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Senate Roll Calls & Debate Transcripts Will Be Available Via
Internet
HARRISBURG -- Senate
President Pro Tempore Robert C. Jubelirer (R-30), Senate Majority Leader David
J. Brightbill (R-48) and Senate Minority Leader Robert Mellow (D-22) today
announced that the state Senate will post the complete Senate Journal on the
Internet, making all Senate debates and roll call votes widely accessible.
"Individuals will be able
to check how their Senator voted on legislation," said Sen. Jubelirer. "They
will be able to read what was said about issues. This is important information
that people deserve to access and to review when they wish, and we have the
technology to make it possible."
"Every debate will be
available in its entirety, making the Senate's activity even more open and
accessible to the public and the media," said Sen. Brightbill. "Our floor
process is already available on PCN television and now the written record will
be available to anyone interested in following the Senate."
Sen. Mellow, who first
allowed video cameras in the Senate Chamber when he was President Pro Tempore,
said changing technology allows the public greater access to the workings of
state government. "Openness and transparency allow citizens to make the
informed choices that are the essence of democracy," he said.
The decision to post the
Senate Journals was made by the Senate's bipartisan Committee on Management
Operations, of which Sens. Jubelirer, Brightbill and Mellow are members. It was
a unanimous vote.
The Senate Journals will be
posted to the Senate's web site,
www.pasen.gov, as PDF files as soon as possible after floor action. It will
typically take about a month to post the files. Prior year Senate Journals will
also be posted to the Internet.
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