North Carolina Working Group

By: Jane Pinsky, director of North Carolina Coalition for Lobbying and Government Reform

The North Carolina working group on economic stimulus money is currently operating under three basic principles to monitor how North Carolina is handling stimulus funds. First, the working group believes that economic stimulus spending should be fair and target those families and communities most harmed by the economic recession, effectively disclosed so that distribution is transparent and open to the public, and accountable to ensure that those receiving monies follow through with planned projects.

A key player in the working group is the North Carolina Coalition for Lobbying and Government Reform, which was founded by Common Cause North Carolina to battle ethics problems in North Carolina government and in the lobbying community. The group has long pushed for increased openness and transparency in the legislative process, especially in the budget process.

The stimulus coalition is comprised of groups across North Carolina whose issues include housing, health care, the environment, disability rights, education, aging, weatherization, and faith. The working group hopes to have its own website developed by group members, www.ncrecovery.net, working shortly with information about state stimulus spending.

As a state, North Carolina has a head start in creating stimulus accountability. Governor Beverly Perdue took office in January and promised that she would increase openness and transparency in state government. Since then, she has created a website, www.ncopenbook.gov, to detail state contracts and provide transparency about other aspects of state government. Also, North Carolina has a "Stimulus Czar" who oversees economic recovery spending and a state website, www.ncrecovery.gov, which mirrors the federal recovery website. In addition, both houses of the North Carolina General Assembly have economic stimulus committees. The committees are currently trying to determine how best to be certain that North Carolina gets and spends all the money it can, and committee staffers are collaborating with members of the working group to develop best practices, guidelines and methods to improve transparency.

Further, the Common Cause North Carolina HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) Project will be working with students at the HBCU to get information about the economic stimulus spending, particularly housing and weatherization, out to the communities surrounding their institutions. The project's goal is to make certain that the recovery money goes to the people who need it, not to "usual suspects"­including big contractors and the vendors who usually do business with the state and local governments.