Posted on 12/04/2004 9:18:19 AM PST by SwinneySwitch
Forty states require legislators to record individually how they vote on final passage of bills. Texas isn't one of them.
The Lone Star State stands out nationally as the biggest state with no such requirement, a distinction civic and public interest groups continually point out in their quest to require more recorded, or roll-call, votes.
"Of the ten most populous states, Texas is the only one that doesn't require recording votes on final passage of a bill," said Patricia Ross, president of the American Association of University Women of Texas, one of the groups pushing for recorded votes in Texas.
"We believe that citizens have the right to know exactly where their legislator stands on the issues that matter to them," she said.
Individual votes are recorded in Texas if representatives and senators want it that way. Then the public can track down those votes in legislative journals. Otherwise, Texas lawmakers hold a "voice vote" or a "division vote" in which only the outcome, and not the individual legislators' votes, is recorded.
Three members of the House or Senate must request a recorded vote for it to take place. However, Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick routinely grants one even if one legislator asks.
The other nine states that don't require recorded votes on final passage of bills are Wisconsin, Maine, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina, Rhode Island and Vermont, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures and research by The Associated Press.
In Georgia, a recorded vote on final passage is required of bills in the Senate and only on certain bills in the House.
Most states' rules have been spelled out for long periods of time in state constitutions, and public battles like the one in Texas over changing the requirements haven't been common, said Brenda Erickson, senior research analyst with the National Conference of State Legislatures.
As in Texas, if a state doesn't have a roll-call vote requirement there are rules under which legislators can request one, so they regularly occur, Erickson said.
"They have mechanisms to call one," she said. "There's always that fall back."
A requirement for a roll-call vote doesn't always guarantee easy or quick public access to a state's individual legislative votes.
In New Mexico, where the state constitution requires recorded votes on final passage of bills, the House uses an electronic voting machine to record individual votes for final passage. Copies of the vote are then made available to the public.
But in the New Mexico Senate, the clerk calls the roll for a final vote. Sometimes the Senate simply has legislators who vote "no" on a bill raise their hands. The clerk makes a written record of the votes, and it shows up in the legislative journal — after the legislative session ends. That means it can be difficult for the public to determine right away how individual lawmakers voted.
Having a required recorded vote for final passage doesn't necessarily tell the full story about how lawmakers stand on a bill, some lawmakers say. For example, a key amendment to a bill can dramatically change the proposal and determine whether a majority of lawmakers vote for it.
"It's not just about final passage," said Texas Rep. Garnet Coleman, a Houston Democrat, explaining that amendments are ways to shape legislation and possibly make it better.
In most states, Erickson said, procedural issues, including amendments to bills, can be approved merely through a voice vote.
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Roll Call Vote Ping!
Individual votes are recorded in Texas if representatives and senators want it that way. Then the public can track down those votes in legislative journals. Otherwise, Texas lawmakers hold a "voice vote" or a "division vote" in which only the outcome, and not the individual legislators' votes, is recorded.Wow. NOT good. I didn't know this.
I don't know why this story didn't mention that Lt. Gov. Dewhurst yesterday called for an end to the voice vote. It, in fact, inspired the writing of this article.
I don't know why this story didn't mention that Lt. Gov.
Dewhurst yesterday called for an end to the voice vote. It, in
fact, inspired the writing of this article.Thanks. I happened to see that article in "The Dallas Morning News"
AFTER I saw this article. Here's the link to it, btw .....Dewhurst wants to open state actions
Maybe we can help the Lt. Gov. from this end.
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