No more hiding from folks in Texas

Monday, September 24, 2007, 02:02 PM

By The Editorial Board

For too many years the Texas Legislature refused to provide Texans with one of the most basic tools of representative democracy: a record of how legislators voted on important bills.

Lawmakers threw up a variety of excuses for keeping many of their votes secret. They said it was too expensive, it was too time consuming, it was unnecessary and the like. They argued that their yes-or-no voice votes were sufficient for the folks back home.

But the real story is that many legislators feared having voters know how they voted on controversial bills, votes they might have trouble defending during an election campaign. A voting record was just one more campaign hassle, so informed voters be damned.

After a years-long campaign led by Texas newspapers, freedom of information advocates, committed lawmakers and others, the Legislature finally relented this year and approved a resolution calling for a popular vote on the issue. The result is Proposition 11 on the Nov. 6 ballot, a constitutional amendment requiring final votes of both houses be recorded and posted on the Internet.

Texas voters should overwhelmingly approve this proposition because it gives them knowledge they have often been denied. If Prop. 11 passes, people can easily find how their representatives and senators voted on issues that matter to them.

Lawmakers know that a vote to make concealed handgun permits secret or to raise certain fees will please some voters and anger others. A yea-or-nay voice vote kept the legislative record silent on important legislation and gave lawmakers cover. On voice votes, it was impossible to know whether a legislator approved or opposed the bill or didn’t vote at all.

That isn’t good government. Our elected officials need to keep voters informed, not leave them in the dark for fear of political backlash.

Through the efforts of state Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, who sponsored House Joint Resolution 19, and others, voters have an opportunity to move Texas forward. A majority of states already require recorded votes on major legislation, and Texas should, too.

Ideally, voters would know how their lawmakers voted in committee and on first and second reading of bills, which is where the give and take and the horse trading occurs. But change comes slow in Texas and a record of final votes is a step forward.

There is no reason to oppose this constitutional amendment and 181 reasons to approve it - one for every member of the House and Senate. We urge voters to approve Prop. 11 this fall.