Senator Tarr’s Statement of the Senate Posting Roll Call Votes Starting Today

Today I released the following statement regarding the Massachusetts State Senate posting all roll call votes made by the members of the Senate on the General Court’s website. The measure requiring the posting of roll call votes was from a Senate Rule filed by the Senate Republican Caucus that set May 1st as the deadline of such postings, which passed unanimously by a vote of 39-0:

“Today marks the beginning of a new era of transparency and accountability for the Massachusetts Senate, and a clear victory for citizens who deserve to know how members are voting on the issues that affect all of us.  Senate Republicans have worked hard to make this information available, and to garner the bipartisan support needed to reach that goal.

Providing timely access to information can and will make our democracy stronger, and the posting of Senate roll calls in an easily accessible format within 48 hours is a major milestone.  Having reached that milestone, our caucus will continue the fight to open up what happens on Beacon Hill to the light of public scrutiny.”