State & Regional Interest	Thursday, June 5, 2003
Print Version   Email Article    Speak Out!    Subscription
Senate refuses plan to return to handle vetoes By JIM DAVENPORT, (Published June 4‚ 2003) COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - The Legislature may not be coming back for a special session to deal with Gov. Mark Sanford's budget vetoes. The Senate didn't come close Wednesday to mustering the two-thirds vote needed to pass a resolution that allows the General Assembly to return June 17. The vote failed 23-20. Senate President Glenn McConnell said now it would be extremely difficult for an extended session resolution to pass before mandatory adjournment at 5 p.m. Thursday. "They just shot themselves in the foot," said McConnell, R-Charleston. McConnell said he would try again Thursday for an extended session, but an objection from any senator could kill the effort. The House unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday that allows the Legislature to return in two weeks. If the Senate doesn't pass the resolution, Sanford could still call the Legislature back into session. The Republican governor said he has limited time to deal with vetoes because he has Air Force Reserve duty this weekend. The Legislature sent him the budget Tuesday. He said he's not close to finishing work on it and would need the next four days. "I think we need that full time period," he said. If there is no special or extended session, "all the sudden the vetoes that we cast have a much bigger impact," Sanford said. That's because the Legislature wouldn't be able to attempt to override them until January. The extended session vote came as senators rushed to wrap up work on dozens of bills in the midst of a filibuster. Sen. John Kuhn, R-Charleston, held the floor for most of the afternoon, speaking against a bill that would allow colleges statewide to borrow more money. That bill became fodder for other college-related measures, including creating a culinary arts program in Charleston and converting the University of South Carolina's Sumter campus from a two-year to a four-year program. The Senate also adopted a bill that reforms the state's campaign finance laws. That bill includes a compromise worked out in a conference committee Wednesday, said Sen. Tommy Moore, D-Clearwater. The campaign finance law changes call for electronic filing for statewide candidates and legislators as soon as the Ethics Commission gets enough money in its budget to do handle that. It bars lobbyist contributions to some types of political action committees and transfers of donations among PACs in some cases.

Speak Out!   Share your thoughts about this topic in our public forum. Please read the rules before posting. You must register to post. You do not need to register to read the forum. Subject: Your Comments: If you are not already logged in, clicking "Post" will ask you for your username and password. If you are not registered, then you can click "Register" and you will be taken to the registration page.