Just because House members got the press this week doesn't mean the rest of the Legislature, i.e. the Senate, sat idly by.

On Tuesday, Senators approved the massive Life Sciences Act, dubbed the "Kitchen Sink" bill by House Ways and Means Chairman Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston.

The proposal, which opens the door for pharmaceutical and biotech companies to apply for millions of dollars worth of bonds, easily passed the House the week before.

It now awaits Gov. Mark Sanford's signature. The question is, as it has been all along, will Sanford veto the act over an amendment authorizing the University of South Carolina-Sumter to offer four-year degrees?

The governor has made no secret of his dislike for the amendment, which runs counter to his efforts to reduce the number of colleges in the state.

BAD TO THE BONE

Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, prefers Bach to Lynyrd Skynyrd, a dapper suit to a leather jacket and his old Mercedes to a tricked-out Hog.

Well, they say politics make strange bedfellows, and never was that more true than Tuesday when about 20 members of A Brotherhood Against Totalitarian Enactments filled the front row of the Senate balcony.

Clad in leather and looking a tad menacing, ABATE was there to support McConnell's fight against the primary seat belt law.

South Carolina has a secondary seat belt law, which allows police to ticket motorists for seat belt violations when they are pulled over for another offense. A primary seat belt law would allow police to stop and ticket a motorist for not wearing a seat belt. If passed, the measure would head to the governor for final approval before becoming law, which means McConnell is all that stands between the measure and South Carolina's roads.

For weeks, McConnell has held up approval of the bill. He said the measure is a violation of personal freedoms, something that the good members of ABATE cannot abide.

Sen. Larry Martin, R-Pickens, took the floor and suggested carrying the matter over to next week, which, considering his view of the balcony, was not a bad idea.

Sen. Arthur Ravenel, R-Charleston, tired of the seemingly endless delays on the subject, objected, providing a rare moment of lucidity at the Statehouse.

"How long sir, how long, are we going to drag this thing on?" he said. "How long will we let the senator from Charleston do what is close to his heart, debate a philosophical matter? There is no senator in this chamber who believes that this matter will proceed with the senator from Charleston against it. And who in this chamber will ask him to step aside?"

Martin hemmed and hawed and looked around the room for help. Finally, Ravenel put him out of his misery.

"Thank you, senator, for not answering my question," he said.

The Senate then voted to delay the measure until Wednesday.

CONFEDERATE WAITING LIST

On Monday, the Confederate flag flying over the Statehouse's Confederate Soldier's Monument was replaced with a new one. About 12 times a year, the flags, battered by the elements, are replaced. The old flags then go to the lucky South Carolinian atop a long waiting list.

According to officials with the state Budget and Control Board, the waiting list for Confederate flags that have flown over the monument is 10 years long. To get on the list, call (803) 734-3528 or write Budget and Control Board Facilities Management, Attn: Angela Rivers, 921 South Main St., Columbia, SC 29201.

She also can put people on the waiting list for U.S. or state flags that have flown above the Statehouse. That wait is about two to three years.

BITS AND PIECES

-- Talk about a captive audience. About 22 Girl Scouts worked as pages in the House this week. The scouts gained some valuable life lessons, such as the source of global warming (hot air from legislators) and how to bore yourself with your own argument. They also peddled their deliciously eeeeevil cookies to the poor legislators trapped in the House chamber, arguing over the budget.

-- Next week in the House, members are expected to take up two property reassessment bills: One would cap reassessment at 15 percent, the other eliminate it. The same-sex marriage bill and Income Tax Reduction Act of 2004 are also on the schedule.