The Dynamics of an Open Parliament: Room for Improvement

On June 18^th, 2013 Transparencia Mexicana signed an agreement of cooperation with the state legislature in Mexico’s Federal District (ALDF). Marking a milestone in the establishment of a dynamic open parliament, the ALDF became the first parliament in Mexico to promote an agenda of openness and a new relationship with citizens. As stated by the President of the Governing Council of Transparencia Mexicana, open parliament is not reached by the imposition of law but by a cultural shift, a paradigm shift or a change of mind on the relationship between citizenship and legislature. In this framework, ten points were established in the memorandum signed with the ALDF that Transparencia Mexicana considers a minimum for entry into a dynamic open government.

These points are listed below:

1. Ensure compliance with the constitutional principle of maximum disclosure and access to parliamentary and legislative information.

2. Proactive in publishing as much information for citizens as possible using simple forms and easy-to-understand search mechanisms.

3. Publication in open source formats of analysis, deliberation and voting on the work in parliamentary committees and plenary sessions.

4. Ensuring access and transmission of the complete plenary sessions.

5. Post detailed information on the management, administration and spending budget of the legislature.

6. Publication of information about people’s representatives, the officials and staff of the legislature, including the declaration of assets and interest of the people’s representatives.

7. Availability of mechanisms and tools for citizens to effectively monitor the decisions of the legislature and hold officials accountable.

8. Ensure inclusive participation in legislative projects for all citizens and congress persons from all districts.

9. Give preference to the use of open data formats and open source software.

10. Promote legislation to open government policies in other branches of government, and ensure that all functions and activities of the legislature incorporate these principles.

The development or enforcement of these points by the ALDF constitute what we call a good practice and Transparencia Mexicana undertook a project to see how the points in the agreement match up with the actions of state and national level legislatures in other parts of the world. To this end we conducted a basic investigation using online tools available to all citizens to determine to what degree the legislatures of the Basque Country (region), Spain (national), Tennessee (state) and the U.S. (national) comply with the agreement between the ALDF and Transparencia Mexicana. Results are expressed in colors as seen the in the table below: green if the elements are met, yellow if not fully satisfied and red if not met at all. To explain what is reflected in the table there is also a brief narrative explanation of the situation in which each legislative body was found.

In the case of Spain, we are talking about a country based in a regional model (the administrative division is autonomous community), not a federal one, however we believe it would be interesting to make a comparison with parliaments of a country that is less centralized at least on paper.

Basque parliament[1]

As we can see on the table after a quick overview of their web site, the Basque Parliament does not satisfy three out of ten points of the agreement, and it only partially meets another two. If we focus on the most relevant elements, both positives and those that might be improved, we should first mention the fact that despite the absence of a national legislative framework regarding access to information and transparency (the national law has not been approved yet but it’s being processed), the Basque Parliament has its own regulation concerning this question. Furthermore, the information shared in their web site concerning the parliamentary activity is pertinent, large and accessible using simple search mechanisms. With regards to areas of opportunity for improvement, it is necessary to complete the information concerning parliamentarians: while there are some information such as their political activities, the committees they are working in, etc., documents concerning their declarations of assets, interests or others which could help the citizens to detect potential conflicts of interest are still lacking. Additionally, citizens’ participation in legislative processes is not institutionalized and the interaction between citizens and their representatives does not exist. Finally, there is no evidence of the preference of open formats and open source software, nor is there evidence of any kind of legislation promoting open government policies.

Spanish Congress of Deputies

With regards to the overview conducted on the web site of the Spanish Parliament, the first thing we should highlight is that, even though this site contains more information for the citizens than the site of the Basque Parliament, it’s not as intuitive or user friendly and the information is not organized in a clear manner. Five out of ten points of the agreement are not being fulfilled in general terms, and three are partially fulfilled. This score deserves some explanation. There are some strengths such as the information concerning the parliamentarians which is rather complete since it includes their declaration of assets and activities. These disclosures help the citizens to detect potential conflicts of interest. Furthermore the documents concerning the parliamentarian activity available on the web are very numerous. Several areas need improvement, including the Budget. Though the budget breakdown is public, it is not posted on the parliament’s own website, making it harder for citizens to find the information. But the weakest point identified is without question the absence of a national law of access to information and transparency. Such a law has been in the process for a year now after the draft was approved by the Council of Ministers. Additionally, citizens’ participation in legislative processes is not institutionalized and the interaction between citizens and their representatives does not exist, as in the case of the Basque Parliament. Finally, there is no evidence of the preference of open formats and open source software, nor is there evidence of any kind of legislation promoting open government policies.

In both cases, it is important to promote agreements like the one reached between Transparencia Mexicana and ALDF in order to foster a more open, accessible and interactive relationship with citizens.[2]

Because both Mexico and the United States are federations it is interesting to compare the US Congress and a state legislative body to see how they stack up to the agreement signed by their Mexican counterpart.

Tennessee State Assembly

A quick overview of the state legislative body shows that the Tennessee State Assembly does not meet all 10 points outlined in the agreement. The state legislature in fact fails on 2 points and shows only partial compliance on an additional 3. Within these findings there are a few points of particular interest. For example, while state elected officials are required to disclose the sources of personal assets, they are not required to disclose the value of their assets, and no disclosure of any kind is required after an official leaves office. This is troubling because without complete openness citizens are not able to fully monitor and evaluate how conflicts of interest may affect an elected official. Furthermore, while the legislature makes a good deal of information available to the public, much of that information is difficult to track down as it is published on multiple websites rather than a single central location. That is not to say that the Tennessee State Legislature is not without its merits. The body goes above and beyond the 10-point agreement in some areas. In addition to the publication of legislation the assembly publishes summaries of bills, easy-to-understand breakdowns of the state budget, and a helpful glossary for people who are not familiar with the terminology used in that field.

Senator Bill Ketron, who has served in the Tennessee State Assembly for the past 11 years, offered his own perspective on the issue of openness in the legislature. Senator Ketron noted that modern technology has greatly increased government transparency and opportunities for citizen involvement through the expansion of online services such as live streaming of legislative sessions and digital copies of the state budget. Increasing openness in government is often a difficult task, and Senator Ketron writes that “changing the mindset of departments and officials to the more modern idea of transparent government has faced some resistance from certain individuals.” He adds that the cost of web development can sometimes slow progress.

National US Congress

Turning to the national US Congress it is clear that it too has areas that lack complete openness. The body earned a 0 on three points and a 0.5 on another. Perhaps the most notable failing of the national legislature stems from their lack of influence on the other branches of government. Despite earlier campaign promises to increase transparency in government, the Obama administration has developed a reputation for decreased openness in the Executive branch. While a few members of the US Congress have spoken out against the limited transparency, the body as a whole has taken no substantial steps to counteract that trend in the Executive branch. Congressional inaction in promoting openness in other branches of government can be partly explained by a lack of political will as well as by the party divide. Strife between the two ruling parties is common, making it difficult to reach consensus on just about any issue.

Though this review looked only at one state within the US this is a task that could be easily replicated for other states as well. This would be an informative project for citizens because it is clear that variation exists in terms of openness between state and national level legislatures. In conclusion, both the Tennessee State Legislature and the US Congress could benefit by adopting the agreement signed by the ALDF and Transparencia Mexicana.