Virginia GOP fighting to keep their votes secret from you and me

By: Rob
Published On: 1/22/2007 2:45:55 PM

Waldo has been all over this story, and it deserves more attention. The background....
A rule allowing small subcommittees to kill legislation without taking recorded votes has again become a source of partisan friction in the House of Delegates.

Del. Ken Plum, D-Fairfax County, is seeking a change to the House rules that would require subcommittees to take recorded votes on bills. Plum said Friday that about 30 percent of the House bills filed in the 2006 session languished in subcommittees with "no record of disposition."....

House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, defended the rule Friday, saying it produces greater efficiency for an overworked legislature.

"If we're going to continue to be a part-time citizen legislature, we're going to have to continue to do things like this," Griffith said.

Is Griffith saying that they're too overworked to record a bunch of yays and nays? Seriously? That's his argument? Anyway, here's the latest:
House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith spoke on the floor of the House yesterday in defending his support of continuing the practice of holding secret votes to kill bills, a practice begun by the Republican majority just last year. Del. Griffith explained that he's such an ardent believer in the importance of open government that he thinks it's essential they keep certain things secret, like how our legislators vote.
So, Republicans are fighting to keep something as basic as their legislative votes a secret from their constituents? Yet another issue to bash over their heads in 2007.

Comments



Over-worked? (Teddy - 1/22/2007 8:39:52 PM)
Well, there really are an enormous number of bills submitted, true. Of course, a lot of them are kooky pet peeves of the radical right, but these are going to be easily forwarded by the republicans anyway, and the sensible bills by Democrats are going to be smothered, so that doesn't leave very many bills that demand real attention from the poor over-worked legislators, now, does it?

As I understand it, sponsors of legislation often can't even find out when their own bill is up for consideration because the subcommittees meet at odd times and places, so their input is hard to give to the subcommittee that decides whether or not to forward it. Republicans seem to have a fixation on trivializing the legislature both at a national level and at the state level, and they show little respect for those who elected them.