Dear Friend of South Carolina:
Here is a quick report of the hearing Wednesday morning in the Judiciary subcommittee on H3047, the bill that will require a roll call vote on every law passed and on every section of the budget.
But first, please contact your Senator and ask him to make a motion to recall H3047 from committee and to demand a roll call vote on the motion and on every procedure that effects this bill. Also, tell him that S1365 is junk! More on that later.
This subcommittee consists of Larry Martin, Jake Knotts, and Robert Ford. The only one of these three Senators who has declared in writing that he is for this bill is Robert Ford. He was absent today. Go figure on that one!
That left Larry Martin and Jake Knotts. You can guess the result. There were no surprises. The hearing started at 9:30 and adjourned at 12:30. The room was packed to overflowing. The guards would not admit everyone, so folks were standing in the hall. The room was over its capacity of 145.
No one was believing the excuses given by these Senators. McConnell was there, and although not a member of the subcommittee, he was allowed ample time to speak.
Nikki Haley gave a stellar defense of the bill. Senator Davis also was on the mark with his defense of the constitutionality of the bill. Senators Shane Martin and Mike Rose also spoke in defense of the bill. Senators Phillip Shoopman, Shane Massey, and Mick Mulvaney were also there in support of the bill, though they were not give an opportunity to speak. Shane Martin says other supporters were tied up in other committee meetings.
Many grass roots supporters spoke in defense of the bill.
After three hours, the subcommittee adjourned without a vote on the bill. They are content to let it die without being sent to the floor of the Senate for a full debate. Two Senators… Larry Martin and Jake Knotts have imposed their will on the people of South Carolina in spite of the overwhelming voice of the public otherwise.
Our only choice at this point is a motion to recall the bill to the Senate floor. This committee meeting did no good. It only delayed action by two weeks.
What everyone needs to do is contact your Senator and ask him if he will make a motion to recall H3047 from committee and if they will demand a roll call vote on the recall motion and every procedure thereafter that effects this bill.
One smoke screen that McConnell and Larry Martin are trying is a new resolution S1365. This resolution would amend Senate rule 16 to include this wording, “On votes taken ‘viva voce’, the vote of all Senators who have not been granted leave by the Senate shall be recorded in the Journal as ‘aye’, however any Senator shall have the right to inform the Clerk that he desires his vote to be recorded as ‘no’.”
‘Viva voce’ means a voice vote.
McConnell repeated over and over again that he is trying to get a bill passed that will record every single vote in the Senate. What he didn’t say is that S1365 won’t record them accurately. In fact, this will do exactly the opposite.
S1365, McConnell’s answer to transparency, will record every Senator as voting ‘yes’ on every voice vote unless the Senator asks the clerk to record their vote as ‘no’.
So just to make sure it is clear. I’ll repeat… If S1365 is passed, the Senate journal will record every voice vote as ‘yes’ for every Senator, unless each Senator that votes no takes the time to ask the Senate clerk to correct his vote.
Leave it to McConnell to muddy up the water even worse in the name of transparency. Every vote that is not a unanimous ‘yes’ will be recorded wrong! So we go from having no information on a voice vote, to having wrong information on a voice vote. McConnell’s solution will take us from a bad situation to a worse situation in the name of transparency!
Amazing!
Contact your Senator and tell them that S1365 is junk.
But most importantly, contact your Senator and ask him to make a motion to recall H3047 from committee and to demand a roll call vote on the recall motion and every procedure thereafter that effects this bill.
Finally, I want to thank John Barrackman of JB Printing, for designing and printing the “Roll Call” lapel stickers that everyone was wearing today! He is a real patriot and can be reached at 803-309-0323 for all your printing needs!
You can find your Senator and his contact information by clicking here and entering your zip code.
Also, please donate now to help keep the fight for accountability funded by clicking here.
Best regards,
Talbert Black, Jr.
Click here for my twitter account
Click here for South Carolina’s Campaign for Liberty
GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY
STATE SOVEREIGNTY
P.S. Remember, contact your Senator and ask him to make a motion to recall H3047 from committee and to demand a roll call vote on the recall motion and every procedure thereafter that effects this bill. Also tell him that S1365 is junk.
