Pennsylvania state senate gets a little clearer

Public Opinion Online lauds the Pennsylvania state Senate for the online release of its legislative journals going back to 1993. The journals contain records of floor votes and debates. It also calls for additional transparency within the state’s government.

When it comes to transparency, government on all levels should go the extra mile to ensure the public has the information it needs. Whenever this is not done, those in government should have a good reason.

It is no secret that government officials, elected, hired or appointed, often operate as though they’re part of a secret society. Many forget they work for taxpayers.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry once said: “Government that is open and honest will always be able to withstand the light of day.”

With more efforts along the lines of those we’ve already seen, such as the new open records law, we hope this could someday be said of the government in Pennsylvania.

In a bipartisan press release, Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R-25) said, “This is another step in our ongoing effort to make the Senate’s activity more transparent to the public. It is a natural outgrowth of our new rules and our new attitude.”

If you want to check out the newly released journals, please click here.