The magazine of the North Carolina Center for Voter Education • Saturday May 19, 2012

It's Time to Televise the Legislature

By Damon Circosta
Published: June 14, 2011

RALEIGH - There's an old adage that has been uttered so often, it's become conventional wisdom: the only two things you don’t want to witness being made are laws and sausage. 

There are plenty of unappetizing components of the legislative process.  This week at the N.C. General Assembly bills are being passed in the dark of night with next to no debate. The “gut-and-amend” rules permit legislation that purports to be about one thing to mutate into something entirely different, leaving all of us unaware.

These practices and a self-imposed deadline called “crossover” have created such a frazzled atmosphere in the last week that legislators, legislative staff and the public are barely able to figure out what has happened.

It’s long been a problem in the halls of the legislative building and the folks who recently came to power had in past years been steadfast critics of such abuse. After the new majority campaigned on a platform of increased transparency and more open government, many observers are wondering what became of those promises.

Indeed, the legislative process is about as repulsive to watch as the process by which we get bratwurst, but that doesn’t mean that we should avert our eyes. It might not be pleasant, but if we want to clean up the process we must first witness the problem.

Last week the Federal Communications Commission released a report on the information needs of communities. The report is wide-ranging in its findings, but a key aspect is its support for government openness.

Among the FCC's recommendations is that all states should have a functioning C-SPAN-like public affairs network. By providing gavel-to-gavel coverage of legislative sessions, committee meetings and other government activities, we could have a window into the proceedings of our elected officials.

Such coverage might not stop midnight shenanigans from happening, but if every North Carolinian had televised on-demand access, legislators might be less inclined to engage in such distasteful politics. Come the next morning, our elected officials would be accountable for what happened the night before.

While no one would expect a state public affairs network to become "must-see television," a robust journalism community, community activists and everyday citizens could all play their part in keeping an eye on Raleigh. Right now, the only people who bear full witness to the sausage-making are a stretched-thin capitol press corps and paid lobbyists who are at the legislative building on somebody’s dime.

"There's no reason for the lawmaking process to be opaque," says Fiona Morgan, a Durham-based research fellow with the New America Foundation's Media Policy Initiative. "I'm pleased that the FCC is urging all states to establish public affairs networks. North Carolina has been a leader in so many things, but we're behind 23 other states on this.”

Morgan says that making it easier for journalists and citizens to get information about state government, in real time, will dramatically improve our democracy, because it will give people the information they need, when they need it, to provide meaningful input on public decisions.

“This will benefit even those people who never tune in, because every single person in this state is affected by these decisions,” Morgan adds.

There are only a few short weeks -- perhaps just days -- left in the current legislative session. While it’s doubtful we will see a sudden shift in legislative support for C-SPAN-style coverage of the General Assembly, there will be more sausage-like mischief in the final days of legislating.

It’s hard to fix problems that the public cannot see. Maybe that’s the way the powers that be want it.