A Push for Transparency
Posted June 26 2009

Yesterday, two South Jersey Assembly Members introduced a bill that would require that proposed legislation be made public for at least one business day before Assembly committees can vote on it.

According to the Atlantic City Press, Assemblymen Vince Polistina (R-Egg Harbor Township) and John Amodeo (R-Margate), both of whom represent the 2^nd Legislative District believe the legislation is necessary "because legislators frequently are asked to vote on bills that are not publicly available and [that] legislators have not fully read."

As a case in point, Polistina noted a few recent cases in which, upon reaching Trenton, legislators received bills that the public had never had a chance to review. Echoing this sentiment, Amodeo noted in a press release, "This is a fitting time to introduce this legislation because in recent years the Legislature has voted on budgets that were still warm from the printer.. That practice is not fair to citizens and only leads to bad government."

Indeed, the budget is not the only area of concern.

With our state facing issues as critical as marriage, the sanctity of life, parental notification laws, education policies, taxes, protection against sexual predators - and the list goes on - it's disturbing to realize bills affecting any of these or myriad other issues may come up for a committee vote before the public even has the opportunity to see them. Even worse, it's unconscionable to think our legislators may vote on bills addressing these issues before fully reviewing them themselves! Could you imagine a same-sex "marriage" bill that would radically redefine marriage being pushed forward in this manner?

This is all-too-common fare in Washington, and we regularly hear of votes taken before Congressional Members or their staffs have had time to read through the legislations. And all-too-often, this leads to situations of unintended consequences in which legislators pass laws with unrelated "attachments," the content of which they are completely unaware!

While the volume of legislation that passes before our state's legislators hardly equals that which passes before our nation's Congress, the principle remains the same: legislators have a responsibility to understand what they are voting on, and the public has a right to know what bills are up for consideration by our state's governing body.

The Press article reports that Assemblymen Polistina's and Amodeo's "bill would amend Assembly rules to forbid votes on any bill, including resolutions, amendments and substitutions, unless they have been available for one full business day." And while committees would have the authority to "waive the rule with a unanimous vote," by and large, this bill would enhance the opportunity for public input into - and at the very least knowledge of - legislation that might soon become the law of the state.

As the fight continues to enact family-friendly legislation and block bills that would be harmful to marriage and the family, legislative transparency will take on a heightened importance.

While the text of the bill (AR212) was not released prior to this Musings, we support the reported effort to increase awareness of pending legislative actions. 

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