Legislative panels that can be killing fields for controversial legislation on unrecorded votes could soon operate in more daylight.
The conservative group Americans for Prosperity is urging leaders of the Republican-controlled House of Delegates to record subcommittee votes for the sake of transparency.
"Open government is good no matter what party you're in," said Ben Marchi, the group's state director, who has a petition signed by 300 Republicans urging the change.
"Especially in this information age today, there's no reason why we can't get this to the public in an efficient manner that doesn't cost a lot of money."
Stacks of bills last year were quashed in House subcommittees without a recorded vote, sometimes by just a few lawmakers, sometimes in early-morning hours.
Several of Gov. Timothy M. Kaine's proposals last session perished in House subcommittees on unrecorded votes, including an effort to ban smoking in enclosed bars and restaurants, a bid to close the gun show "loophole," and a proposal to create a bipartisan panel to draw legislative districts.
The practice of killing bills on unrecorded votes draws mixed reaction from legislators, many of whom see it as an important way to weed out ill-fated legislation while others see it as operating in the dark.
Committees appoint subcommittees to work on bills before the measures go before the full committee. Until recent years, votes were not recorded, but subcommittees could not kill bills. The House changed the rules in 2006 to allow subcommittees to quash legislation.
Democrats failed in their attempt to change the rules in the 2007 and 2008 sessions. Not recording votes makes it difficult to track lawmakers' action on bills. Members of full committees can still request a bill be brought up and addressed.
Del. Samuel A. Nixon Jr., R-Chesterfield, chairman of the House Republican caucus, said he supports recording the votes. He said there's sentiment among members of his caucus toward changing the rule but as a group, they have not discussed the matter.
"I think that any time a legislative matter is under consideration by a legislative body, that for reasons of accountability, those votes should be recorded," he said.
G. Paul Nardo, chief of staff to Speaker of the House William J. Howell of Stafford County, said leaders have an ongoing discussion about balancing the need for good government, openness and transparency.
"House Republicans, since they came in in 2000, and certainly this speaker, is very interested in making sure the House functions as efficiently and as effectively a possible," he said.
House members can introduce up to 15 bills each during this year's session, tentatively scheduled for 46 days starting Jan. 14.
Nardo warned that recording every subcommittee meeting could require hiring additional staff in a year when the focus is on plugging a yawning hole in the budget.
"When there's a bill, we'll review it," Nardo said. "It's a constant effort of the Republican majority of the House trying to improve the way this place operates."
Contact Olympia Meola at (804) 649-6812 or omeola@timesdispatch.com.
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