House Republicans agreed to record votes taken in subcommittee meetings while at a closed-door caucus meeting this afternoon at the state Capitol, according to Republicans.

In previous legislative sessions, many bills have been killed in subcommittees on unrecorded voice votes, making it difficult to track a member's position on controversial legislation.

Americans for Prosperity, a group that supports limited government and free trade, had pushed Republicans to make the switch and submitted hundreds of signatures of those who supported a change.

"This is a great victory for government transparency and a great victory for people in Virginia,'' Ben Marchi, state director for Americans for Prosperity, said today.

In 2006, the Republican-controlled House changed the rules to allow subcommittees to kill legislation on unrecorded votes. Before that, subommittees did not record votes but they could only make recommendations and not kill a bill outright. Democrats fought the rule in 2007 and 2008 but were unsuccessful.

By Anita Kumar  |  December 14, 2008; 5:05 PM ET
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