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Coalition to LRC: Post the votes!

(Frankfort, Kentucky) – A coalition of state lawmakers and activist organizations is calling upon the Legislative Research Commission (LRC) to post committee votes on the agency’s Web site.

LRC members will soon receive an open letter signed by 24 lawmakers, activists and bloggers who want fast, online public access to Kentucky’s General Assembly.

A portion of the letter (available online at http://www.bipps.org/657) reads as follows:

Overwhelming majorities tend to dominate the floor votes in the General Assembly. Bills rarely pass the House or Senate by a handful of votes. Many of the contentious debates and votes occur in committee, regrettably without much scrutiny from the public. Committee members judge the fate of each bill that eventually becomes law and hundreds that will die in committee without a hearing.

Standing committee votes should be as easily accessible online as chamber votes are right now.

Following public pressure, the LRC agreed last year to begin posting roll-call votes online, representing a major shift in policy.

“Giving the public the same level of access to committee votes will give citizens a better idea of what goes on in committee,” said KentuckyVotes.org director Caleb O. Brown, a signer of the letter. “Committee votes are public records just like roll-call votes in the House and Senate. The public is entitled to the same level of online access to committee votes.”

Individuals interested in signing the letter to push for greater government transparency may do so at http://www.bipps.org/657.

– For interview information, contact Jim Waters, Director of Policy and Communications for the Bluegrass Institute. He can be reached at (270) 782-2140 or jwaters@bipps.org.

The Bluegrass Institute is an independent research and educational institution offering free-market solutions to Kentucky's most pressing problems.

Permission to reprint Perspective commentaries, in whole or in part, is hereby granted, provided the author and his affiliations are cited. Authors are available for interviews by contacting the Institute.

Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions
400 East Main Avenue, Bowling Green, KY 42101

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