Public Records Lawsuits

Governmental bodies would be required to pay the legal fees of parties that win public records lawsuits against them under a measure approved Tuesday by a Senate panel. The bill introduced by Sen. David Hoyle, D-Gaston, would also create a new open government unit within the state Department of Justice that would be responsible for the education and mediation of public records and open meetings law issues. Before approving the measure, committee members voted down an amendment by Sen. Dan Clodfelter, D-Mecklenburg, that would have stripped the legal fee requirement from the bill. Clodfelter argued that judges are already allowed to assess fees under a law negotiated three years ago. "What I don't like about the bill is that it's going to be thrown out the window now," Clodfelter said about the three-year-old law."

Representatives from the N.C. Association of County Commissioners, the N.C. League of Municipalities and the N.C. Hospitals Association supported Clodfelter's amendment. Others, however, argued against Clodfelter's amendment and in favor of the bill, saying it would give the state's public records law some teeth. John Bussian, a lobbyist for the N.C. Press Association, noted that smaller newspapers and citizens groups had won public records lawsuits recently, only to be denied recovery of their legal fees. The bill now goes to the Senate Finance Committee. (Barry Smith, FREEDOM NEWSPAPERS, 7/08/08).