I strongly support this; what on earth possible rationale could there be for NOT recording subcommittee votes? I want to know how my delegates and state senators vote, don't you?
House Democrats plan to introduce rule change~Call on House Republican Leaders to join them in ending unrecorded subcommittee votes~
Today, House Democratic Leaders announced their intention to change the House rules to improve open government in the General Assembly. House Minority Leader Ward Armstrong, House Democratic Caucus Chairman Brian Moran and Delegate Ken Plum announced their intention to submit a rules change on the opening day of session that would require recorded votes in subcommittees.
Last session, House Republicans rejected efforts to require recorded subcommittee votes on a party line vote. But recently, leading Republican Caucus members like, former Republican Caucus Chairman Terry Kilgore pledged in a candidate questionnaire to support a rules change that would require recorded subcommittee votes. (Virginia FREE Candidate Questionnaire)
"We call on Speaker Bill Howell and House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith to join leaders in their own caucus like Delegate Terry Kilgore in support of open government and giving the people of Virginia the right to know how we vote," House Minority Leader Ward Armstrong said.
"It's time for us to ensure accountability in state government by making sure every vote is public," said House Democratic Caucus Chairman Brian Moran. "Virginia is the birthplace of Democracy and Jefferson's House deserves better than voting behind closed doors."
"Hundreds of bills were dispensed without a recorded vote last session," Delegate Ken Plum, who introduced a resolution last session to require recorded votes in subcommittee. "Every vote should be recorded and open to the people of Virginia. It shouldn't matter whether it happens in a subcommittee or on the floor of the House of Delegates."The House Clerk's office reports that 491 bills were killed in House subcommittees without a recorded vote in 2006. This year, more than 840 legislative measures met their demise without a roll call vote.
"The practice of killing bills in subcommittees without recorded votes continues in the Virginia House of Delegates. Blame the House Republicans. They voted the party line Friday, opting to keep this legislation-devouring black hole in place. What a shame," said the Bristol Herald Courier after Delegate Ken Plum offered an amendment to eliminate the rule.
"Business leaders strongly disapprove of a new rule adopted in 2006 in the House of Delegates that allows for the defeat of legislation in House subcommittees without a recorded vote. This is a dangerous precedent that removes accountability and sunshine from the governing process," said Virginia FREE, a bi-partisan business advocacy organization, in their Incumbent Evaluations released this spring.
"The great thing about what we did last year in the House, we gave killing power to subcommittees. So now I'm a subcommittee chair on 2 committees now. We can actually kill a bill in subcommittee and it can not come up in full committee. It used to be that to be able to be killed in the subcommittee and go in front of the full committee and then it would get passed, and move on, so the Senate knew how to work that game. So now I have to serve as one of 5 people on my subcommittee, and as a subcommittee chair I can usually wheel and deal with just four people. They know it's a different world out there now. They have to come to me and they have to strike deals. And one of them [sic] deals is that you have to treat me as a peer and not as as servant. So that is where we are."
They should be comended for keeping the fight alive for open government. How can we have them voting on things w/o knowing a record. Maybe that explains where the Abusive Driver fees came from.
p.s. congrats to Del Moran for sticking to his promise of putting his focus on the General Assembly.