News
General Assembly earns ‘Black Hole Award’ for lack of transparency
To qualify for the award, an institution must show an egregious violation of open government law that impacts the general public.
News
Outdated? Flash drives and government transparency
The NCGA is upgrading public access to prior committee meetings. However, the step forward is to a flash drive.
News
Riggs writes ruling favoring WBTV in records dispute with Charlotte
One of new state Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs’ last actions as a state Appeals Court judge was a ruling favoring WBTV in its public records dispute with the city of Charlotte. Riggs wrote the opinion for a unanimous three-judge panel favoring the television station’s owner, Gray Media. Appellate judges on Tuesday reversed a trial court decision favoring the city.
News
Appeals Court wrestles with public records dispute over Charlotte council surveys
The NC Court of Appeals questioned Tuesday whether Charlotte city government should have turned over records of city council surveys more quickly when WBTV requested those records. The city’s obligation to produce those survey results makes up the heart of the debate in Gray Media Group v. City of Charlotte.
News
Media coalition targets Charlotte public records dispute at NC Appeals Court
A coalition of media groups is taking interest in a public records dispute at the N.C. Court of Appeals. The case involves WBTV’s request for surveys completed by members of the Charlotte City Council in late 2020. The coalition filed paperwork Thursday seeking permission to file a friend-of-the-court brief in the case.
News
Lawmakers pass bill making personnel actions public; heads to House for concurrence
A bill to provide more transparency to the public regarding performance and disciplinary records of government employees moved one step closer to becoming law Monday evening as House Bill 64, Government Transparency Act of 2021, passed its third reading in the N.C. Senate. If enacted as law, the new requirements would apply to state employees...
Opinion
Peer pressure produces good policy
If places adopt new policies and get good results — or even just look like they might get good results — policymakers in other places can feel like they’ll fall behind if they don’t follow suit.
News
NCGA roundup: Good fiscal news from legislative analysts
RALEIGH — The General Assembly’s top economist on Tuesday told legislative budget writers that the state had a “steady as we go” economy that is now faring better than most other states. “We now have reached a point where we are now surpassing the average growth of the nation as a whole,” said Barry Boardman...
Opinion
New governor must make transparency a priority
It’s an interesting time for news reporters in North Carolina and across the country. Newspapers, for example, are closing and consolidating. The consistency and frequency in which this is happening isn’t alarming, really. It’s been going on for a while. It does, however, portend a certain future, which is by no means rosy. More papers...
News
N.C. Supreme Court Broadens Protections of Public Records Law
RALEIGH — A unanimous court reaffirmed that government records are owned by the people and that the mechanism for enforcing the public’s right to know shouldn’t be left in the hands of the state agency that has the records. The case will return to a Wake County court for trial.
Opinion
Yes, They Should Pay
There are few more important priorities in public policy than ensuring open, honest, and accountable government.
News
Loser-Pays Bill Arouses House Panel
RALEIGH—A bill that would require courts to award attorney’s fees to the press and citizens who win public-record lawsuits against the state aroused spirited debate during a House committee hearing Thursday. John Bussian, legislative and First Amendment counsel for the North Carolina Press Association, told members of the House Judiciary 1 Committee that despite changes that government lawyers want, the legislation “is a good bill the way it’s presently worded” and that “no opposing words were given” in Senate committee hearings that had been conducted on the bill.
