Adjust Text Size

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 17, 2007

A Capitol Perspective
A column by State Senator Pat Browne
16th Senatorial District

New Rules Open Senate Actions to Public Review

As some of its first actions of the 2007-08 Legislative Session, the state Senate adopted several new rules intended to make the legislative process more open to the public.

I am encouraged by these reforms. They show the Senate has heard the voices of the voters when they demanded reform and change in state government. These rules show we are committed to a fresh approach in the way the General Assembly conducts business.

For example, state Senate votes, debates and more can now be accessed online. The general public can read bills and amendments, review text of floor debates and see how senators voted. Information is also available for votes in committee and of the full Senate.

Citizens can also track who is lobbying, who they are lobbying for and how they are spending their client’s money. They can also see the number of clients each lobbyist has and what each one is spending per client.

It’s all online, and it's relatively easy to find the information. There are three ways to find and view bills, as well as how legislators voted: by bill number, keyword or date. They are listed on the official Pennsylvania State Senate website (www.pasen.gov).

To read transcripts of debates and other activity from the floor of the Senate, go to www.pasen.gov and click on Senate Legislative Journals, which are posted by date. (Journals are posted upon Senate approval or within 45 days, whichever is earlier.) 

To track lobbyist activity, a list of lobbyists and related information are posted at www.pasen.gov under "Topics of Special Interest." Here, you'll find links to Department of State Lobbying Disclosure information, as well as a list of Lobbyist Expenditures, which lists activity according to lobbyists, the organizations they represent, policy areas and quarterly totals.

Finally, the Senate recently implemented rules requiring the placement of Pennsylvania acts and statutes on the Internet. For the first time, citizens are able to search Pennsylvania's laws online.

To look up statutes, go to www.legis.state.pa.us and "Law Information." From there you can choose from enacted legislation, rules and regulations, the PA Bulletin, Legislative Reference Bureau and Consolidated Statutes.  You can search by year, legislative session, act number or type of legislation.

This is all part of an ongoing effort to make government more open and accessible. One of the state Senate's first official acts of the 2007-08 legislative session was to adopt several reform proposals that changed the way the chamber operates.  

To prevent late-night votes, voting session is now limited to the hours between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m. In addition, the Senate is now required to wait at least six hours before voting on an amended bill or a conference committee report, and amendments are posted to the Internet before being offered on the Senate floor. This allows legislators and the public time to understand changes in a bill before it comes up for vote.

This is just the beginning, and much more can be done -- for example, I am co-sponsoring legislation (Senate Bill 914) that would require the Commonwealth to post state contracts on the Internet for public review. It’s a good start in the effort to make government more accountable.

Contact:

Matt Moyer
(610) 821-8468

State Senator Pat Browne represents the 16th Senatorial District and serves as Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.