PROVIDENCE – State lawmakers have introduced bills that would make more information about members’ voting records available to the public through the General Assembly’s Web site.
Rep. Edwin R. Pacheco, D-Burrillville, is among those sponsoring a bipartisan bill that would require the General Assembly to report each member’s voting record on its Web site.
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The record would include every vote cast by each legislator in committee and on the floor, as well as the date and final tally of each vote. In 2008, an earlier version of the bill died without getting out of the House Finance Committee.
“Citizens in the 21st century rely on the Internet to find the information that helps them make informed decisions, including the voting records of their legislators,” Pacheco said in a statement. “We have an obligation to provide transparency and openness in our government, and we should be putting this information on the Internet in a format that citizens can use.”
While tallies for each bill – and whether a committee has voted for or against it – are listed on the General Assembly’s site, the tallies are organized in the House and Senate journals by the date of the chamber vote, rather than by member. In addition, although each committee’s vote is listed, online records currently do not include the votes of individual committee members.
Pacheco, 28, is one of the youngest members of the General Assembly and works as executive director of the Providence-based nonprofit Education in Action.
Rep. Deborah L. Ruggiero, D-Jamestown, is sponsoring bipartisan legislation that would require that the General Assembly’s site to post all roll-call committee votes. Ruggiero pointed out that many bills never make it out of committee, meaning that may be the only vote that gets taken on it.
“People should be able to find out where their legislator stands on all the issues that are put before them,” she said in a statement. “In the legislative process, a great deal of the work on a bill occurs during the committee process. It should be easy for members of the public to find out online which way their legislators voted in that step of the process.”
She added: “This is a small change that shouldn’t be difficult to implement, but it would provide important information that voters should have.”
This makes so much sense! I have struggled to see where a legislator stands on issues, and have become frustrated. It is tough to be an educated voter without the proper tools. Way to go!