Legislative Council IT demonstrates optional electronic committee voting in 'Laws' interface

Cody Malloy, director of IT services for Legislative Council, introduced an optional electronic committee‑voting tool built into the Laws interface and described how the feature will change the committee reporting workflow.

Malloy said the system is already in use in several committees and that it streamlines the clerk’s work: when a committee vote is completed, the system can immediately generate the committee’s report and make the recorded votes available to the journal and public website. He explained the chair retains control over whether electronic voting is enabled for a hearing and that the clerk can still enter votes manually for members who are not on a device or prefer a verbal roll call.

Malloy demonstrated that when a vote is opened in Laws a committee‑vote icon appears in the top bar next to a member’s hot key; the active LC (legislative council) bill version is displayed and members can press a yes/no button. The clerk can also open a vote and tabulate results by calling the roll while members verbally confirm; either workflow produces the same electronic record. Malloy said the change is intended to reduce data entry errors, accelerate publishing of committee reports and make individual votes visible sooner on the public site.

Several senators asked about chair control, remote participation and whether the clerk can record a member’s vote; Malloy said the clerk may record votes for absent or device‑less members and that remote participation and voting rules remain subject to the chamber’s procedural rules and the chair’s direction.