Changing
the culture of Texas politics
An outspoken proponent of open government,
John Carona was the Texas Senate
sponsor of the bill that will require
Texas legislators to publicly record
their votes.
As hard as it may be to believe,
Texas has been the largest state
in the United States that allowed
its legislature opportunities to
vote on state laws without their
votes being a matter of public record.
No "Johnny-come-lately"
to ethics reform and open records,
Senator Carona has long been on
on the offensive with those opposed
to publicly-recorded votes. At one
point in 2004, opponents to open
government argued that it would
be too costly to record all votes.
"While I do not believe that
recording votes would be costly,"
Carona stated at the time. "I
do believe that whatever small cost
that there might be would be well
worth it. I strongly support making
all votes of the Texas Legislature
recorded votes and for these votes
to be easily accessible to the public."
"I have voted for every piece
of ethics reform that ever reached
the Senate floor," he adds.
In November, 2007, Texas voters
will decide the outcome on publicly
recorded legislative votes. When
approved, the constitutional amendment
will forever change the culture
of politics in state government.
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