Push for roll call votes revived
S.C. District 25 Sen. Shane Massey has vowed to ask for a roll call vote in the Senate on bills that require “significant” expenditures.
He joins Gov. Mark Sanford, State Rep. Nikki Haley, R-Lexington, and others in support of on-the-record voting in the General Assembly. The issue of government transparency has been debated for some time in South Carolina, but the issue came to the forefront again when Haley recently announced she is drafting legislation and plans to prefile a bill similar to her failed 2008 Accountability Spending Act.
Haley’s 2008 Accountability Spending Act would have required roll call votes on any bill that expends taxpayer dollars. Her new legislation would require the special vote on every bill’s second reading and again on third reading if the bill is amended.
Until the “common sense plan” passes the General Assembly, Massey said he plans to hold legislators accountable to the constituents they represent and to the public dollars they seek to spend.
“The people of South Carolina should be able to hold legislators accountable for the decisions they make at the State House, and roll call votes bring instant accountability,” he said. “To bring more transparency to state government, I will ask for a roll call vote … on any bill that requires a significant expenditures of state funds.
“So many people have a complete distrust of government. I believe that is because everything is hidden. Roll call votes make everything out in the open so everybody can see how people vote.”
The South Carolina Policy Council recently released a study showing that the House took roll call votes on 8 percent of bills it passed while only 1 percent of bills passed by the Senate received a roll call vote. The public is left with little way to know how their elected legislators voted or who’s accountable for what.
As it currently stands, roll call votes are not required for legislation that seeks to utilize public dollars. The on-the-record voting method is only mandatory when overriding or sustaining a governor’s veto, electing Supreme Court justices and ratifying Constitutional Amendments.
“For the most part, roll call votes are only take when someone asks for it,” Massey said.
Any member of the Senate may request a roll call vote, but five other members also must agree to the vote for it to happen.
Roll call votes force legislators to say yea or nay on record when the clerk calls their name as opposed to voice votes which aren’t recorded.
However, there is a cost to roll call votes - literally. It has been estimated the vote costs $55 each time when factoring in the cost of paper, printing, staff time, maintenance, power and technology fees. And that is where on-the-record voting critics speak up. They believe it is too costly to roll call vote on every single bill that comes through, and it takes up too much time.
“From a practical standpoint, we would never get anything done, especially in the Senate,” said S.C. House District 81 Rep. Robert Perry Jr., who added he supported roll call votes on spending bills but not on every single bill.
Breakout
Opinions of local legislators on roll call votes for bills requiring significant expenditures
* Senate District 24 Greg Ryberg: Could not be reached for comment
* House District 81 Rep. Robert Perry Jr.: “I have no problem with roll votes (on spending bills). (But on every bill) one, we would never get through it and two, we can’t afford it.”
* House District 82 Rep. Bill Clyburn: Could not be reached for comment.
* House District 84 Rep. J. Roland Smith: “Yes, I would support that. I think it’s a great idea. My name should be by it, if it’s a worthwhile project.”
* House District 86 Rep. James Stewart Jr.: Out of the country and could not be reached for comment.
* Senate District 26 Nikki Setzler: Could not be reached for comment.
* House District 83 Rep. Donald Smith: “I would support that. There are situations where the public has a right to know. There should not be roll call on all votes because it is too costly.”
* House District 96 Rep. Kit Spires: Could not be reached for comment.
By HALEY HUGHES
The Aiken Standard
September 28, 2008
