A QUICK SPIN

What’s going on around the State House:

HIGHER ED BILL

A bill calling for the state to borrow $500 million for college research and economic development projects was approved Tuesday by a key committee.

A House and Senate conference committee is working out differences in versions of the bill passed by each chamber, and the bill still needs the committee’s final approval before it can move to the House and Senate floors.

In addition to borrowing money for research and development projects, the bill also sets up a state-run venture capital operation to encourage startup business, expands college programs and protects two-year colleges from being shut down.

It also makes pharmaceutical companies eligible for the same range of economic development incentives that manufacturers already get.

But a tacked-on proposal that would allow USC Sumter to offer four-year degrees could be a sticking point. Gov. Mark Sanford opposes the plan, as do some USC officials and the Commission on Higher Education.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

People convicted of criminal domestic violence could not have a gun or ammunition under a bill that cleared a House Judiciary subcommittee on Wednesday. It would be a misdemeanor for those people to ship, transport, possess or receive a firearm or ammunition.

The Criminal Laws Subcommittee also amended the bill to require that people who are the target of a restraining order have to pay the fees associated with it. The bill now heads to the full committee.

DMV NOTICES

The Department of Motor Vehicles wants to end a practice of notifying car owners when someone younger than 18 gets a ticket. A bill to do that cleared a House subcommittee Wednesday.

The agency has said that it costs too much to give those notices and that most owners already knew about the tickets.

The bill also clarifies that 15-year-old students in a high school drivers education course can get behind the wheel. Current law does not specify an age for school programs. The legislation now heads to the full House Education and Public Works Committee.