COLUMBIA--The state Senate opened the General Assembly on Tuesday by dramatically changing the rules of the legislative game, handing Gov. Mark Sanford an early victory.

The Senate voted along party lines to limit the power of a single senator to hold up a bill. It also set up new conventions to limit the duration of debates.

Opponents predicted the changes will cut short debate on important measures and allow the General Assembly to ram half-baked laws into the books.

While the changes are insider politics, they nonetheless mean a monumental shift for the General Assembly -- one that could alter the kinds and numbers of bills that become law.

It was also a giant departure from typical opening days of the Legislature, which are largely ceremonial.

Now the looming question at the Statehouse is whether these changes will allow Sanford to win approval for his big-ticket agenda items, such as an income tax cut and government restructuring.

Sanford made changing the Senate rules a top priority, claiming the logjam senators use to kill legislation has cost major pieces of his agenda for the past two years.That, senators say, is over now.

"The days of a senator sitting on a bill to kill it is over," said state Sen. Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, who was re-elected by acclamation as President Pro Tempore of the Senate.

Republicans, 26 of the 46 senators, said they were modernizing the Senate.

Democrats said the Republicans left many South Carolinians voiceless and removed a safety net against bad legislation. The Democrats said the move was a power grab to give the Republicans, who already control the House, Senate and governor's office, even greater control over the legislative process.

"In the House, about five people control everything," said Sen. Vincent Sheen, D-Camden. "We are headed down that road."

Sanford's staff monitored the three-hour fight over the rule changes, and the governor was quick to praise.

"I can't credit them enough for voting to move our state forward," Sanford said. "I believe these rule changes advance our state's democratic process while preserving the deliberative tradition of the Senate. Each one of the senators who supported these reforms deserves a tremendous amount of credit for standing up and casting their votes in favor of changing the status quo."

Basically, the Senate ended the practice of one senator holding up legislation indefinitely. Now a senator can delay debate for only six legislative days, or two weeks. After that, the Rules Committee chairman can move to have the bill put on the Senate calendar, the menu of bills the chamber will vote on.

The new rules also prohibit senators from adding unrelated matters to bills, called bobtailing, a practice that though unconstitutional continued to be used to piggy-back bills that might not otherwise be considered by the General Assembly.

The other major change adopted Tuesday was to lower the number of votes it takes to end debate, or filibuster, on any bill. Previously, it took 28 of the 46 senators to sit another member down. Now it takes only three-fifths of those present and voting to cut off a filibuster.

With 24 senators needed for a quorum, as few as 15 lawmakers could stop debate.

Sen. Jake Knotts, R-West Columbia, stood with Democrats against the move and predicted the new rules could be manipulated as well as the old. "I'll find a way around them," Knotts said. "You're going to find out."

Changing the rules is easy on the first day of the General Assembly because it requires only a simple majority vote instead of the two-thirds vote needed later on. It was the first item on the agenda because the Senate must have rules to operate.

Overall, the change was lauded in the Republican-controlled Legislature. House Speaker David Wilkins, who has seen many measures passed by his chamber die in the Senate, cheered the move.

"I have been here a quarter of a century, and this is the first time I have seen this sort of change (in the Senate)," said Wilkins, R-Greenville. "I realize this wasn't easy for them, but it's exactly what should have been done."

The House will start sending Sanford agenda items to the Senate soon, and that will be the real test of what -- if any -- effect these changes have. Although Democrats said the Republicans were caving in to Sanford, and that other governors had been able to work through the legislative process, the Republicans said this was in no way a signal that the governor would get a free ride.

"This just gives us the tools to deal with obstructionism in ways we couldn't before," said Sen. Larry Martin, R-Pickens, chairman of the Senate Rules Committee. "There's no guarantee now that the governor's agenda will pass through. I will support most of it, but these changes aren't so we can support any one agenda."

But Democrats, who say they have been falsely accused of holding up Sanford's bills, said the changes also leave Republicans without excuses. Despite the opening-day hoopla, many Democrats say not much is likely to change at the Statehouse.

"Last year, the governor vetoed 106 things and the Legislature overrode 105 of them," said Sen. Robert Ford, D-Charleston. "His problem isn't the Senate rules; it's that he hasn't got any support for his programs and he can't get along with anyone. Things aren't going to change as a result of this. The Democrats are united, and those Republicans can't stand each other. All this will fall apart in two weeks -- it might even happen by tomorrow."

LOCAL/STATE

HURRY UP

Before: One senator could stall a bill by objecting when it came up for debate.

After: After six legislative days, any contested bill can be voted on if the chairman of the Rules Committee and a majority of senators present agree.

STOP TALKING

Before: 28 senators needed to end a filibuster.

After: 26 senators or three-fifths of those present, whichever is fewer.

CUT THE 'BOBTAILS'

Before: A bill returned with House amendments had to be voted on or tabled, even if the amendments had nothing to do with the subject matter of the bill, called "bobtailing."

After: If any amendment is deemed not "germane" by the Senate President Pro Tempore, the bill goes back to the committee it came from.

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