The Sunshine Center reached out Oct. 21 to the coast of Carolina with its fall 2008 workshop titled, “North Carolina Sunshine Laws from the Capitol Building to the Courtroom.” Speakers explored key developments in the North Carolina General Assembly, including a bill to explore televising state government.
Those attending the workshop included journalists from area newspapers, public employees in Dare County, and representatives from the League of Women Voters and Outer Banks Visitors Bureau. Featured speakers were Outer Banks Sentinel Managing Editor Sandy Semans, Dare County attorney Bobby Outten, and Dan Trigoboff, professor of media law at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Trigoboff has also taught at Elon University.
Sunshine Center Assistant Director Dale Harrison started the workshop by outlining sunshine bills that were passed during the 2008 N.C. General Assembly — and a key bill that was introduced during the session, but did not reach the floor for a vote.
“Sometimes the most significant developments in sunshine law are those things that don’t happen,” Harrison said. “The Open Government Act of 2007 had a great deal of potential to promote open government in North Carolina, but the legislature failed to act on it.”
Among the provisions of the 2007 Act were statutory requirements to award attorneys fees to citizens who win public records lawsuits. The law also called for setting up a system of mediation to help resolve public records disputes before they become lawsuits. Harrison said he hopes the legislation is reintroduced next year, and Semans is working with legislators to help ensure it does.
During her session at the workshop, Semans recounted challenges she faced in gaining access to records from the U.S. military while investigating environmental concerns. Semans is an award-winning investigative journalist who joined the Outer Banks Sentinel in 2003. Previously, she worked as an editor for the Pamlico News, bureau chief for the New Bern Sun Journal, and as a freelance reporter for the Louisville Courier Journal, The Virginian Pilot, and The Village Voice.
Trigoboff examined in detail the benefits and consequences of televising government proceedings. While a senior editor at Broadcasting & Cable magazine, Trigoboff covered and commented on key legal cases involving cameras and government. The General Assembly has devoted $100,000 to study the feasibility of a North Carolina version of C-SPAN.
Outten wrapped up the workshop by detailing what he believes are the key issues in open government facing the state, especially in local government. The status of e-mail as public record dominated his discussion, and Outten reviewed the policies of Dare County. He said the county is treating e-mails as public records on par with other written communications, such as letters and memos.
Harrison said the fall workshop represented the essence of the Sunshine Center’s work.
“Our key function is to reach out across the state and involve public officials, professionals, and citizens in discussions of open government in North Carolina,” he said. “It’s our goal to promote a greater understanding of the state’s sunshine laws and to involve everyone in the future of open government in our state.”