SC Club for Growth released its 2009 South Carolina Legislative Scorecard today, awarding its Taxpayer Champion award to eleven senators and eleven representatives earning top grades.

Legislators’ ratings (view scorecards here) were based on critical economic and good government votes in the South Carolina House and Senate. The scorecards are publicized to the media, SC Club for Growth members, and South Carolina voters. Additionally, the scorecards serve as the basis for SC Club for Growth PAC endorsements. In the past two election cycles, SC Club for Growth PAC has a 70% win record and its members have contributed over $750,000 to reform-minded candidates.

Critical 2009 votes include:

– Ending taxpayer-funded lobbyists at state agencies. (House)

– Barring the use of tax dollars on TV ads featuring South Carolina’s nine constitutional officers. (House)

– Reforming the state’s Employment Security Commission, an agency newspapers have called a “train wreck” for its “staggering incompetence.” (House)

– Requiring a 24-hour review of the state budget before voting. (House)

– Decreasing executive branch accountability and input at the SC Ports Authority. (House and Senate)

– Supporting an unsustainable state budget bolstered by “stimulus” funds. (House and Senate)

– Supporting unsustainable levels of government spending using one-time funds. (House and Senate)

– Voting against cost-saving budget vetoes that would have lessened the need for spending cuts to core government services. (House and Senate)

The 2009 scorecard also includes a House vote to finally end the Competitive Grants program, a program editorial writers have frequently referred to as a “legislative slush fund.” The program spent tens of millions in recent years on a variety of festivals, parades and other wasteful pork projects.  Lowlights of competitive grants spending include wasting taxpayer dollars on an “Elvis impersonator,” a hot-air balloon festival, and a beach vacation for 100 German tourists.

SC Club for Growth Executive Director Matt Moore, commenting on the 2009 scorecards, said, “SC Club for Growth has again created an incredible guide for taxpayers. It’s too easy for legislators to say they are a fiscal conservative during election years and then act completely different once in Columbia – that’s why we diligently track how legislators are really voting. South Carolina taxpayers continue to watch their wallets and deserve to know who is really fighting for them. We are happy to help.”

Legislators earning the SC Club for Growth Taxpayer Champion award deserve considerable praise for their efforts to protect taxpayers. Their “A” or “B” grades over the past two years (one year for freshmen) place them in the very top percent of South Carolina legislators:

Senator Lee Bright (R-Spartanburg County)
Senator Kevin Bryant (R-Anderson County)
Senator Chip Campsen (R-Charleston County)
Senator Tom Davis (R-Beaufort County)
Senator Larry Grooms (R-Berkeley County)
Senator Shane Massey (R-Edgefield County)
Senator Mick Mulvaney (R-Lancaster County)
Senator Mike Rose (R-Dorchester County)
Senator Greg Ryberg (R-Aiken County)
Senator Phil Shoopman (R-Greenville County)
Senator Danny Verdin (R-Laurens County)

Rep. Nathan Ballentine (R-Lexington County)
Rep. Eric Bedingfield (R-Greenville County)
Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-Laurens County)
Rep. Nikki Haley (R-Lexington County)
Rep. Dan Hamilton (R-Greenville County)
Rep. Joey Millwood (R-Spartanburg County)
Rep. Wendy Nanney (R-Greenville County)
Rep. Ted Pitts (R-Lexington County)
Rep. Tim Scott (R-Berkeley County)
Rep. Tommy Stringer (R-Greenville County)
Rep. Thad Viers (R-Horry County)

Over half of legislators earned a grade of “F” or “F-.” Moore continued, “Many legislators continue to protect the status quo and work against common-sense reforms in Columbia. As we saw in the 2008 election cycle, where nearly a dozen incumbent legislators were defeated, South Carolinians have no patience for poor performance. It goes without saying that those earning ‘F’ grades should be mindful of an electorate fed up with wasteful spending, no accountability, and out of control government.”

Other Interesting Facts:

– About 24% of senators earned a grade of “A” or “B,” while just 11% of representatives earned an “A” or “B.”

– In the Senate, the average Republican scored a 46 out of 100 (grade C-) while the average Democrat scored a 4 (grade F-).

– Scores were slightly lower in the House, where the average Republican scored a 41 (grade D) and the average Democrat scored a 10 (grade F).

– For the first time, SC Club for Growth’s Legislative Scorecard incurred a penalty to any legislator who sustained a veto and then quickly voted to support, or was absent from, motions to reconsider or vote to override. Of special note is Representative George Hearn, who earned the 2009 “Flip Flopper” Award for being penalized the maximum for 14 points for his effort (or lack thereof).

SC Club for Growth’s annual scorecards are made possible through the generosity of hundreds of South Carolina taxpayers who are concerned with the direction of our state.

Visit SC Club for Growth online at http://www.SCClubforGrowth.com.