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February 2, 2010

TV, Internet allow closer inspection

Corey Holland

As I write this I am sitting by my kitchen window watching the ice accumulate on the trees. My two boys are home with me because school has been canceled due to the bad weather. To make things even more interesting, the electricity has gone off.

This prompts my youngest son to ask me, “Dad, what did people do back in the old days with no electricity?” I’m a little annoyed because he seems to be implying that I am old enough to have lived “back then.” In any case, I share with him how families would talk, sing, play games, do activities and even cook a meal and eat together. The look on his face is all the response I need.

So, what does that have to do with my work at the State Capitol? Well, it caused me to stop and consider how different things are now in the legislature. Over the last several years there has been a great effort to modernize how the government does business. Our work in the Oklahoma House of Representatives is conducted dramatically different than it was even just a few years ago. I believe the differences have made things better for those serving in office and for those we represent.

One of the first changes was to make the votes on legislation available on the Internet. Once I cast a vote you are able to access this information on okhouse.gov. I was pleasantly surprised a few times to get a call from constituents only minutes after I had voted.

Another new change is that all the discussions and debates on the House floor are online. In fact, you can go to the same website and listen to every single debate on the House floor from last session. If there were a vote on a bill important to you this would allow you to at least hear how the vote unfolded.

A final change will actually be implemented starting Feb. 1. The House chamber was recently upgraded with TV cameras. Now, for the first time, every day’s work on the House floor will be broadcasted on the Internet. This will allow voters to watch and listen to how the peoples’ business is being conducted. There are already discussions of utilizing this system during committee meetings as well. Hopefully very soon we might be able to make this available on public television much like C-SPAN.

All of these changes, as well as many others, have been made for one purpose: accountability. As the avenues to information are opened to the voters then those same voters can hold their representative accountable for his/her votes. This is a good thing for the voters and for state government. In the old days it was very difficult to stay informed as to how your representative is actually representing you. It was too easy to say one thing in the district and then vote differently at the state capitol. Today, thanks to a strong effort to make the government’s business more transparent, this is no longer the case. You have more ways to keep up with how I represent you than ever before. It is imperative that what I stand for at home are the same things I stand for at the State Capitol. You now have the ability to hold your elected official to their word. I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Please take the opportunity to follow me and all members of the House this next session by logging onto www.okhouse.gov. As always, you are welcome to contact me and share your thoughts on this or any other topic of interest to you. My email is corey.holland@okhouse.gov or my number is 405-557-7405. It is my honor to represent you at the State Capitol.

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