Upstate lawmakers back out of vouchers bill

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The defections will not adversely impact the bill, said Will Folks, Sanford's spokesman.

"It's early in the process and there are a lot of questions being raised," but that will change when the final version emerges, he said.

Reps. Garry Smith of Simpsonville and Gene Pinson of Greenwood said Thursday that they had too many unanswered questions about the "Put Parents in Charge" program whose provisions would cover public and private schools.

Both said they like the concept, but have concerns about implementation.

"You can't argue with the point of putting parents in charge," Pinson said.

Opponents have argued that using public funds to help cover private school tuition could irreparably damage public education.

Pinson said the bill didn't tell him how parents would select schools or whether those with learning disabilities will have sufficient choices. And it doesn't deal with transportation issues for pupils with special needs.

Smith said he wasn't sure how his name got on the bill, but he has questions about "how we measure success and set up true market forces so parents can see apples to apples and make a comparison" of school options.

"I can't support it until we address these fundamentals," Smith said, adding that even with the answers "it's going to be a hard decision for me."

Although Speaker Pro Tem Doug Smith, R-Spartanburg and Majority Leader Jim Merrill of Charleston, are co-sponsors, two powerful GOP names are absent — and Democrats are generally solidly opposed.

Neither House Speaker David Wilkins, R-Greenville, nor Rep. Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, the Ways and Means Committee chairman, has signed the bill.

Pinson, a former District 50 school trustee, said Sanford doesn't have the answers to his questions.

"I've tried to get them from him."

Those responses, he said, will determine whether holdout legislators get behind the bill.

"We're confident that when folks look at how successful school choice has been in other parts of the country, folks will come around," Folks said.

Folks said that "agents of the status quo" from within the education establishment are attempting to plant seeds of doubt among lawmakers to delay, water down or kill the plan.

The proposal is one of Sanford's main legislative initiatives, part of what he calls "market-based reforms" for state government.

"If we keep on doing what we've been doing, we're going to keep on getting what we've been getting," Sanford said in his Jan. 26 State of the State Address.

Sanford linked broader school choice to improved student performance, citing states that had implemented similar changes.

Reinforcing the importance of the bill to his agenda, Sanford told legislators it was "gut-check" time and "for the state, and for the sake of these kids' lives, I ask for this bill's passage."

Also, Thursday, the House Republican leadership introduced legislation to extend the Fiscal Discipline Act through fiscal year 2010-11.

Unless the measure is enacted, the provision limiting the state budget to no more than a 3 percent increase, passed last session, will expire at the end of this fiscal year.

Smith and Wilkins introduced the legislation. Its 90 co-sponsors include eight Democrats.

The bill is intended to protect taxpayers and their public services by restricting state spending during times of plenty to avoid drastic budget cuts like those of 2001-2004 when revenues fell sharply in the recession that followed the 9/11 terror attacks.

An extension would assign revenue exceeding the 3 percent cap to the reserve fund, designated funds for maintaining a balance budget and the Highway Improvements and Deferred Maintenance Trust fund.

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Dan Hoover covers politics and can be reached at 298-4883.

803.734.3139info@schousegop.com