For the Record Lawmakers should disclose their votes December 12, 2004 It’s time for Texas legislators to change the way they do business. Under its current procedure, the Legislature doesn’t require a record of how each lawmaker votes, making it hard for constituents to hold politicians to their promises. As the state House and Senate gear up for the 2005 legislative session, Texas voters should encourage their elected officials to fix this loophole that allows lawmakers to avoid scrutiny of their actions. The rules allow legislators to record votes on a certain issue if they agree to, but it’s not mandatory. Only nine other states don’t require a record of how legislators vote on the final passage of a bill. The Associated Press and several Texas newspapers explored the issue in a series of stories Dec. 4 and 5. The AP cited a Texas Poll by the Scripps Research Center, in which 88 percent of the individuals polled agreed the Legislature should record its votes, and 80 percent supported an amendment to the state constitution that would require recorded legislative votes.

In addition to the massive grassroots support among Texas residents, the call for recorded votes has the support of a number of high-profile organizations in the state, including the Democratic and Republican parties, the AARP, the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, the Texas Daily Newspaper Association and the Texas Association of Broadcasters. In all, more than 150 organizations and individuals want to fix the Legislature’s voting procedures, the Austin American-Statesman reported. More than 30 newspapers and a number of state legislators are listed on the Dallas Morning News Web site as supporters of recorded votes.

A recent legislative survey by The Daily Texan, the University of Texas student newspaper asked lawmakers whether they agreed legislators should have to record their votes by name and whether they favored a constitutional amendment requiring recorded votes.

Out of Hidalgo County’s state representatives, only Aaron Peña of Edinburg answered the survey. He responded yes to both questions. The county’s other representatives, Mission’s Kino Flores and newly elected Armando Martinez of Weslaco and Veronica Gonzales of McAllen, did not respond to the survey. And Ryan Guillen of Rio Grande City responded with a no to the question of requiring recorded votes.

We encourage all the Valley’s representatives to join their fellow Texans in supporting transparency in the legislative process.

The survey response from the Valley’s state senators was much better. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, who said back in June that he’s willing to author a bill requiring a record of an individual legislator’s vote, answered both questions in the affirmative, as did Brownsville’s Eddie Lucio. And Sen. Judith Zaffirini of Laredo agreed on recorded votes, although she disagreed on a constitutional amendment requiring them.

Texans elect lawmakers to serve their constituents. And voters need to know their politicians’ decisions on pieces of legislation that affect their lives. It might take some effort to put recorded votes into practice, but it’s certainly worth it. For legislators to remain accountable to the voters they should cast their votes on the record.