State government needs more light on spending, votes

The goal of any good government should be to foster the trust of the public in the work it's doing. As simple as this concept seems, its implementation has been made harder by the cloak of secrecy that seems to cover even the most basic legislative transactions government undertakes.

No decision made in the dark garners the trust of the people. Whether its roots lie in benign neglect fostered by practices from long ago or for insidious reasons in certain instances, the fact remains that what our government does is a mystery to the average South Carolinian. In an age when you can discover the most personal and trivial matters with a single mouse click, the actions of your elected officials are difficult to find.

This unfortunate condition does nothing to fight the apathy and distrust most have about government. We believe taxpayers need to be able to find out how a legislative measure was enacted and how it is being implemented. Only then will there be confidence in what our state is doing and that it is doing it as well as it can. That is why we, along with a handful of others, supported legislation last year that would require government expenditures to be made available online.

The intent of that legislation was twofold. First, it would allow taxpayers to see how their money was being spent. Second, it would serve as a reminder to officials and elected officials that our budgetary decisions would be seen and that we should be careful about how much and on what we were spending taxpayers' dollars.

The proposed legislation was modeled on practices in place in other states and on Gov. Mark Sanford's executive order to require online checkbooks for agencies in his cabinet. Unfortunately, special interest groups and big government advocates succeeded in killing the legislation.

Our failure to pass this common-sense legislation served only to strengthen our resolve. So this year, we will not only reintroduce that legislation, but we will also introduce a series of proposed House and Senate rules along with legislation that will make the actions of public servants known to the public.

Our "open and accountable government" package began last year with the 2008 Spending Accountability Act that we sponsored and continued this summer with work we have done to make the votes of legislators on matters that significantly impact taxpayers or benefit the legislators personally or professionally or where taxpayer dollars are expended, be taken by a roll-call vote. We are working to ensure that the public knows what its legislators are doing, while at the same time not wasting taxpayers' dollars or legislative time.

We believe that if legislators feel justified in voting for a bill that increases their pay or retirement, they should be required to vote yes or no so people at home can hold them accountable. Legislators who feels justified in their vote will relish the chance to have it seen. We also plan to introduce legislation similar to last year's that would mandate that the expenditures of governmental entities be made available online for citizens' review. We believe that once citizens are fully aware about what their legislators are doing, they can be confident they are acting in their best interest.

If government believes that it is operating in the best interests of South Carolinians, then letting the people know what is going on should not be too much to ask.

However, there is allure in the status quo, and its supposed safety can seem seductive to government officials. "We have always done it this way" is a common retort to those who want reform from those who don't. Sometimes, it is the security of "how we did it" that causes new ideas to be ignored.

But by giving in to this false sense of comfort, we prohibit ourselves from doing what needs to be done to make our state better.

That is why we need your help. We need people across the state to demand that transparency and sunshine be the cornerstone of government. We must be proactive in our efforts.

As Adlai Stevenson said, we must be those who are willing to light a candle rather than simply curse the darkness. Please join us in our efforts to move our state government into the light.

Our two candles shining alone will do little. However, the lights of 4 million candles that represent South Carolinians' desire for openness will be like a sunrise ushering our state into a new day of accountability.

Sen. Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, is president pro tempore of the S.C. Senate. Rep. Nikki Haley is a Republican from Lexington