79R2958 AMY-D

By:  Merritt                                                    H.C.R. No. 22 



CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
	WHEREAS, The Texas Legislature is committed to openness in 
its voting practices, including public access to or awareness of 
those practices, and to running an open government in which the 
citizens of Texas take an active role; and
	WHEREAS, Integral to taking an active role in one's own 
government is the ability of each citizen of Texas to easily examine 
the history of legislation and view how his or her senator or 
representative voted on that legislation, including committee 
votes and votes of the full house; and
	WHEREAS, Current rules for the Texas Senate and the Texas 
House of Representatives provide for votes at every stage of the 
legislative process to be reflected in the House and Senate 
Journals and in committee minutes and reports, all of which are 
available to the public online; and
	WHEREAS, While each vote on a bill or other legislation is 
public information and currently available on the Texas Legislature 
Online website, finding the record of a vote can be difficult and 
time-consuming for the user unfamiliar with the legislative 
process; and
	WHEREAS, Ensuring that the record of votes be easily 
accessible to the citizens of Texas is the responsibility of the 
Texas Legislature, and meeting that responsibility will guarantee 
that its activities remain open to public scrutiny; now, therefore, 
be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives and Senate of the 
79th Texas Legislature hereby direct the legislative staff 
responsible for maintaining the Texas Legislature's Internet 
websites to develop, as soon as practicable, a link on the main page 
that will allow the public to easily and promptly access 
information on votes taken on the passage of legislation in the 
Texas Legislature by directing the user to a user-friendly history 
of each item of legislation, clearly enumerating each vote on 
approval of that legislation, with an explanation of each type of 
vote.  In making the information user-friendly, the legislative 
staff may organize the information by any appropriate method, 
including by the number of each item of legislation or by the name 
of each member of the legislature.