A bill that could create hundreds of good-paying jobs in the Upstate is now on the governor's desk, waiting for his signature. But Gov. Mark Sanford says he's leaning strongly toward vetoing the bill, because lawmakers loaded it down with so many unrelated items.

It's call the Life Sciences bill, because it would give tax credits to bio-tech and pharmaceutical companies as an incentive to lure them to the state. A major pharmaceutical company is reportedly considering opening a facility in the Upstate, and lawmakers say this bill is a tool they need to seal the deal.

They won't give details about the company. But in order to qualify for the tax credits in the bill, the company would have to create at least 200 new jobs that pay at least 150 percent of the state average.

But lawmakers tacked onto the bill a provision to make USC-Sumter a four-year institution, even though USC's president and board of trustees are against it. The bill also creates a four-year culinary arts program at Charleston's Trident Technical College, to replace a similar program at Johnson and Wales University that's moving.

Gov. Sanford says, "What we've not done with this bill is stay with the objective that really began this process, which is a great Life Sciences bill that I've said all along that I was supportive of. And instead, we've 'Christmas-treed' if you will, this to cover a whole range of other things that have nothing to do with that Life Sciences bill that began the process."

He says his threatened veto is not about the merits of USC Sumter. He's concerned about the legislative process that tacked that onto an unrelated bill.

Sumter Sen. Phil Leventis is largely responsible for that. And he says the USC-Sumter provision should have been attached to the Life Sciences bill, which also allows the state to borrow up to $500 million for college research and economic development projects.

"Well, absolutely," Sen. Leventis says. "Every transition to a 4-year institution in this state, save one, has always been done in legislation. All these 170 legislators didn't just pass that just because they like me. They passed it because we spent hours, hundreds of hours, telling them about the issues, having them over to Sumter, and they understand that it's good for Sumter and for the state."

But a House leader told News Channel 7 that the House didn't want the USC-Sumter provision included, especially since the governor told lawmakers in advance that he would probably veto it. The House member said they went along only because the Senate insisted on including that provision, and wouldn't pass the entire bill otherwise.

We asked Sen. Leventis, if the plan has merit, why not keep it as a separate bill, instead of risking a veto of an important economic development tool? "Because the governor talks about the process, but then just summarily plans to close USC Salkehatchie and USC Union and never went through any process," Sen. Leventis responds.

Leventis says if the governor does veto the bill, he has more than enough votes in the Senate to override that veto. There would also likely be strong sentiment in the House to override, to preserve the job creation parts of the bill.