Your government at work
In case you thought the legislature is spending all its time on the lottery and raising the cigarette tax, it is also putting the squeeze on information that has been available to the public for, like, ever. Here is an update on pending legislation from the N.C. Press Association. Everyone who commented in the previous post about free speech may want to weigh in with their legislators:
House Bill 714 may be heading for a floor vote on Thursday, May 5. This bill, sponsored by Rep. Linda Coleman (D-Wake) would allow the head of a public agency or university to withhold any information that he or she believes is in the best interests of the health, safety or security of the employee of the department.
The language in this bill is so broad that it would create a huge loophole in the state's public records law by giving custodians of public records new reasons for withholding documents. And the burden would be on citizens and reporters to prove why information withheld under this amendment should be open to the public.
This bill flies in the face of a preamble to the N.C. Public Records Law, which states that public records and public information compiled by government agencies are the property of the citizens of the state.
Other secrecy bills are coming from the Senate side and sponsored by Sen. Dan Clodfelter (D-Mecklenburg). These bills: SB 932, SB 856 and SB 792 would close many records that have long been open to public inspection. Among these are:
* Drafts of unfinished public records
* Communication between government attorneys and government officials
* Records relating to donors to public universities
* Unpublished research data generated by public universities
* Create a limited "work product" privilege exempting memos from government lawyers reflecting strategies concerning legal claims against government
* Make secret "notes" of closed session until the need for secrecy has passed.
SB 932 would also allow government to withhold the location of property to be brought or sold and the identity of the prospective parties to a real estate transaction involving a public body.
This secrecy legislation will emerge soon on the House and Senate floors.
To view the text of these bills, visit www.ncleg.net and use the bill search engine. Talking points are located at www.ncpress.com.
Comments (1)
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Thanks for he update, John. People can find their state representatives here.
About this: "SB 932 would also allow government to withhold the location of property to be brought or sold and the identity of the prospective parties to a real estate transaction involving a public body." Don't our local governments exercise this secrecy already?
Posted on May 4, 2005 9:57 AM