From the Burlington Times-News (4/4/09): Efforts to make government more transparent to the public are being put forth, and in some cases implemented, in both the executive and legislative branches of government.
Web page for the “open book” government site is: http://www.ncopenbook.gov/
Just this past week, Gov. Bev Perdue took a step toward fulfilling a campaign promise to make state government more open. It’s the beginning of an effort to put all contracts and grants exceeding $10,000 online by the end of the year.
“People can see who won the contracts, how much they were for and where they came from,” said David Kochman, Perdue’s communications director.
Kochman said the Web page was first proposed during her campaign. On her first work day in office, Perdue signed an executive order directing her staff to prepare for the Web site.
“It mostly arose from a general sense from the public that it’s hard for them to know exactly what government is doing and a belief that the more sunshine that there is in government, the better government will perform,” Kochman said. “We think this will restore some confidence about government.”
Sen. David Hoyle, D-Gaston, agrees that such efforts will help curb public cynicism.
“I think the better we can inform people the more confidence people have in their government and the more support we get back home,” Hoyle said. “It takes away that shield of uncertainty.”
In addition to being able to review some contracts, people visiting the site can also find other information that is scattered around other state government Web sites. For example, one link will take you to the campaign finance reports that are on the State Board of Elections site. Another will take you to a lobbyist directory that is on the Secretary of State’s Web site.
“We also want to make it easier for people to reach the Web on other parts of state government,” Kochman said.
Some members of the General Assembly have also introduced bills aimed at making public records easier to obtain or placing sanctions on government officials who don’t provide such records. Those lawmakers include Reps. George Cleveland, R-Onslow; Justin Burr, R-Stanly; Cary Allred, R-Alamance; John Blust, R-Guilford; and Curtis Blackwood, R-Union.
The bills carry various provisions aimed at encouraging government officials to make records more open by:
– Requiring governments pay attorney’s fees if a plaintiff wins a public records lawsuit.
– Making a government employee who fails to provide a public record guilty of a misdemeanor.
– Levying a civil penalty against such an employee.
– Setting up an open government unit within the Attorney General’s office to educate the public and local government officials on the state’s public records and open meetings laws. That government unit would also be available to mediate open government disputes.
Open government supporters say that more legislation could be forthcoming.
Paul Meyer, chief legislative counsel for the N.C. League of Municipalities, said he believes many of the bills go too far.
“We oppose all these types of provisions for a multitude of different reasons,” Meyer said.
Meyer said that the General Assembly has struggled over the years to define what types of records should be public and what should be protected. He said that often times there are different opinions regarding what records are required to be public.
Meyer also said that the open government unit in the Attorney General’s office would be predicated on the concept that education is not already taking place.
Hoyle, who has authored a number of open government bills in past years, said that he would support legislation in the Senate if it passes the House first.
“We have passed this bill twice in the Senate and it has not made it through the House,” Hoyle said of the bill that would provide attorney’s fees for people winning public records lawsuits. “I believe beyond any doubt that I can pass it in the Senate.”
by Barry Smith, Freedom Raleigh Bureau