As an organization dedicated to voter education and the widest possible voter engagement in our democracy, the League of Women Voters is very pleased to commend the Alabama Legislature for steps they have taken to improve government transparency. We would like to acknowledge that the work was spearheaded by the Legislative Computer Center and was a collaborative effort of the Senate, House, and Legislative Services Agency. By “transparency,” we mean that voters can easily see what is happening so that they can express their views on legislation to their own legislators.
In particular, we want to commend the Alabama Legislature for (1) making their ALISON website much more user-friendly, and (2) providing live streaming of committee meetings and other appropriate events. The Alabama Legislature has created a tutorial that shows you how to use the website; it is on their homepage as “Website User Guide” and we include a link to it.
The older ALISON website allowed voters to find relevant information, but it was difficult to navigate. The new ALISON (launched just before this current Legislative session of 2022) is much better. You can find it here: alison.legislature.state.al.us And here are just a few things that we appreciate:
(1) To find your legislators: On the homepage, under the heading “Home,” the last link is “Find My Legislator.” This takes you to a screen where you can put in your zip code or your exact address and see your entire set of federal and state officials. You can find basic information about your state senator and representative here.
(2) To follow what your legislators are doing and engage with them: Under the headings of Senate or House of Representatives on the homepage, you can find members. For each member there are links to a profile, a list of committees, and a list of sponsored legislation. There is also a phone number and a link to send an email directly from the website.
(3) To track the bills that your legislators have sponsored: If you want ALISON to track a list of bills for you that your legislators have sponsored, go to the heading “Bills.” On the left at the top you will see “My Bills.” Under the other tabs at the top you can search for the bills that you want to track. When you click on the bill, you will see a new window with a place at the top right to “save bill.” If you do this, it will put it on your personal list (My Bills) and track it for you.
(4) To locate and track legislation on other topics and issues of concern to you: Again, under the heading “Bills,” go to the tab “Bills-Search Current Session” and then put your topic or issue in the search bar.
(5) To understand legal terminology that is unclear to you: Government has its own vocabulary (examples are: “pre-filed,” “engrossment,” “cloture,” “enrollment”), so don’t feel intimidated when you encounter a strange word. Under the heading “Joint Resources,” you can find clarification in the very helpful glossary, and you can click on an explanation of the legislative process if you need to be reminded (or learn for the first time) how things work.
(6) To access the website in a smartphone-friendly format. Many websites are not designed to show up on a smartphone screen in an appropriate layout. The update of ALISON was specifically planned to make it easier for you to access via your smartphone, so that you don’t need to wait until you’re near a computer to check in on what’s happening in the Legislative session.
One of the few silver linings of the pandemic has been to enhance our use of technology, in particular in streaming committee meetings in the Alabama Legislature so that voters can be “virtually” present to observe what is going on. This actually amounts to an extension of the League’s long-standing in-person “Observer Corps,” whereby members attend and report on local meetings of various governmental entities. Both the House and Senate Chambers are set up for live-streaming, and an additional four committee rooms in the House and three in the Senate are also equipped for this. You can check the “Legislative Day” on the left edge of the website, and look at the schedule to see what is coming up. On the website there is a link to “Live Stream,” which will take you to a place to enter information for the meeting you want to see.
As you may remember, back in the old days your access to information was limited. Think about how you learned what the candidates’ platforms were: maybe you got a postcard from them via snail mail, or maybe you were able to attend a campaign speech. How did you learn what was happening in either chamber of the Legislature? You had to either go to Montgomery yourself and sit in the gallery and watch, or rely on political reporters to let you know what had happened in your local paper or on the news. Technology has made a tremendous difference in transparency for us as voters.
In conclusion, this is how democracy is supposed to work: representatives are elected because voters support their positions on issues; representatives then follow through on their platforms by proposing legislation and working with colleagues for the common good of the state, legislation moves through the Legislature and is signed by the Governor, and then the representatives are held accountable by their voters in the next election. We are very pleased that the Alabama Legislature has created tools for Alabama citizens that move us closer to this ideal.
