NC S349

Allows the North Carolina State Board of Examiners in Optometry to keep investigative records confidential and exempts them from public records requirements, while maintaining public access to notices, charges, and final disciplinary decisions.

Requires optometrists to self-report to the Board within 30 days any felony arrests or indictments, arrests for driving while impaired, or arrests related to controlled substance possession, use, or sale.

Requires optometrists to report all medical malpractice judgments and settlements of $75,000 or more to the Board, which must publish this information on its website for seven years without disclosing settlement amounts or patient identities.

Mandates settlement agents to pay interest earned on real estate trust and escrow accounts to the North Carolina State Bar's Interest on Lawyers' Trust Account Program.

Creates a private cause of action allowing persons harmed by unauthorized practice of law to recover damages and reasonable attorneys' fees, and clarifies exemptions for law school clinics and certain law students and out-of-state lawyers providing pro bono services.