once law enforcement received her cell-phone location data, her body was found within 30 minutes. 

A bill that passed on Tuesday seeks to ensure that such delays do not occur in future emergencies.

“What we’re doing with this bill is requiring that telecommunications businesses doing business in the state of North Carolina, would have to turn over cell phone location data if there was an exigent circumstance determined by law enforcement,” said bill sponsor state Rep. Bill Ward, R-Pasquotank. “This bill is narrow in scope. It only requires the location of the data, the location of the telecommunication device.”

The bill requires telecommunications providers operating in North Carolina to promptly share cell-phone location data upon request from law enforcement or a Public Safety Answering Point in emergency situations where there is a risk of death or serious harm. It does not include calls or message data.

In a 103-8 vote, House Bill 211 passed the House and is now up for consideration in the Senate. The bill is supported by the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association and the state’s District Attorneys Association.

Some questions were raised over constitutional concerns, particularly about potential Fourth Amendment violations and whether allowing officers to obtain location data without a warrant could lead to evidence suppression in court. 

Ward explained that the situation must qualify as an exigent circumstance, noting that US Supreme Court rulings on such cases would apply. He said that reasonable suspicion and proper documentation would be required to justify accessing the location data.

The House also passed House Bill 218 on Tuesday in a unanimous vote. The bill would require the DMV to request emergency contact information when an individual applies for or renews their driver’s license. The information would be useful in situations when law enforcement may need to contact family if an individual is involved in a car wreck or other emergency situation.

The preceding article originally appeared on April 16, 2025 at The Carolina Journal’s website and is made available here for educational purposes only. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 106A-117 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Any views or opinions expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Carolina Leadership Coalition.