An FOI win in North Carolina
The public won an
important access battle Aug. 2 when the North Carolina General Assembly overwhelmingly
approved legislation that makes compensation packages of ALL state and local
employees – including top public hospital executives – public
records.
Senate Bill 1546
headed to Gov. Mike Easley for signature. The compromise bill makes public ALL
compensation paid to state and local public agencies – including salary,
benefits, bonuses, incentives, perks and even deferred compensation. In
addition, the full compensation packages paid to the top 10 executives in public
hospitals will be considered public records effective at the end of the 2008
fiscal year.
The final legislation was pared down slightly from the original bill
sponsored by Sen. David Hoyle and Sen. Walter Dalton. The original bill sought
release of all packages paid to public employees, including all public hospital
employees.
Pressure from hospital lobbyists, however, almost stripped the bill of
all mention of public hospitals. But a compromise reached Wednesday and Thursday
resulted in an unprecedented level of access to how top hospital executives are
compensated.
Effective in 2008, compensation packages for the following executives
will be public record: The chief executive officer of a publicly funded hospital
and the four highest-paid executives, PLUS the five key employees who are not
covered officers, including management and administrative officials.
“Compensation” means base salary, bonuses, incentives and dollar-value of ALL
other compensation, perks and personal benefits. The provision mirrors what
private non-profit hospitals are required to report in their tax returns.
The NCPA hailed the vote as a significant step forward for public
access, and promised to take up the fight to expand access to hospital packages
when the Legislature meets again next spring.
“This is a major victory for the public,” said NCPA Executive Director
Beth Grace. “When we began this effort, we did not include hospitals. But after
we received strong encouragement from the bill’s sponsors, we added that very
important public entity into the mix. We are delighted that this bill gives the
public access to how its money is being spent, and we intend to bring the
hospital compensation issue back to the table next year.”
John Bussian, First Amendment counsel and lobbyist for NCPA, said the
vote makes a strong statement.
“This stops the bleeding of access being felt by our membership in the
wake of the 2005 decision that denied The Charlotte Observer access to the
compensation of executives in the Carolinas HealthCare System,” Bussian said.
“We went from zero to 10 in one shot, and we’ll be back to expand
that.”
The victory was tempered by a provision in the bill that strips the
public of hard-won access to the details of contracts reached between public
hospitals and medical practices they purchase, Grace said. That provision was
offered by Sen. Tony Rand as a separate bill, but tacked onto SB1546 shortly
before passage. The bill was a response to the Wilkes Journal-Patriot’s
lawsuit that sought access to such contracts. The newspaper, with support from
the NCPA, won that case.
Nothing could have prevented passage of that piece of the bill, Bussian
said.
Grace thanked the sponsors of SB 1546, and commended the work of the
NCPA’s Legislative Committee, led by Rick Thames, editor, The Charlotte
Observer; David Woronoff, publisher, The Pilot, Southern Pines; and
Charles Broadwell, publisher, The Fayetteville Observer. Committee member
Jennie Lambert, publisher, The Gaston Gazette, also was instrumental in
working with the sponsors of the original bill and in gathering support for the
legislation.
Grace urged NCPA members to
contact their local lawmakers to thank them for their support of this important
bill. The text of the ratified bill and a list of how lawmakers voted is
available at http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/gascripts/BillLookUp/BillLookUp.pl?Session=2007&BillID=s1546.
FOR MORE INFORMATION,
CONTACT:
Beth Grace, 919-789-2090 or
beth@ncpress.com
or
John Bussian,
919-829-4900