(Charleston-AP) April 7, 2004 - Governor Mark Sanford says a Mauldin lawmaker acted unethically by tape recording the governor's private meeting with House Republicans last week. Reporters were not allowed in the meeting.

The State newspaper in Columbia reported a legislator agreed to take a recorder into the meeting on the General Assembly's override of veto on a massive economic development bill. 

The paper then published a partial transcript of the discussion but did not identify the lawmaker. Following the meeting the governor backed off a threat to sue. He says the legislation violates a constitutional requirement that bills deal only with one topic. House Republicans told Sanford the lawsuit would have no merit.

Sanford says state Representative Dan Tripp carried the tape recorder into the secret meeting. The taping was legal under South Carolina law, but Sanford says the taping was unethical.

The Republican governor says the House GOP Caucus should look at ways to discipline Tripp. The legislator could not be reached for comment.

Sanford says he will continue to fight pork barrel legislation. He says he's not naive enough to think he'll eliminate pork-barreling, but he says it's possible to narrow it so that lawmakers are voting on a certain topic. He also said he's not giving up the option to sue, but wants to fix things legislatively first.

Sanford says the Live Sciences Bill (560) includes provisions making the University of South Carolina Sumter a four-year school, creating a four-year cooking program at Trident Technical College and OKing an international convention center in Myrtle Beach.

The General Assembly easily overrode his veto. The Senate voted 39-4 Wednesday to override the bill, while the House voted 81-24 with no discussion.

The main goal of the bill was to provide college research opportunities and economic development in biotechnology and related fields, and it allows the state to borrow up to $500 million to those ends.

updated 1:23pm by BrettWitt