2009 General Assembly Voted Anonymously 75 Percent of the Time

The South Carolina General Assembly recorded its votes on 532 out of 2,116 bills considered during the 2009 legislative session, according to the final vote count tracked by the Policy Council.

For comparison, a 2008 Policy Council study of the constitutional and legislative procedural rules in all other states found 41 of 50 states require at least one legislative chamber to record its vote on every single bill passed into law. Four other states mandate recorded votes on all revenue bills.

The rules adopted by the S.C. General Assembly in January do not require a recorded vote on:

• Each state budget section - only if one representative requests, no Senate requirement
• Uncontested legislation - five representatives or one senator required to contest

The General Assembly considers legislation on two separate calendars - the contested and uncontested calendar. Bills are considered uncontested unless lawmakers object and request to move the bill to the contested calendar, where it is debated and voted on publicly. One Senator or five Representatives is required to move a bill to the contested calendar.

Only legislation on the contested calendar is required to get a vote on the record under the January rules change. This means lawmakers can avoid a recorded vote by agreeing to keep a bill on the uncontested calendar. This leaves citizens with no power and gives lawmakers complete freedom to decide if and when a matter will receive a recorded vote.

For example, House Bill 3635 became law this session. It imposes a $10 annual fishing license fee for recreational saltwater angling, along with several other fees, including a $150-$300 fee to operate a saltwater public fishing pier or a saltwater charter fishing vessel. Defenders of the legislation claim the fee increase is necessary to avoid an even larger federal licensing fee. That defense may be entirely valid, but state lawmakers approved a de facto tax increase. Citizens deserve to know how their legislators voted.