A look at what went down Thursday at the State House:

SENATE REJECTS 99 SANFORD VETOES

The Senate sustained seven of Gov. Mark Sanford’s 106 budget vetoes Thursday, agreeing with the governor more often than the House did — but still disagreeing with him for the most part.

The governor’s biggest victory: keeping the Aeronautics Commission, which oversees the state’s airfields, under the jurisdiction of the Department of Commerce, a Cabinet agency.

Sanford’s biggest loss Thursday might have been the Palmetto Bowl, not in terms of total dollars but in prominence. The Senate originally sustained Sanford’s veto of the proposed college bowl game, with senators saying it was imprudent to commit $5.7 million over time to a game when core needs such as education are not adequately funded.

But House Ways and Means Committee chairman Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, the game’s biggest backer, was quick to remind senators how many of their local projects were included in the budget. After 15 minutes of negotiation, the Senate reconsidered and voted to override the veto, meaning the first $380,000 installment for the game will be in next year’s budget.

Sanford’s staff also was disappointed that the Senate originally agreed with the governor not to provide $250,000 for the Freedom Weekend Aloft, a Memorial Day balloon festival in Anderson County. However, senators reconsidered that vote and decided to keep the money in the budget at the request of Sen. Robert Waldrep, R-Anderson, who is retiring.

Senators considered the balance of the vetoes in chunks and overrode them several at a time. The Senate debated 15 of the vetoes at some length. By so doing, senators escaped Sanford’s ire. He was angry that the House overrode 105 of his vetoes in 99 minutes, generally without discussion. The House sustained only one veto, keeping the State Accident Fund an independent agency.

The $5.5 billion budget takes effect July 1.

SANFORD’S INCOME TAX CUT STILL IDLING

Senators bypassed Gov. Mark Sanford’s plan to lower the income tax Thursday, after it tied up most of the Senate’s time Tuesday and Wednesday.

Democratic senators are blocking the plan, saying they will filibuster for the remaining three legislative days if needed to avoid making a potentially devastating cut to the state’s general fund.

Republican senators say they are relying on Sanford to deliver the three additional legislators needed to break the filibuster. Senate Majority Leader Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence, said legislators might come back to the income tax Tuesday.

From Staff Reports