Speaker: No time for open records bill

House Speaker Joe Hackney has told legislators and lobbyists there's not enough time left in the General Assembly's budget session to consider a Senate bill beefing up the state's open government law. The Senate unanimously approved Sen. David Hoyle's bill Monday night to award reasonable legal fees to citizens who file lawsuits to enforce the state's model open records law. The News & Observer's Dan Kane reported that Hackney told Rep. Deborah Ross, chair of the committee the bill was assigned to, that "we don't have enough time." Here's a link to the N&O story.
With lawmakers hoping to get out of town for the year Friday, there really isn't enough time to consider every bill. But there is enough time to consider any bill that legislative leaders think ought to be considered. For instance, both the House and Senate were working on a bill to allow online scalping of tickets to sports and other events, and to allow longer trucks and wider boats to be hauled on state roads. And the Senate was working on last-minutes changes in a new ethics reform bill that would make it easier to wine and dine legislators and other public officials. Why is there time for that?
The notion that there's not enough time for an open records bill this important is especially curious because it was a resident of Hackney's district who sued the local elections board over failure to comply with both open records and open meetings laws. A judge found the election board had violated both on numerous occasions, but when the plaintiff tried to recover the $35,000 spent suing the board to enforce what is, after all, a state law, the judge awarded only 10 percent of the legal fees. That's why the N.C. Press Association, of which this newspaper is a member, has been pressing the legislature to automatically award legal fees rather than allowing a judge to decide whether and how much a citizen can get back in attorney's fees.
The Senate bill also includes a provision creating an Open Government Unit in the N.C. Department of Justice to media open records disputes -- a provision Hackney likes, the N&O reported. The good news on this is that Attorney General Roy Cooper -- whose office supports all of Sen. Hoyle's bill -- has already created the Open Government Unit administratively and put it to work training public officials on their responsibilities under the state's sunshine laws. The bill would have but the AG's Open Government Unit in state law. Here's a link to the N.C. Guide to Open Government and Public Records, a project of the N.C. Attorney General's Office and the N.C. Press Association.