Senator Norm Sanderson, R-Pamlico, is refiling the Government Transparency Act this week in the North Carolina General Assembly, coinciding with Sunshine Week, a national initiative that promotes open government and accountability.
Sanderson’s bill (SB 299), filed on Monday morning, aims to enhance public access to government employee disciplinary records at the state and local levels. Officials at the North Carolina Press Association commended the bill for making an effort to improve government transparency in the state.
“Against the backdrop of national ‘Sunshine Week’, Sanderson’s bill tries to lift North Carolina from the bottom 5 open government states and move it to the top,” wrote NCPA Legislative Counsel John Bussian.
The Government Transparency Act would give North Carolinians first-time access to on-the-job, state and local government employee performance records (but not medical records); and reasons (a general description) why a state or local government employee or law-enforcement officer has been demoted, suspended with or without pay, transferred, or fired.
Senate Leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, pushed a similar effort in 2010, but strong opposition from the NC State Employees’ Association (SEANC) stopped the bill on the House floor and the association continues to oppose the legislation.
While the Sanderson bill centers on government employees, other issues remain when it comes to transparency in the General Assembly. NCPA Executive Director Phil Lucey listed several transparency concerns within the state government deserving of reform.
“North Carolina has been at the bottom looking up for far too long regarding government transparency compared to most states — including our neighbors,” Lucey told the Carolina Journal. “From the lack of access to state employee disciplinary records to the closing off of legislative records, transparency has taken a backseat. Attempts to remove essential government notices from newspapers and hide them on government-run websites further erode public trust.”
In 2023, the North Carolina General Assembly passed a state budget that included a new law exempting state lawmakers from the state’s public records law, meaning it is entirely up to North Carolina lawmakers to decide what public records, if any, to reveal.
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“At a minimum, all lawmakers should recognize that public records are the property of the citizens of this state,” Lucey added. “Many lawmakers campaign on transparency—now they can turn words into action by supporting the Government Transparency Act to be introduced by Senator Norm Sanderson, a modest step toward allowing public access to government employee disciplinary records at the state and local levels. Transparency should not be a partisan issue and must be a cause for everyone to get behind.”
On the subject of government transparency and accessbility to meetings and recordings at the General Assembly, Berger defended the current level of access to legislative sessions in a recent interview with Carolina Journal. Berger stated that he has not received any requests from members to increase transparency, though he remains open to discussions if the issue arises.