Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1513058
6 UCW December 13-19, 2023 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM ose words, made famous several generations ago in the Broadway musical Hair, celebrated the 1960s' take on openness, light, sharing, and other virtues of the era. Today, even politicians still like to talk about sunshine, governmental transparency, and giving citizens ac- cess to and voices in public business. North Carolina General Assembly members, for example, are happy to let citizens know what laws took ef- fect this month, particularly criminal statutes regarding rioting and civil disorder (just in case anyone was considering such activities), banning the manufacture, possession, and distribution of fake pills (the law ex- cludes pharmacists), and protecting critical infrastructure after someone shot up a Moore County electric substation late last year. Some of this is simply letting citi- zens know such feel-good laws have taken effect, and some of it playing to partisan political constituencies. Increasingly, though, transparency is not the goal. In fact, the goal is be- coming the exact opposite, to with- hold information from the public. In other words, elected legislators are big on talking the sunshine talk but less enthusiastic about walking the transparency walk. States throughout the country are making it more difficult for citizens to access various public records that have been available through vari- ous Freedom of Information Acts. Sometimes officials complain they are overwhelmed by various record requests. Sometimes they say staff is unavailable or that providing infor- mation to the public can be expen- sive. What they do not say is that releas- ing certain documents can be em- barrassing, even damaging to them and their careers. A prime example of this is US Supreme Court Justice Clarence omas' acceptance of fancy trips and a tricked-out RV from a right-wing donor in Texas, gifts he ultimately had to own up to himself. North Carolina legislators clearly have some information they hope to keep to themselves. Tucked, some would say hidden, deep in the 2023-2024 budget bill finally approved nearly three months late, is a provision having nothing to do with funding state government. It is a provision allowing legisla- tors to exempt General Assembly records from public release, remov- ing any semblance of sunshine. Legislators can now decide which documents are released, kept, destroyed, or even sold. I am not the only North Carolin- ian who finds this hidden provision alarming. North Carolina State Treasurer and former legislator himself, Republican Dale Folwell, told NC Newsline that "allowing indi- vidual lawmakers to determine what records are public and what material can be destroyed without ever seeing the sunshine of public view creates a system that does not have standards or accountability. It prevents the public from learn- ing who and what influence certain decision-making on their behalf." Brooks Fuller, executive director of the North Carolina Open Govern- ment Coalition, agrees. "It's a massive change. It under- mines the public access to any docu- ment that touches the hands of an individual legislator." It is important to remember that the words "public access" refer to any member of the public—a jour- nalist, Up & Coming Weekly, you, and me. Even if we decide we want a legislative document, we no longer have a right to it if a legislator says "no." Does this sound like an open and representative government to you? To me it sounds like one more step on the road to opaque and authori- tarian government and one more reason to be very, very careful who we vote for in 2024. What we do not—or cannot—know can indeed hurt us and our families. Let the sunshine in by MARGARET DICKSON OPINION Contributing Writers Wanted Join the Up & Coming team Use your creative talents to promote community events (people, concerts, theater, festivals, sports, etc.) Basic writing and interviewing skills needed Intern opportunities available for college students Contact editor@upandcomingweekly.com (910) 484-6200 Contributing Writers Wanted Don't Just Read About it, Write about it! Join the Up & Coming Weekly team • Use your creative talents to promote community events (people, concerts, theater, festivals, sports, etc.) • Basic writing and interviewing skills needed • Intern opportunities available for college students Contact editor@upandcomingweekly.com (910) 484-6200 MARGARET DICKSON, Columnist. COMMENTS? Edi- tor@upandcomingweekly.com. 910-484-6200.