Make NC police, state worker discipline public? Cooper is ‘willing to work’ on it

State legislators are pushing for transparency about public-sector workers’ personnel records in the wake of shootings by law enforcement. But votes on their bill have been postponed twice this week while the lawmakers work behind the scenes.

The governor said this week he’s willing to work with lawmakers about the issue.

It’s at least the fourth time in three decades that North Carolina lawmakers have considered making employee records more public, including one law that passed in 2010 and made public whether the workers had been suspended or demoted. Republican senators in the state legislature are behind the latest attempt to make disciplinary information public for government workers, including law enforcement, teachers and state employees.

The “Government Transparency Act of 2021” bill has been questioned by Democrats and opposed by unions. The bill’s prospects this year remain uncertain after state senators removed the bill from the Senate floor on Tuesday and sent it back to a committee that has already voted for one version of it.

Senate leader Phil Berger, an Eden Republican, told The News & Observer Tuesday night that the bill is “still alive.” He said that staff raised concerns about the way the bill is worded, so once that is worked out, the provisions in the transparency bill could be added to a House bill that has already passed. That means the bill could still pass this session.

North Carolina law now requires government agencies to provide a general description for promotions. If passed, Senate Bill 355 would also require them to provide general descriptions for demotions, dismissals, transfers, suspensions and job separations. It would apply to all state employees, local government employees and public-school employees.

A majority of other states make the information public.

A bill in the works for years

The bill made two rounds through the Senate Judiciary Committee in the past few weeks. Bill sponsor Sen. Norman Sanderson, a Pamlico County Republican, made some changes after lawmakers and lobbyists raised some concerns.

The latest version of the bill added that the description for a demotion should not be public until the affected employee has gone through the appeals and grievance process. After that process has been finalized, the information would be released within 30 days.

Sen. Mujtaba Mohammed, a Mecklenburg County Democrat, predicted that media outlets would publish the information in databases similar to those that show the public salary information of state employees.

Sen. Amy Galey, an Alamance County Republican, said those who have worked in local government know that boards can hide behind the current law in not disclosing information about job changes.

Galey said the bill is important “in the interest of transparency and holding elected officials accountable.”

In 1997, when Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper was then a state lawmaker, he was the sponsor of a bill called “Discipline Disclosure Act.” It failed.

Asked about it on Wednesday, Cooper didn’t rule out signing a bill about it.

“I know that there’s legislation pending in the General Assembly,” Cooper said. “I introduced legislation on that issue when I was in the state legislature. It’s an issue we ought to work on. It’s complicated.

“There are some things you have to look at regarding people’s personnel records, but I am willing to work with the legislature on that.”

The State Employees Association of North Carolina has opposed the bill, just as it did a similar one in 2011. SEANC Executive Director Ardis Watkins told the Senate committee that the appeals process puts the onus on the employee, calling it “an incredible burden.”

She also questioned making discipline records public.

“We really like salacious things and we love to put them out in the public,” Watkins said.

SEANC, the North Carolina Association of Educators, Teamsters Local 391 and the North Carolina Justice Center all signed a letter to senators opposing the bill.

“As the employer, the state has an obligation to protect the Constitutional rights of the people affected by this bill. Laying bare all the accusations against your workers – real and inaccurate – will cause undue harm to your employees and cost taxpayers in the long run,” the letter says.

Phil Lucey, executive director of the North Carolina Press Association, sent senators a letter in response to the SEANC and NCAE letter. NCPA supports the bill.

“The Government Transparency Act is nothing close to a radical, new approach extending beyond the public’s right to know in most other states. In fact, the vast majority of open government states, including the top tier public records laws in Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, Ohio, and Texas allow access to virtually the entire public employee personnel file,” Lucey wrote. [The News & Observer, Charlotte Observer and The Herald-Sun are members of NCPA.]

Law enforcement groups also support the bill.

“No one hates a bad cop more than a good cop,” John Midgette, executive director of the N.C. Police Benevolent Association, told lawmakers during a committee meeting.

Transparency within

Sanderson said the goal of the bill is to “become more transparent to citizens, and they will know what their money is being spent on.” He said the change would let the public know “who the bad players are” in government.

“There are folks that do some things that are not above board, and instead of being fired are transferred,” Sanderson said.

Democrats questioned the reason for the bill.

Sen. Jay Chaudhuri, a Raleigh Democrat, told The News & Observer before Tuesday’s Senate session that he thinks “as a general rule, the idea appears to be a good one.”

“However, I think there are a couple of exceptions. I remain very worried ... the burden that the employee has to take on on litigating a case with a personnel decision,” he said.

He pointed to the General Assembly’s own Legislative Ethics Committee, which does not make its findings public.

“I think there is a real lack of inconsistency and hypocrisy on this legislative body mandating [disclosure of state employees’ discipline records],” Chaudhuri said.

Sanderson said in committee that when the ethics committee makes a decision, it could be made public. Those records are kept secret unless someone involved publicizes them.

In 2020, then-state Sen. Erica Smith aired documents related to complaints that she made against several other lawmakers to the Legislative Ethics Committee, The N&O previously reported.

Reporter Zachery Eanes contributed to this story.

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