Oklahoma Senate adds Cameras, Upgrades Technology

[Townsend]

Oklahoma Senate adds Cameras, Upgrades Technology

http://kwgs.com/post/oklahoma-senate-adds-cameras-upgrades-technology

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — People interested in peeking in on the Oklahoma Senate will have an easier time doing so with a series of planned technological upgrades.

Senate officials announced Thursday they will add high-resolution cameras to the chamber, install a new vote board and archive audio for Senate legislative sessions that can be accessed online.

The floor sessions will be streamed live on the Internet, and the camera angles will change to show the member who is speaking.

Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman says the changes are part of an effort to make it "easier and simpler for people to see the work that's being done by their senators."

Other upgrades include streaming audio and video from all committees and putting real-time committee votes online.

[Conan71]

Who wants to watch that nasty band of goat shaggers?

[Townsend]

Oklahoma lawmakers hear from open-government advocates

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=336&articleid=20121114_16_A11_ULNSka791251

OKLAHOMA CITY - Oklahoma appears to be one of only three states in which the Legislature has exempted itself from open records laws, a Senate panel was told Tuesday.

The other two states are Massachusetts and Oregon, said Joey Senat, associate professor at the Oklahoma State University School of Media and Strategic Communications.

His comments were made during an interim study on legislative transparency before the Senate Rules Committee.

The study was requested by Sen. David Holt, R-Oklahoma City.

Holt said he believes that the Legislature could craft a separate Open Meeting and Open Records Act for itself with some exemptions.

"The taxpayers should be given the best opportunity possible to know what is going on in this building, how their money is being spent and we obviously want to afford them that opportunity," he said.

Holt said that with term limits, there has been a lot of turnover among lawmakers. Many new lawmakers were elected in the spirit of taxpayer accountability, he said.

"We ought to be embracing that," he said.

Open records laws apply to at least 40 state legislatures, including Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas and Texas, Senat said.

Eight legislatures are exempted from open meeting laws, including Oklahoma, he said.

Senat said the majority of Oklahomans want the legislative exemptions to openness removed.

"Some 85 percent of Oklahomans believe the state Legislature should comply with the same open government mandate that applies to other public officials, according to a SoonerPoll released in March 2012," Senat said.

Operating in the open is not always the most convenient or easiest way to conduct public business, he said.

"But in a democracy, it's the right way," Senat said.

In related action: Randy Dowell, Senate chief of staff, outlined a number of measures the upper chamber is undertaking to make it more transparent.

In the future, Senate committees will be broadcast live on the Internet, Dowell said. In the past, only two rooms were wired for Internet broadcast.

In addition, the Senate will upgrade its video capabilities in the chamber, he said.

Legislation will be archived, allowing the public to type in a bill number and hear the debate, Dowell said.