From Eastern Wake News (2/23/11): Legislators are considering a bill that would place a Constitutional amendment on the ballot, perhaps as soon as 2012.
That amendment would guarantee a tenuous right we already have – to be able to inspect and copy public records.
The bill proposed in the state House last week would give voters the right to enshrine in Constitutional law, the public’s right to see documents relating to the public’s business. It would also require a supermajority of two-thirds of the members of both chambers of the legislature, to weaken that authority.
That’s a pretty high bar, if voters get the chance to decide the question for themselves.
In North Carolina, the only way to amend the Constitution is through a bill in the General Assembly which gives voters the right to decide the fate of the amendment.