House passes Earmark Reform rule change
January 23, 2008
Office of the Speaker
SOUTH CAROLINA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Greg Foster
January 23, 2008 (803) 734-3125
fosterg@scstatehouse.net
House Passes Earmark Reform Rule
Rule change, first major accomplishment in ending hidden earmark spending
(Columbia, SC) – Today, House Speaker Bobby Harrell and the House Republican Caucus approved a change to House Rules that will end the practice of hidden earmark spending in our state’s budget.
Speaker Harrell called the plan, “A victory for the taxpayers.” Harrell said, “Lawmakers must be held accountable for how the taxpayer’s money is spent. If lawmakers are not willing to put their name by an item they are requesting, it is probably something that should not be done in the first place.”
Nathan Ballentine “This is a major step in bringing more transparency to the way we spend the taxpayer’s money. This move should go a long way in helping to reduce wasteful spending in our state’s budget.”
The House Rule will require legislators to attach their name and a description of the spending project to any non-agency request included for consideration in our state’s budget. This separate document will be made available to the public throughout the budget process.
House Rules Committee Chairman Brian White said, “This rule change sheds light on our budget process and shows the House’s commitment to ending this practice of hidden spending in our state’s budget.”
Under this rule, anonymous spending earmarks from the Senate will take a two-thirds vote from the House to be considered in the final state budget.
Legislation containing the same language as the rule change has also been introduced and is supported by the House Republican Caucus for passage by both bodies of the legislature.
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[...] first major achievement was reforming how the General Assembly spends your tax dollars. I know you’re getting tired of [...]
[...] 1, 2008 — State Rep. Nathan Ballentine was not pleased when he heard this week that a new change in House rules designed to slow spending might actually spur it in the [...]
[...] was also bothered to learn that the House Rule we passed earlier this year only applies to NEW earmarks. In other words, if something was “slid in” the budget [...]
[...] it was the Earmark Reform Rule we passed in the [...]
[...] hide things that can never be found but with this year being the “Year of Disclosure” (Earmark Reform, Campaign Finance Reports online), I thought we had stopped all [...]
[...] year, it was Earmark Reform . While we didn’t pass my bill, we did pass a version of the bill (less teeth that I had [...]