With music thumping and about 200 supporters gathered round, Gov. Nikki Haley signed into law Tuesday her signature piece of legislation, requiring lawmakers to cast more on-the-record votes.

“This is an absolutely historic day,” said Haley, whose husband, Michael, and parents were on hand for the event along with Tea Party activists and other supporters.

The Lexington County Republican made her political name – and won November’s election – by calling for more openness and transparency in government, including more on-the-record voting by legislators.

“It’s a historic day because this is a three-year battle that we took on and we said, ‘This is about the people of this state,’” Haley said. “And this is about the people having the right to know what their elected officials are doing all the time because elected officials work for the people, not the other way around.”

Some critics have said the law will make no difference because the S.C. Senate and S.C. House have passed rule changes requiring more on-the-record votes.

“She says this is a historic day,” said Phil Bailey, director of the Senate Democratic Caucus. “Do you know what we were doing last Thursday? Voting on the record.”

Others say that for all her calls for transparency by others, Haley is opaque, concealing e-mails and her consulting income and misrepresenting her departure from a former employer, Lexington Medical Center.

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