An editorial from The Wilson Times

Color-coded calendars highlighting workdays, vacation days and deadlines are old hat for public school districts in Wilson County and throughout the state. In the North Carolina House of Representatives, however, the rollout of a similar schedule is rightfully hailed as a bona fide reform.

House Speaker Destin Hall released his 2025 legislative calendar on Wednesday as the General Assembly began the year’s short session in earnest. The six-month calendar lists days reserved for committee meetings only, days with potential votes and days when votes are expected, days when the rules committee and select committees will meet. A week in April and a week in May are blocked off for scheduled breaks.

“(A)s Speaker, I am committed to transparency when it comes to delivering results for North Carolinians,” Hall wrote in a post on X that includes an image of the colorful calendar.

To the uninitiated, publishing a House session schedule hardly seems like a high-water mark for open government. Believe it or not, the calendar is the first of its kind.

“The schedule codifies the steady work of House lawmakers for the first time in the chamber’s history,” Matthew Sasser writes for the NC Insider state government news service.

Jones Street insiders understand the significance: Legislative leaders can exercise near-absolute authority over their chamber’s operations and have been known to abuse the privilege. Committing to a six-month schedule is a clear signal that Speaker Hall will impose a measure of discipline on the majority House Republican Caucus when it comes to conducting the people’s business.

“Thank you Speaker Hall for your post and commitment to transparency,” Republican consultant and adviser Pamela Atcitty wrote on X. “The Buncombe County GOP looks forward to the great results of your leadership.”

Hall’s House calendar was a hit with rank-and-file lawmakers, state government workers, industry lobbyists and even journalists (we tend to be a skeptical bunch). 

“An actual schedule for the #ncpol legislative session that gets announced more than a day or two in advance??? Be still my heart,” wrote WRAL-TV politics reporter Will Doran.

Richard Doran — no apparent relation to WRAL’s Will — shared his approval while contrasting the General Assembly’s lackadaisical pace with the more orderly legislature in his former state of Florida, which limits annual sessions to 60 days.

“It’s never failed to deliver a budget on time in the 30 years the GOP has controlled the House,” Doran wrote. 

Shifting his focus to the Tar Heel State, he added: “I am stunned at the lack of discipline here as a new resident. Good luck.”

Because our state constitution vests most authority in the legislature — governors didn’t even have veto power here until 1995 — lawmakers have traditionally been loath to hold themselves to the same standards they apply to local governments. Bodies such as the Wilson City Council and Wilson County Board of Commissioners are statutorily required to pass annual budgets by the first day of the new fiscal year. The General Assembly can take its sweet time — and often does.

The plaudits and digital back-pats heaped upon Hall for establishing a regular order of business are well-deserved. The speaker’s public transparency pledge sets the tone for sorely needed reform, including the repeal of a 2023 legislative privilege provision that essentially exempts senators and representatives from public records preservation and disclosure laws.

A colorful new calendar alone can’t make North Carolina the bastion for open government that taxpayers deserve. But it’s as good a place as any to start.

The preceding article originally appeared on January 30, 2024 at The Wilson Times website and is made available here for educational purposes only. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 106A-117 of the U.S. Copyright Law. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Carolina Leadership Coalition.