Speaker Harrell misses point on transparency of votes

The Speaker of the S.C. House wrote an article taking issue with the South Carolina Policy Council's report on recorded votes in the Legislature. I am happy to explain the methodology behind that research, but first I would like to clarify why we analyzed legislators' voting records.

The Policy Council researches state spending and reports ways government can be more open and efficient. Frankly, we are concerned about the direction of our state. Spending grew 41 percent over just a few years, and millions of dollars were spent on projects and programs that are either beyond the scope of government or downright wasteful.

The government has no business driving the economy, investing capital, picking winners and losers in the marketplace or spending public dollars to attract "knowledge-based" jobs. It is that kind of "Statehouse economics" that puts taxpayers on the hook for millions of dollars in failed investments. South Carolina cannot afford Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae failures.

Taxpayers should question legislators' priorities when they protect their $10 million competitive grants program but cut other agencies across the board. In fact, that program was part of lawmakers' "economic development" strategy. Local festivals, parades, a party for German tourists and $500,000 for a shopping center in Easley are examples of what legislative leaders claim will grow our economy and create jobs.

Lawmakers ignored their responsibility to manage spending, and we are paying for it. Taxpayers must demand full transparency for all government spending and complete accountability from their legislators. No more lip service about how transparency is a "good idea." The public knows that. They want results.

Speaker Harrell and others make excuses not to support a requirement to record all votes. In response to the Policy Council's report, the Mr. Harrell said, "If some are suggesting that we should spend taxpayer dollars and increase government waste by taking a roll call vote on every measure — whether warranted or not — I do not think that is a very wise decision." He also expressed concern about the "cost to taxpayers" of $55 per recorded vote. Taxpayers would have been better served if he had taken that approach when spending skyrocketed under his leadership.

Our report analyzed legislative voting records. Contrary to what Mr. Harrell implies, that information was not easy to obtain. He says every vote is available online, but in truth those votes are buried in thousands of pages of the daily journals. House and Senate offices told us that the only way to get an accurate total was to hand count every single vote. We spent many hours doing that, but in the end, we simply lacked the time and resources to count them all.

We had to set limits, so we chose the method we thought most fair: all the bills that a majority of House or Senate members voted to become state law. That is what most other Southeastern states require, and it therefore seemed a reasonable standard. On bills passed, the House recorded their votes 8 percent of the time and the Senate just 1 percent. Those were the numbers in our report, and they are accurate.

Speaker Harrell claims we deliberately ignored hundreds of recorded votes. That is not true. We were clear about our methods and the obstacles we encountered in our research. Mr. Harrell just released his numbers, even though our report came out in August. Either he had access to information the rest of us don't, or it took his staff some time to do its own count. He also added vetoes to his count of recorded votes. Ironically, vetoes are among the few votes that must be recorded.

In his zeal to discredit our research, Speaker Harrell misses the point. With a few exceptions such as vetoes and constitutional amendments, legislators decide if and when they record their votes. For example, the House snuck an increase to their retirement into a larger bill, and then passed it on a voice vote. It was ultimately defeated, but citizens will never know which legislators voted for or against that perk. That should not happen one time, much less most of the time.

Representative democracy is only possible when citizens can hold their public servants directly and individually accountable. Today's technology makes that more possible than ever. People can access information from all over the world instantly. It is hard to believe a few politicians in Columbia can't figure out a way to record all their votes instead of just the ones they choose to.

Rep. Nikki Haley has drafted a bill to require recorded votes on all measures except frivolous resolutions. Legislators from both parties publicly support it. Speaker Harrell and his colleagues should do the same. If they refuse, the Policy Council will work to analyze the journals weekly and make the information available. The public cannot afford to be in the dark anymore.

Ashley Landess is president of the South Carolina Policy Council, a non-profit, non-partisan public policy research organization in Columbia.

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