Midnight was the deadline for Gov. Mark Sanford to either veto the bill, sign it into law, or let it become law without his signature.

Jeff Gossett, the clerk of the S.C. Senate, said shortly after midnight that he had not received a veto message from the governor.

That means — after months of signaling he might veto the bill because it didn’t go far enough — Sanford either intends to sign it into law or let it become law without his signature.

Sanford’s press office did not

answer or respond to repeated telephone calls throughout the night Wednesday and early today. The governor has scheduled a press conference for 10:45 a.m. today to discuss the new law.

Sen. Joel Lourie, D-Richland, a longtime supporter of strengthening the seat-belt law, said today is a “great day for our state.

“There’s an old proverb that says, ‘If you save one life, then you save the world.’ This law will save lives and prevent injuries.”

Under the law, police can pull over a motorist for not wearing a seat belt. Violations carry $25 fines. Not wearing a seat belt was already illegal, but the old law said a motorist could not be stopped if the only violation was that motorist did not buckle up.

The new law has limitations. Police cannot write seat-belt tickets at checkpoints or roadblocks, for example, and violations are not reported to insurance companies and cannot be used in civil court.

Those limitations are part of the reason many lawmakers opposed the new law. They believe it does not go far enough to be effective.

House Majority Leader Jim Merrill, R-Charleston, who opposed the law, said he anticipates problems.

“When all is said and done — especially if it’s misused — there will be a great outrage among the people of South Carolina,” Merrill said.

South Carolinians have not realized they could soon be pulled over “for being in their car and forgetting to buckle their seat belt,” he added.

Merrill also took exception to an aspect of the new law aimed at preventing racial profiling. It requires police officers to track the race, age and gender of every motorist they stop, whether a ticket is written or not.

“Every time they pull someone, they’ll have to be cognizant if this person is Hispanic, white, black, purple, green,” Merrill said. “All around, just a dandy outcome.”

But Lourie said the law makes great strides in highway safety.

“It is the most significant highway initiative we can pass,” Lourie said. “I am thrilled and appreciative that the governor put his philosophical dilemma aside in the interest of public safety.”

In recent months, Sanford has said he did not like the bill because it did not go far enough in encouraging seat-belt use.

Sanford spokesman Chris Drummond said Wednesday afternoon that the governor was still considering what action to take on the bill.

Rep. Ronny Townsend, R-Anderson, the law’s sponsor in the House, was happy the governor ultimately did not veto it.

“It will save lives, and that’s what we’re after.”

Reach Gould Sheinin at (803) 771-8658 or asheinin@thestate.com.