79R1055 JSA-D

By:  Branch                                                     H.J.R. No. 13 



A JOINT RESOLUTION

proposing a constitutional amendment to require each house of the 
legislature to take a record vote on final passage of a bill and to 
publish the record vote on the Internet.
	BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                       
	SECTION 1.  Section 12, Article III, Texas Constitution, is 
amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 12.  (a) Each house of the legislature [House] shall 
keep a journal of its proceedings, and publish the same.
	(b)  A vote taken by either house must be by record vote 
entered in the journal of that house if the vote is on final passage 
of a bill, except that either house by rule may provide for 
exceptions to this requirement for a bill that applies only to one 
district or political subdivision of this state or one defined 
geographic territory within this state; and the yeas and nays of the 
members of either house [House] on any other question shall, at the 
desire of any three members present, be entered on the journals.  
For purposes of this subsection, a vote on final passage includes a 
vote on a bill's third reading in a house or on second reading if the 
house suspends the requirement for three readings, on whether to 
concur in the other house's amendments to the bill, and on whether 
to adopt a conference committee report on the bill.
	(c)  Each house shall make each record vote on final passage 
of a bill required by Subsection (b) of this section available for a 
reasonable time as determined by that house to the public through 
the Internet or a successor electronic communications system 
accessible by the public by reference to the subject and number of 
the bill.
	SECTION 2.  This proposed constitutional amendment shall be 
submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 8, 2005.  
The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the 
proposition:  "The constitutional amendment to require that a 
record vote be taken by a house of the legislature on final passage 
of any bill, subject to exceptions for bills of purely local 
applicability, and to provide for public access on the Internet to 
record votes on bills."