Democracy works best when its citizens are engaged in the process. In the advent of the internet age, it’s important to ensure citizens have access to video of all legislative hearings, debates and votes in real or recorded time online.

Because Texans want and deserve to know how their representatives vote on laws that affect their lives, Dan Branch has been one of the legislature’s leading advocates for an open and transparent state government. His accomplishments include:

Recorded Votes: 85% of Texas voters approved Dan’s constitutional amendment to require an on-the-record vote upon final passage of all new laws and resolutions decided upon by the Texas Legislature.

School District Accountability: As a key leader on fiscal transparency, Dan made public school leadership more accountable by requiring districts to post their spending online for public review.

Texas Enterprise Fund Accountability: Dan was a primary author of the law to inject more transparency and enforcement into the Enterprise Fund grant process.  As a result of Dan's efforts, Enterprise Fund agreements now withhold a portion of the overall grant until performance targets are met, and require a full return of state money when recipients fall short of major goals.

Open Government Training: To ensure those who serve the citizens of Texas understand our state’s open government laws, Dan joint authored the successful bill to require public officials at every level to complete training on the Texas Open Meetings and Public Information Acts within 90 days of assuming their responsibilities.

Protecting the 1st Amendment: In 2009, Dan voted for Texas to join 37 other states and the District of Columbia in passing a “Shield Law” for journalists. These laws provide reporters and their sources various protections against being forced to disclose confidential information in state court.

 Dan will continue to support initiatives that serve our public interest and increase government transparency and accountability.