South Carolina drivers would be required to buckle up under a bill approved Tuesday by the House Education and Public Works Committee.

The bill would create a primary law for seat belt enforcement. Currently, police cannot ticket a motorist who is 18 or older for seat belt violations unless the motorist is pulled over for another reason, such as speeding.

State Rep. Joel Lourie, D-Richland, said he hopes the bill will encourage drivers to wear their seat belts and save lives.

The bill heads to the House floor for further debate.

Proposed Law Would Protect Hog Farms

The House Agriculture Committee sent a bill to the House floor Tuesday that would bar counties from using zoning laws to keep hog farms out.

The Legislature created new rules for hog farms in South Carolina that took effect last summer. The regulations reinstated rules for separation between property lines, swine houses and lagoons. They also imposed separation rules to protect streams and waters.

But many communities were upset about the prospect of big hog farms coming to town, and several county councils enacted stricter regulations in addition to the state rules. Seven counties now have laws conflicting with state regulations.

Students protest loss of HOPE scholarships

About three dozen college students went to the State House Tuesday to protest House budget plans to scrap the lottery-funded HOPE scholarships.

The House Ways and Means Committee eliminated the $5.8 million HOPE scholarship program last week when it adopted a $5.1 billion state spending plan for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

The first of the $2,500, one-year scholarships went to students last fall, helping about 2,000 people who had B averages. Other students with B averages and qualifying SAT scores or high class standings get the LIFE scholarship, worth $5,000.

HOPE scholarship recipients and others qualify for a LIFE scholarship if they maintain a B average in college.

Governor questions state loan program

Gov. Mark Sanford suggested Tuesday that a long-standing state lending program for private schools was essentially a backdoor voucher program.

The program, run by the state Jobs-Economic Development Authority, lends money to private schools and other nonprofit organizations at below-market interest rates.

The State Budget and Control Board was considering one of the loans Tuesday when Sanford suggested it essentially was a public subsidy for a private school.

During his campaign for governor, Sanford said he supports school vouchers, which allow parents to take money that a public school would have used to educate their child and spend it on private school tuition.

Senate Finance Committee chairman Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence and a budget board member, said the bonds do have a public benefit by creating jobs for people who pay income and sales taxes.

More retirement funds going to stocks

The state's top financial officers Tuesday approved about $520 million in new stock market investments for the State Retirement System.

State Treasurer Grady Patterson voted against the increased investments during a meeting of the State Budget and Control Board, noting that the state has lost $2 billion on stock investments during the past two years.

Salaries approved for 4 Cabinet members

The State Budget and Control Board approved salaries for four of Gov. Mark Sanford's top advisers Tuesday.

The members of Sanford's Cabinet head state agencies and report directly to the governor:

• Kim Aydlette will be paid $129,484 as Department of Social Services director.

• William Byars gets $99,856 as Department of Juvenile Justice director.

• Burnie Maybank gets $123,874 as director of the Department of Revenue.

• Adrienne Youmans will be paid $104,423 to run the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation.