From the Blue Ridge Times-News (7/9/09): North Carolina legislators have a rare opportunity this year to strengthen the state's weak open government laws.
In a legislative season that will be known for dramatic budget cuts and tax increases amid a deep recession, that would be one mark of achievement. Bonus: it costs nothing.
It costs nothing, that is, unless local and state government lose lawsuits over open meetings and open records. Then those bodies would be forced in many cases to pay the attorney fees of the plaintiffs who successfully pried open secrets.
House Bill 1134 would restrict a judge’s power to deny the granting of attorney fees for the winning plaintiffs, effectively giving plaintiffs a good shot at recovering lawyers’ fees. Those fees can easily run into tens of thousands of dollars when newspapers, public interest groups or individuals fight protracted court battles against the deep pockets of the government.
The bill passed the House on second reading Thursday and is scheduled for a final vote Monday night.
It survived an amendment in the Finance Committee and on the House floor that would have ruined the bill by also allowing judges to force plaintiffs to pay the government’s legal fees. This is preposterous for a couple of reasons, not least of which is that North Carolina citizens are already paying the government’s legal bills, plus all the rest of its costs.
Rep. Bill Owens, a Democrat from Elizabeth City, said the amendment would discourage frivolous records lawsuits and help protect taxpayer dollars. “This amendment will help level the playing field,” said Owens.
Lawmakers called baloney on that.
“Since when has fighting City Hall been called a level playing field?” asked Rep. Edgar Starnes, R-Caldwell.
It’s because the playing field now tilts to heavily against the public that the bill is needed.
HB 1134 also sets up an open government unit under the state attorney general that would help mediate and settle disputes over open records and open meetings. That has the potential to save money on both sides.
“The public wants to have access to what is perceived to be public information and it’s part of our duty to make it available,” said Rep. Margaret Dickson, D-Cumberland, one of the bill’s primary sponsors. The bill makes “it clear to the governmental body that freedom of information requests are important.”
As the North Carolina Press Association has noted, no other state allows the government to charge the cost of public records lawsuits if the public loses. There is already ample protection in North Carolina law for defendants to recover costs if the lawsuit is truly frivolous.
More to the point, the Owens amendment turns a good bill bad, effectively discouraging the public fight for government access instead of promoting it.
The House deserves credit for passing the bill intact, turning back the crippling amendment. The Senate, too, should pass HB 1134 in its unadulterated form, giving North Carolinians a victory in a year when the people would welcome one.
Times-News Staff Editorial