Senator Nancy King (D-39) has written Senate President Mike Miller asking that Senate committee votes be made more accessible to the public. King points out that committee votes began appearing in the Senate Journal in 2009, but they are not linked to the General Assembly's searchable floor vote database. The House Journal does not contain committee votes. King's proposal falls in line with the opinions of some, including Senator Rich Madaleno (D-18), that online committee vote reporting could be implemented through administrative changes rather than through legislation such as that proposed by Delegate Saqib Ali (D-39).
We reproduce Senator King's letter below.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Nancy King Proposes Easier Access to Committee Votes
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10 comments:
It's no coincidence that Senator King took this approach after Delegate Ali's proposed Legislative Voting Sunshine Act gained so much momentum. What other ideas of Delegate Ali's will she co-opt next? I give her a week before she's pro-gay marriage and combined reporting.
-Ajay N. Iyer
I'm glad to see that Senator King has recognized the merits of this idea.
Whats most important is that the citizens of MD get the transparency in the legislative process that they deserve.
This looks familiar, something I heard Del. Ali mention he wanted transparency in voting, local and state levels. I'm wondering why this comes up, after Del. Ali has already has already brought forth this concept, even getting attention from the Washington Post about it.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/15/AR2009121504871.html
-Andy Jupin
Senator King's actions serve as yet another indicator of Delegate Ali's continued leadership in the House. The Delegate mentions the transparency in the legislative process that Marylanders deserve in his comment, a point that is rightly noted. The truly shocking transparency, however, is that which applies to Senator King presenting the Delegate's idea as her own! She even included the word "Sunshine" in her letter! Forget class...that's just plain tacky.
Kudos, Delegate Ali...imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!
-Jeremy D. Sherer
Wow, that Nancy King sure does have a lot or original ideas, doesn't she? (NOT!)
- Ghazanfar Ghori
senator king is clearly trying to co-op delegate ali's idea, but it should be noted that her proposal is too limited. we need transparency in both the house and senate.
-Telesforo Ramirez III, Montgomery Village
This is what grassroots pressure is all about.
Progressive Neighbors created a subcommittee six months ago -- Luis Zapata, Dana Beyer, Shelley Fudge and Norm Oslik -- to draft a plan to improve transparency and access in Annapolis. It was christened MD-TEAG, for "transparency and equal access in government."
This was passed along to the Progressive Working Group, led by Wally Malakoff, Mike Tabor, Mike Hersh, Dana Beyer, Norm Oslik and Sharon Dooley, which has made it one of its two agenda items for this upcoming session.
Discussions with various delegates, both with the aforementioned groups and singly as well, have led to the drafting of two bills, sponsored by Delegates Mizeur and Ali.
Simultaneously, discussions have proceeded with others such as Delegate Hixson and Senator Madaleno to manage as much of this administratively as possible. Now Senator King is on board.
Regardless of who eventually takes the credit, or receives the credit, the end result will be that the residents of Maryland will have a much more transparent and accountable government in Annapolis. A very good thing.
Happy New Year, everyone!
It is good to see Senator Nancy King practically seconding what Delegate Saqib Ali already proposed regarding easier access to committee votes.
However, the real credit goes to Delegate Ali for presenting such a proposal and doing it the right way, through the legislative process, rather than a letter to the higher up.
It seems to copy Delegate Ali's stance and amending his proposal to sugar coat it, but we know that Delegate Ali was the real author behind it.
Delegate Ali is on the right track that it has caught the attention of the state Senators. Good work to Delegate Ali for his message and proposal. You know your on the right track when others take your ideas, the only thing being, they should give the credit to you.
Next thing you know, Ms. King will claim to be a 35-year-old Pakistani-American.
Brien Kinkel
If putting committee votes online is a good idea, what is the harm in enshrining that idea in law?
I simply do not trust GA leadership to follow through on any commitment to put votes online without the force of law to compel them to do so.
Marc Nelson Jr.
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