From the Wilmington StarNews (3/22/11): An attorney often on the hunt for discovery documents for court cases, Sen. Thom Goolsby said he understands the importance of information.
Goolsby, the Republican in his first term as New Hanover County’s state senator, has spent part of his first lawmaking session on efforts to increase government transparency and make more information about the government available to the press and public.
Goolsby is a primary sponsor of a Senate bill filed recently that would open more records about the performance of government employees to the public.
If approved, the Government Transparency Act of 2011 would require governments to release a general description of the reason for any employee’s promotion, demotion, transfer, suspension or other change in position classification. Governments would also be required to provide information about the employee’s performance “to the extent that the agency has performance records in its possession,” according to the bill. Sen. Bill Rabon, R-Brunswick, is a co-sponsor.
The law would apply to state agencies, local boards of education, community college boards of trustees, county and city governments and public authorities.