Sanford delays decision to sue Legislature

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In an 8 p.m. statement, Sanford said he wasn't abandoning the possibility of a lawsuit, but was willing to give lawmakers time to address his objections through legislation. Sanford also canceled a press conference he had announced just hours earlier to disclose his decision on the lawsuit.

House Speaker David Wilkins, one of the lawmakers who met with Sanford earlier Wednesday, called the governor's decision to cancel the press conference a "positive sign."

Wilkins said he and about 40 other members of the House GOP caucus didn't promise Sanford a legislative fix. But Wilkins said the House would work to diffuse the dispute between the governor and a Legislature controlled by his own Republican party.

"We want to work with the governor, we want to find common ground," Wilkins said.

The dispute stems from Sanford's veto earlier this month of the Life Sciences Act. The legislation started as financial incentives for biotech and pharmaceutical companies that lawmakers said were needed to recruit a major drug company to Greenville County. Sanford supported the incentives, but objected to numerous amendments to the bill, including one that would make the University of South Carolina's Sumter campus a four-year school.

The governor vetoed the bill, only to watch lawmakers immediately override his veto. After the override, Sanford threatened to sue, saying lawmakers' "tack ons" may have run afoul of the state Constitution.

Wilkins said the meeting with House members was called by Sanford and was a "very frank discussion about the Life Sciences bill, and about the governor's threat of a lawsuit and the relationship with the General Assembly and the governor."

Wilkins said Sanford also called a meeting of the Senate GOP caucus.