public records

Appeals Court rules against SEANC

mbieseck — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:10:53 -0500

In a split decision issued Tuesday, the N.C. Court of Appeals ruled that a lower court acted appropriately in dismissing a lawsuit filed against former State Treasurer Richard Moore.

The State Employees Association of North Carolina sued in 2008 over a dispute about whether Moore's office had provided public records requested by the group regarding the handling of the state retirement system.

Moore's lawyer argued in Wake Superior Court in June 2008 that the association cannot point to a single specific public record that had been withheld, and Judge James E. Hardin dismissed the suit.

In Tuesday's decision, appeals court Judges Cheri Beasley and Wanda G. Bryant ruled that Hardin was right to dismiss the case, ruling that Moore had fulfilled his obligation under the state's public records law to search his files for documents covered under the request filed by SEANC.

Appeals Court Judge Rick Elmore dissented, writing in a separate opinion that the employees group had shown that Moore had likely withheld records he was legally obligated to provide.

UPDATE: Thomas A. Harris, the chief of staff and general counsel for SEANC, said he will recommend to the group's board that they appeal Tuesday's decision to the N.C. Supreme Court.

"The majority opinion misstates the facts of the case and, as the dissent points out, adds a equirement for maintaining a Public Records Act lawsuit that is not in the law itself," Harris said in an e-mail to Dome.

Moore said: "This news, combined with the other recent news that North Carolina's pension fund was the best performing in the country for this past fiscal year, are nice exclamation points to the end of my 8-year-tenure."

Plan not public

bniolet — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:33:23 -0400

When State Board of Elections Chairman Larry Leake introduced a document outlining Democrats elections plans, he said the document might never be made public.

The document outlines a plan by the N.C. Democratic Party to coordinate get-out-the-vote and other efforts to push a full slate of Democrats.

The News & Observer has requested access to the document, which has been submitted to the board and, the newspaper argues, should be a public record.

Board member Bob Cordle, in his questions to former party official Scott Falmlen, noted that Republicans would want to see the document as much as newspapers. Cordle told Falmlen that the Democratic Party would have to make a show of what information needed to be kept secret.

"You're going to have to show us what's proprietary and what's considered to be proprietary," Cordle said.

Perdue vetos secret records bill

markjohnson — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:01:42 -0400

Gov. Beverly Perdue vetoed a bill Thursday that would keep secret various records that legislators send or receive in the process of drafting legislation.

The bill would keep confidential documents submitted to lawmakers or their staff regarding legislation being drafted. And documents or requests sent by legislative staffers to state agencies regarding bills being drafted would also remain secret.

"This bill unnecessarily adds new restrictions on public access to documents and information," Perdue said.

More after the jump.

Perdue has six bills left

bniolet — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:59:14 -0400

Gov. Beverly Perdue signed another batch of bills Friday afternoon leaving five remaining unsigned bills on her desk.

The six remaining are:

HB 104: Clarifies which documents produced by lawmakers are exempt from the public records law. Would make requests by lawmakers sent to state agencies exempt from the public records law.

HB 945: The Studies Act of 2009 catalogues a host of items and issues to be studied while the legislature is out of session.

HB 1166: Insurance Law Changes. Makes several changes including a new requirement that to get a license, insurance agents must submit fingerprints for a criminal background check.

SB 947: Provides more opportunity for a homeowner to halt foreclosure if he or she can demonstrate they can pay what is owed.

HB 836: Makes technical corrections to the state budget.

HB 1329: Consolidates various state stautes regulating criminal record expunctions.

Among the 40-plus Perdue signed Friday are:

SB 167: Prohibits tobacco products and cell phones in prisons. Makes it a crime to provide tobacco or cell phones to inmates.

HB 667: Allows wineries to sell wine during business hours.

SB 138: Bans the recreational use of salvia divinorum, an hallucinogenic herb. Still allows the mint-like plant to be used in landscaping.

SB 786: Authorizes capital projects on University of North Carolina system campuses. The projects have a funding stream to repay debt for the projects. List includes $21.8 million for a parking deck at N.C. State University, a $10 million renovation of the Carolina Inn at UNC-Chapel Hill, $35 million for a Partnership, Outreach and Research for Accelerated Learning Building at UNC-Charlotte.

SB 464: Requires statistics on race to be kept to help identify and prevent racial profiling by law enforcement. Also requires that a law enforcement officer ensure a child is in safe hands if the child's parent gets arrested. The last provision would have prevented a case last year in which three children were stranded on Interstate 85 in the middle of the night for eight hours when a sheriff's deputy arrested the children's mother, an illegal immigrant.

Correction: Perdue had six bills to sign, not five as we previously reported. Dome regrets the oversight.

NC Dems forfeit $24k over Easley flights

bniolet — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 08:25:32 -0400

The state Democratic Party on Thursday forfeited more than $24,000 to the state Board of Elections to "address and resolve" questions about the party's role in past donations of flights and gifts that are tied to the campaign of former Gov. Mike Easley.

The state party's chairman, David Young, said party officials had believed that seven donations of flights and gifts made in 2003 and 2004 had gone to the party. However, he said, there are now questions about whether the party received the benefit.

Young said in a letter to state elections chairman Larry Leake that the payment was to show a "good faith effort to fully comply with the law."

The development follows reports in The News & Observer in May about flights provided for Easley. Records released earlier this year by Gov. Beverly Perdue indicated that some of the flights in question were provided by businessmen to take Easley to or from his own fundraisers.

But the question has been whether those donations actually were meant for the Easley campaign all along, but just not accounted for that way.

"We do not know that these contributions were improper," Young wrote, "and until questions were recently raised, had no reason whatsoever to believe that they might be improper."

In an interview, Leake said the payment from the party represents a "penalty" for contributions the party listed as receiving but for which it does not seem to have benefited.

Leake said the payment Thursday does not end the elections probe.

"The truth will come out," Leake said. "It's fair to say that we still have concerns." (N&O)

House votes in favor of records bill

bniolet — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:31:14 -0400

The House gave preliminary approval Thursday to a bill that would mandate government agencies who lose public records lawsuits have to pay up.

The bill creates a new division of the Attorney General's office that would advise some 1,500 governmental units on public records issues. The unit could also mediate disputes before they end up in court.

The bill also states that if a governmental agency, city, town, county, school system or other public entity loses a lawsuit over public records, a judge must require the agency to pay the plaintiff's attorney fees.

State law already allows judges to impose fees, but it is rarely used in public records cases.

"The public records are the people's records," said Rep. Deborah Ross, a Raleigh Democrat and co-sponsor of the bill. "They're not our records. They're not the politicians' records."

The bill was unlike nearly ever other contentious bill that has been discussed on the House floor this year in that the usual partisan lines were gone. On Thursday, what determined whether a House member was in favor or against the bill seemed to be whether he or she was once a locally-elected official.

Rep. Lucy Allen, a Louisburg Democrat and former mayor of that city, offered an amendment that would allow a government or agency to avoid paying legal fees if it relied on a written opinion from its staff or contract attorneys to deny releasing the records.

More after the jump.

Perdue lets some light in

bniolet — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:38:51 -0400

One her first day as governor, Beverly Perdue pledged to increase government transparency.

"Government must be more accountable to the people," Perdue said in her Jan. 10 inaugural address. "The state's business must be conducted in the sunshine, to inspire confidence, not cynicism."

Perdue appears to largely be living up to that promise. She makes her weekly schedule available and frequently takes questions from reporters, and her administration released travel and other records that disclosed former Gov. Mike Easley's use of private planes and other activities.

And Wednesday, Perdue issued executive orders requiring more transparency in government. She is also expected to soon sign a bill that she backed that would force state mental hospitals to release information about those who die in the facility or within two weeks of being discharged.

But Perdue's administration continues to withhold some key records, such as reports on probationers who committed serious crimes and state employees who had sex with inmates.

"Compared to what it was, [Perdue] has been great," said Don Carrington, vice president of the conservative John Locke Foundation, who said the Easley administration routinely rebuffed his calls and requests for documents. "They return calls and acknowledge requests." (N&O)

On the other hand, employees at the state's psychiatric hospital in Goldsboro could face discipline if they say negative things about its staff or operations.

Cherry Hospital has landed in trouble in the past few years for patient abuse and neglect, with some of problems coming to light because workers spoke publicly. (N&O)

Perdue toughens e-mail policy

bniolet — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:14:02 -0400

Gov. Beverly Perdue today toughened a policy for keeping state government e-mail that was left by former Gov. Mike Easley.

Perdue's order strips away some wiggle room state employees may have had to delete e-mail messages that they determined were not related to public business. Now employees must keep all messages for 24 hours so they can be archived every day. Employees can delete spam messages they receive. Easley's order, which Perdue rescinded, allowed employees to decide which messages were related to public business.

"Only when the doors of government are open wide, and the sun truly shines in, can we be sure that our government by the people is working for the people," Perdue said in a news release.

Perdue's order is similar to an order signed by Easley in the waning days of his administration. Several news organizations, including The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer had sued Easley over e-mail retention.

Perdue also signed an order requiring the Department of Commerce to report the names of consultants involved in economic development projects that benefit from state incentive programs.

Update: Perdue's e-mail order also creates a searchable backup system, a spokeswoman said. Most messages would be kept for 10 years.

Full House will hear records bill

bniolet — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 10:24:18 -0400

A bill that would all but guarantee attorneys fees for those who sue over public records cleared a key committee Wednesday morning.

The bill's supporters narrowly escaped an amendment that would have also guaranteed attorneys fees if a government agency wins a records lawsuit. The amendment failed on a tie vote.

The amendment's sponsor, Rep. Bill Owens, an Elizabeth City Democrat, was necessary to ensure that news organizations and state residents don't flood government with frivolous lawsuits.

"It's said we need to look out for the people's information," Owens said. "We need to look out for the people's money as well."

Supporters of the original bill said that government agencies, cities, counties and towns are not above using their staff attorneys to stonewall citizens.

"Since when has fighting city hall been described as a level playing field?" said Rep. Edgar Starnes, a Hickory Republican.

Owens amendment, or one like it, seems likely to resurface when the bill hits the House floor, possibly next week.

More after the jump.

Records bill has foes

bniolet — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 07:59:32 -0400

Lobbyists for North Carolina's local government officials are resisting legislation that would force governments to pay legal fees after losing a lawsuit to release documents.

The House Finance Committee on Wednesday again considers a bill that would make it easier for news media outlets and individuals suing in public records lawsuits to collect attorney fees if the documents are released.

Judges now can deny the payment if they think the government body has substantial justification to deny access.

Lobbyists say more than 1,500 state and local government agencies, boards and commissions would be subject to the law. The bill would have to clear votes in the committee, the full House and then the Senate, which approved a similar measure last year. (AP)