Letter to Workgroup to strengthen Assembly operations and promote government transparency and public participation

SUMMARY

The Association wrote to leaders of the State Legislature recommending changes to legislative rules and new legislation that would promote transparency and accountability. The rules reforms would (1) require a committee mark-up process for all significant legislation; (2) require staff reports for all bills reported out of committee; (3) provide each committee with explicit control over its own budget and the hiring and firing of all committee staff; and (4) institutionalize conference committees, as in Congress, to address differing bills concerning the same subject that have been passed by both chambers. The proposed legislation would require that committee and floor votes be made available online and that session and committee meetings be webcast.

OUTCOME