North Carolina treasurer Dale Folwell joined a chorus of criticism against lawmakers exempting themselves from public records laws.
Tucked into this year's budget bill, is a provision that exempts legislators and their staffs from public records laws.
Folwell added his name to critics from both political parties.
"By allowing individual lawmakers to determine what records are public and what material can be destroyed without ever seeing the sunshine of public view, it creates a system that does not have standards or accountability," he said
The open records law allows journalists and the public to request a litany of emails and other documents related to public business. The transparency law still applies to the governor and agency heads in state government, but not lawmakers themselves.