From the Hickory Daily Record (3/17/11): This week is Sunshine Week across the country and were are pleased to know that our state lawmakers appear to be serious about open public meetings and transparency within government.
However, we wonder if it’s a worthless exercise to offer a constitutional amendment on open government to North Carolina voters.
The amendment would confirm a citizen’s right to inspect any public record and attend any meeting of a public institution, board or agency to the N.C. Constitution.
Supporters of the amendment want the referendum on the November 2012 General Election ballot.
At first glance, the proposal has a lot going for it. It would take the collective issue of open meetings, transparent government and accessible records out of the realm of statutes and give it constitutional force. On second glance, it’s a weak amendment.
There are too many avenues of exemption to open records – that won’t be enumerated on the ballot – to make a constitutional amendment substantially stronger than the laws now in force.
The House Rules Committee on Wednesday removed references to inspecting judicial files. Members expressed concern about public disclosure of confidential settlements, cases involving minors and other court documents now classed as privileged (that means secret).