Op-ed: Oppose the PRO CODES Act to Protect North Carolina's Liberties
As Chairman of the Anson County Board of Commissioners, I take seriously my responsibility to protect the individual liberties of our communities here and across North Carolina. This responsibility includes ensuring citizens have unfettered access to the public information that directly affects their lives and livelihoods.
My commitment to protecting our basic rights is why I find recent developments in Washington particularly alarming. Federal lawmakers are advancing the PRO CODES Act, legislation that would effectively privatize our nation's laws by allowing private entities to copyright them – creating unprecedented barriers between citizens and the very legal codes that govern them.
The gravity of what the PRO CODES Act would do is magnified by the complete lack of public discourse. Despite the profound impact this bill would have on the fundamental liberties of North Carolina residents, Congress has not held a single hearing to examine its implications. Even more concerning, some federal legislators are quietly pushing to include it in an end-of-year legislative package. Our members of Congress must stand up and oppose any effort to sneak this bill through this Congress.
The PRO CODES Act would broaden the copyright power of standards development organizations (SDOs). This bill would effectively establish a government-sanctioned monopoly, granting SDOs the authority to own the law and enabling them to control and restrict access to essential legal information. Rather than competing fairly in the free market, SDOs seek to wield government authority to profit from information that belongs in the public domain.
This legislation is a clear example of special interests exploiting government overreach for financial gain. Allowing SDOs complete control over the law not only threatens our individual liberty, but also undermines the notion of competition within the open market. With voters across North Carolina and the greater American people calling for greater economic freedom and reduced regulation, the PRO CODES Act blatantly disregards the will of the people.
The PRO CODES Act threatens core constitutional protections by restricting essential freedoms and rights guaranteed to all Americans. By limiting access to legal information, the bill violates the First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments, which safeguard the public’s right to access, share, and discuss laws. It also erodes the transparency and accountability that are vital to holding the government accountable. Conservative groups like the Cato Institute and the R Street Institute also assert that Americans are entitled to unrestricted access to our country's laws. Yet, this legislation undermines this principle and demonstrates the extent to which we’ve moved away from the constitutional constraints on government authority.
The Supreme Court has long asserted that the law cannot be copyrighted by a private organization. The PRO CODES Act would ignore this legal consensus and hand over control of the law to private entities. Before that happens, it is critical that common sense prevail in Congress.
North Carolina’s Congressional delegation must oppose private businesses’ efforts to leverage the government for market advantages and restrict our access to the law. Our representatives must stand against this bill and any continued efforts to jeopardize individual liberty and free-market competition.
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