Statement on Gov. Cooper Signing Local Government Transparency Bill into Law

Sen. Barnes: “Elected officials should not be given special treatment”

Raleigh, N.C. — Gov. Roy Cooper today signed Senate Bill 473, “Enhance Local Government Transparency,” into law.

Sen. Lisa Barnes (R-Nash), who sponsored the bill said, “This is a great step forward in holding elected officials accountable and ensuring that taxpayers aren’t footing the bill for wrongdoing. Elected officials should not be given special treatment just because of their title or office.”

Senate Bill 473 makes it a Class H felony for an elected official to use their elected position to personally benefit financially by means of intimidation, undue influence, or misuse of public employees. The law applies to any elected official statewide and gives law enforcement a needed tool to hold officials accountable for bad acts.

Under Senate Bill 473, counties and municipalities can garnish the government wages of elected officials if that individual owes money for any county or municipal services. It also strengthens conflict-of-interest laws for local officials with public contracts.