COLUMBIA, S.C. - House Speaker David Wilkins expressed hope Tuesday that his latest attempt to shorten South Carolina's legislative session may get some attention in the Senate this year.

"Maybe, for the first time, they will take a look at it," the Greenville Republican said during his weekly televised news conference. "I think we will get the same amount of work done."

Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell said that the Senate Judiciary subcommittee will consider a proposal Wednesday that would allow the Senate and the House to set schedules separately.

"We want to make the session shorter by making it more efficient," the Charleston Republican said. "Let the Senate manage its schedule and let the House manage its work schedule."

The General Assembly meets three days a week from the second week in January until the first week in June.

Wilkins' proposal would cut about three weeks off each end of the Legislature's session, which the Speaker called one of the longest in the nation. "My idea is to compress the time frame," Wilkins said.

Wilkins has proposed similar legislation in the past but it has repeatedly died in the Senate. The measure, which has 35 sponsors in the House, was approved on a voice vote Tuesday afternoon by the House Judiciary Committee.

"I support that. We waste a lot of time up here," said House Minority Leader Harry Ott, D-St. Matthews, who appeared with Wilkins during the news conference, which is carried live on South Carolina Education Television.

Wilkins said paring back the time lawmakers spend in Columbia will make serving in the Legislature more attractive to a wider range of citizens.

Many businessmen and women can't afford to take so much time off, Wilkins argued. "You don't want a legislature that's full of retirees," he said.

Wilkins' proposal also would rearrange legislative schedules so committee members could begin their work several weeks before fuller debates take place on legislative measures.