Transparency at the Legislature
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Feb 16, 2010
Wyoming's Legislature may have worked on being more transparent by making all bills available online and streaming proceedings live, but there is still a long way to go. Last week the legislature took a big step by allowing people to testify by video conference. According to the Equality State Policy Center, committee chairs are now questioning whether testimonies should be permitted by phone.
There is a new feature available online that allows you to give an opinion on a piece of legislation in 140 characters or less. Essentially you can tweet the legislature. I encourage you to visit the Online Hotline.
These are great first steps, but the system remains inaccessible for a majority of Wyoming's people, often because of geography. One glaring issue is that voting is not immediately available online and those interested in the outcome of a specific bill cannot quickly and easily look up the roll-call vote on the floor. Normally the votes are not posted online until the next day.
Granted, you could make a call to the bill status hotline at 1-800-342-9570, but if this is about accessiblity it seems that an instant record should be available online, especially in the age of ultra connectivity. The Legislative Service Office readily acknowledges, "This is a limited service that provides information about where the bill is in the process, but does not provide information about the details of the legislation."
The same goes for proceedings within committee. Committee minutes are difficult to locate online and if you are not there in person it will be nearly impossible to know what the outcome was until the next day, at least. There should be recordings of all committee meetings, minutes should be posted, and all votes should be available immediately.
The LSO has put out a Fact Sheet on participating in the session and you should check it out.
Interestingly enough a number of legislators are on Twitter and you can follow them at on WyoDem's Elected Officials List.
WDP isn't the only group covering the session and there are a number of great blogs you can follow to stay in touch. Here are a few, some you may agree with and some you may not:
Equality State Policy Center
Wyoming Outdoor Council