It is time for South Carolinians who want transparency and acountability in State Government to make our voices heard. According to the South Carolina Policy Council,in 2008 the S.C. General Assembly only recorded 9% of votes taken on bills or resolutions that became law. H.3047,"The Spending Accountability Act of 2009", was introduced in January 2009. If this act becomes law, 100% of the votes that create a law will be recorded. H.3047 has been in the Ways and Means Committee since it was introduced.

Instead of passing "The Spending Accountability Act", the House and Senate passed rule changes to require more voting on the record. However, with these rule changes, according to the S.C. Policy Council, the S.C. General Assembly recorded its votes on only 25.1% of bills considered during the 2009 legislative session. We need to know how our legislators vote on every law they pass. Our first step is to contact Representative Danny Cooper, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, and ask him to bring H.3047 up for a vote in his committee. Call Rep. Cooper at (803) 734-3144, or email him at HWM@schouse.org. Please also contact your Representative and ask him to co-sponsor H.3047. If South Carolinians want to be able to hold our legislators accountable, we need to demand roll call voting.