How does your legislator stand on this bill to block your access to public info?”

Are sex shops coming to your town? You may not know it until they open their doors.
If you wonder about a business that files to open where you live, you can do it now. 
Business license applications are available to any of us under the Freedom of Information Act.
The state House of Representatives is now considering H4431, the Business License Tax Standardization Act.
The bill would change how businesses file for licenses. It would also block you from information about a business that has applied for a local license.
The original bill contained an addition to SC Code of Laws Section 6-1-120. It would make business license applications “not subject to” the Freedom of Information Act.
 The Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee recommended ending the public’s right to see who filed for business licenses in their communities.
Under H4431, the “taxing jurisdiction may not share or disclose any information relating to business license tax applications with any 3rd party.”
State Rep. Craig Gagnon, R-Abbeville, a member of the House Labor, Commerce, & Industry Committee, explained that it’s “not the perfect bill, but it seems to be the bill” the House of Representatives is going to support.
The House must vote to approve bills and send them to the Senate in time for debate and a vote to become law.
Why any right-thinking House member or senator would vote for such a blackout of public information boggles the mind.
This is the kind of star chamber secrecy practiced in totalitarian countries like China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Russia.
And you know what happens when people don’t know what their public officials are up to.
We have asked members of our delegation how they stand on this bill to block your right to know and how they will vote.
We will let you know who is for it and who’s on your side.
It may influence who you vote for in November.