Democratic lawmakers are advocating for a constitutional amendment to enhance transparency in North Carolina’s public records laws. House Bill 1075 aims to counter last year’s state budget, which exempted lawmakers from following state public record laws, giving them the ability to destroy, sell, or keep secret and information they don’t want the public to access.
The proposed amendment would require three-fifths support in both the House and Senate to be placed on the ballot for voter approval. Sen. Dan Blue emphasized the public’s right to know what their representatives are doing, noting the amendment’s importance for fostering trust in public institutions.
Sen. Graig Meyer echoed that notion, saying during the press conference announcing the legislation, “If the public can’t see what the public pays us to do, then we’re failing a fundamental test the public expects of us.”