Sen. Verne Smith, R-Greer, offered the bill Tuesday in response to a Jan. 25 hotel fire in Greenville that killed six people and injured a dozen others.

The hotel was not required to have sprinklers because of its age.

"We feel like a sprinkler system in this terrible tragedy would have saved some lives," Smith said.

His bill would require all hotels in the state to have the sprinkler systems by July 2007.

Smith, chairman of the Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee, expects complaints from hotel officials about the costs.

Rep Karl Allen, D-Greenville, likes Smith's bill but said the requirement date might need to be adjusted.

Tom Sponseller, director of the Hospitality Association of South Carolina, said any requirement should apply to all public buildings, not just hotels.

Investigators think the Greenville fire was arson and have asked a federal reconstruction team to help.

Information from: The Greenville News