Letters for Sunday

12:00 AM CDT on Sunday, November 4, 2007

Let the sun shine

Texas voters will have the opportunity Tuesday to enshrine open government into the Texas Constitution. Proposition 11 would require the Texas House and Senate to record all final votes, publish them in their official journals and on the Internet, and maintain the voting records online for at least two years in a searchable format.

As joint authors of the legislation that put Proposition 11 on the ballot, we believe voters deserve to know how their legislators voted on every prospective new law.

By adopting Proposition 11, Texas will join the 41 states that require record votes, as well as take our place at the forefront of accountability along with the other 15 states that put voting information online.

This is not a bill just for the media, but something that average Texans tell us they want and need. We get calls and letters from concerned constituents who are trying to track legislation that impacts their livelihood, their tax burden or their children's education. The people of Texas want and deserve to know how their representatives vote on laws that affect their lives. It is our hope that the debate over Proposition 11, and the resulting openness if it passes, will empower our citizens to become more engaged in our governing process.

Rep. Dan Branch, Dallas
Rep. Juan M. Garcia, Corpus Christi