North Carolina’s new $30 billion state budget contains a provision that gives extraordinary investigative powers to a partisan oversight committee co-chaired by Senate Leader Phil Berger (R) and House Speaker Tim Moore (R). The Joint Legislative Committee on Government Operations — or Gov Ops for short — is empowered to seize “any document or system of record” from anyone who works in or with state and local government during its investigations. The rule applies to contractors, subcontractors, and any other non-state entity “receiving, directly and indirectly, public funds,” including charities and state universities.
An important note from the article is that this committee has oversight over institutions who do business with the government, not just government employees. Received grant money, welp now Gov ops can take you down. Won’t be surprised to see it expand beyond institutions and start encompassing individuals, allowing them to take out receivers of social benefits