COLUMBIA - Charleston resident David Purcell peered down from the Statehouse balcony at the lawmakers and lobbyists swarming below.

"It's organized chaos," the 52-year-old airline pilot said. "But it's impressive to see government in action."

Purcell went to Columbia to see his neighbor, Charleston Republican Bobby Harrell, bang the gavel for the first time as House speaker.

"I brought the whole cul-de-sac," Harrell joked after introducing about a dozen of his family members and friends who witnessed the first change at the helm of the House in more than a decade.

It wasn't just Harrell's guests who crowded under the Statehouse dome Tuesday for the first day of the 2006 legislative session. The General Assembly was greeted by special interest groups and ordinary citizens eager to make their voices heard.

There was excitement in the air as the governmental machine cranked back up. "It's like the first day of school," said U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, who made an appearance at his old stomping grounds.

Wilson served in the state Senate for 17 years before being elected to Congress in 2001. "I feel the buzz," said Wilson, who even wore new dress shoes for the occasion.

State Rep. Wallace Scarborough, R-Charleston, felt the same way. He wore a fashionable wool scarf and bow tie. "You've got to look good on the first day of school," he said.

But not all those who came to the state Capitol were impressed with their tax dollars at work.

Bobby Blackwell of Columbia said he would have more luck talking to the nearby statue of Strom Thurmond than the lawmakers.

"They need to take all the flags down and put up dollar signs on this funding farm," the 74-year-old Air Force veteran said.

Lawmakers spent much of the morning slapping backs and shaking hands, but they also launched into some legislative issues. Republicans and Democrats made clear that reducing property taxes was the paramount priority this session.

The issue has enraged homeowners across the state after the recent reassessment made real estate values soar. More than 100 people brought their gripes to Columbia for a rally on the Statehouse steps.

Dubbed the "South Carolina Tea Party," the demonstrators wore Lipton tea bags and stickers as they called for the complete elimination of property taxes on homes.

They cheered when organizers unfurled two giant banners that read, "HELP!!! Save Our Homes" and "End Home Property Taxes!!!"

"I am in a state of pissed off that I haven't been in my entire life," said Thomas Vernon Lee Jr. of Swansea. He favors shifting the tax burden to the sales tax, which lawmakers in the House and Senate are currently considering.

The rally brought together groups from across the state, including NoHomeTax.org, an organization founded by Charleston resident Emerson Read.

"We're just showing them what we want and telling them what we want," Read said.

House Majority Leader Jim Merrill said it was good to see the lobby jammed with people other than professional lobbyists.

"I love seeing the more informal groups," the Daniel Island Republican said. "The lobbyists, I couldn't give a flip. It's nice to see people come and remind the Legislature that property tax issues won't go away."

After the session, members of a group advocating an increase in the cigarette sales tax to fund Medicaid gathered on the Statehouse steps.

hey said boosting the state's lowest-in-the-nation tax could help fully fund the state and federal health insurance program for the poor and disabled.

Sen. Robert Ford, a Charleston Democrat, was one of a number of lawmakers urging the 60 people in the crowd to get involved.

David Hoats, the advocacy coordinator for the disAbility Resource Center in North Charleston, supports the concept.

Hoats attended the rally with his wife, Wendy, who needs Medicaid to pay her medical expenses after she suffered a brain injury in a 1991 car accident.

"We try to make it, but we need all the help we can get," she said.

Still, the most colorful presence at the Legislature was the crowd of 100-plus bikers who arrived in leather chaps and faded bandannas. The annual "Legislative Warrior Day" is coordinated by A Brotherhood Against Totalitarian Enactments, a national organization better known by its acronym, ABATE.

Mount Pleasant resident Ed Haas, spokesman for ABATE, said the goal is to get to know the lawmakers and urge them to support several causes, such as revamping the amount of taxes bikers need to pay for their motorcycles.

"You need regular people to be some sort of counterbalance to the weight the lawmakers sometimes give the lobbyists," Haas said.

By 5 p.m., the frenzy subsided as the rallies concluded and the Statehouse cleared out.

"The first day is fun but toward the end of the year, you cannot wait to get out of here," Wilson said.

Lawmakers have only 62 more working days to go.

Contact John Frank at (803) 799-9051 or jbfrank@postandcourier.com.