(RALEIGH) -- A bi-partisan advocacy group is calling on new Republican state lawmakers to push for new rules that ensure open government and improve public confidence in the legislative process.  The North Carolina Coalition for Lobbying and Government Reform is urging legislators to reject a “business as usual” approach to running the General Assembly.

The group’s director Jane Pinsky said one of the biggest ways to increase transparency is by posting the state budget online for 72 hours prior to any vote.  "I think the secrecy in government really undermines people's confidence in government so we'd like to see them allow people to look at the budget three days before they have a final vote from the time it comes from the appropriations committee," said Pinsky.

Pinsky also wants the General Assembly to record and post all committee votes and end the practice of holding committee meetings on the chamber floor. Another change the group would like to see would require lawmakers to only allocate money through the main budget bill, not through special provisions or the so-called technical corrections bill.