From the Sun Journal of New Bern, Aug. 28

Gov. Bev Perdue should reconsider her decision not to release the report on an internal investigation into missing travel records of former Gov. Mike Easley.

Perdue has made open government and transparency a key part of her agenda since assuming office in January. For example, her administration has undertaken an effort to put all government contracts of $10,000 or more on the Internet by the end of the year. That allows anyone with access to the Internet the opportunity to see how much of state government is spending.

She has parted with policies that her predecessor had in place in favor of open government. Perdue has made much progress toward open government.

Now she needs to go a step further and release the recent internal investigation related to how some travel records of her predecessor were lost.

State officials cite laws protecting the privacy of personnel records in declining to release the report. When pressed further, Perdue said she didn’t believe she had the legal authority to release the report.

“I’m not a lawyer,” Perdue told The News & Observer. “I’m trying to follow the rules of law ... I’m constantly told this is privileged information.”

The administration has also been told that state law allows the release of otherwise private information in instances where an agency’s integrity is in question and it would be in the best interest of the public.

Certainly, an investigation about missing travel records of the former government is central to the state’s integrity. Making that investigation more transparent would go a long way toward restoring that integrity.

We’d recommend that Perdue gather her legal advisers together and ask them about the legal steps necessary to make such information public. If need be, she should bring Attorney General Roy Cooper into the mix.

An overarching principle of open government is that laws should be interpreted in favor of openness, not constrictively or narrowly.

It’s important to remember that the information collected in the investigation was gathered at the expense of the public. They belong to the people of North Carolina.

Reconsideration is in order. Releasing the report would serve the state’s interest. Doing so would be consistent with Perdue’s efforts to make government more transparent.