Keeping the money out of politics and making elections accessible to all North Carolinians are two important ways to protect our environment. Diverse coalitions of environmental and public interest groups are working to pass legislation to reform lobbying rules and to allow voters to register on the same day they vote. 

In 2005, the NC General Assembly passed landmark legislation (S.L. 2005-456) to reform the state's laws governing lobbying. The bill closed the so-called "goodwill loophole" which allowed lobbyists to wine and dine legislators without having to report how much money they spent as long as no legislation was discussed. The lobby reform law also requires reporting of all lobbying expenses over $10, extends reporting requirements to executive branch lobbyists, and requires a six month cooling off period before a legislator can become a paid lobbyist. However, the new law still left several large loopholes and a coalition of groups is calling for even stronger reforms and for full implementation immediately.  

North Carolina has one of the lowest voter turnout rates in the country—over half of the adults in our state do not vote, even in presidential election years. There is a campaign underway in North Carolina to allow people to register to vote on the same day they go to vote. Currently, you must register to vote 25 days before Election Day. Proposed legislation would allow citizens to go to one of the Early Voting sites to register and vote on the same day, though this legislation did not pass in 2006.

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In July 2006, on the last days of the session, the NC General Assembly passed an omnibus ethics and lobbying reform law (S.L. 2006-201), building on reforms passed in 2005.   The new legislation establishes some restrictions on gifts to legislators and executive branch officials, bans campaign contributions from lobbyists, and establishes an Independent Ethics Commission. 

While most elements of the ethics legislation are very positive, there is more work to be done.  For instance: the restrictions on gifts is rife with loopholes and needs tightening; a ban on lobbyist fundraising may do more than a ban on campaign contributions; and the ethics commission needs to be given stronger investigative powers. 

The Coalition working for these changes has expanded its mission for the 2007 session to include redistricting reform that would take the partisan politics out of drawing congressional and legislative district boundaries by creating an Independent Redistricting Commission.

Links

Democracy North Carolina
Common Cause
NC Coalition for Lobbying and Government Reform 

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