COLUMBIA - Most black legislators say they cannot get their proposals passed or considered in the General Assembly because of an age-old problem - racism. They say if they want to get a bill through the General Assembly, they normally have to take it to a friendly white Republican lawmaker and ask him or her to introduce it.

"Black legislators still are searching for equal footing in the General Assembly," said state Rep. Seth Whipper, a black lawmaker from Charleston. "There are problems with complete acceptance by white legislators. Some people seem not to vote for legislation blacks are involved with."

Several Republicans said race isn't the reason bills by black lawmakers are rejected: Proposals are considered on their merits and dismissed because of differing philosophies.

The problem became public this month when state Rep. Leon Howard, a black Columbia Democrat, and state Rep. John Graham Altman, a white Charleston Republican, almost came to blows after Altman employed a rarely used procedural maneuver to quash a bill Howard introduced. The proposal would have mandated paper coverings on all drinking straws.

An analysis by The (Columbia) State newspaper shows black lawmakers, all Democrats, don't have much success getting legislation passed. But neither do white Democrats.

Most of the 19 black lawmakers interviewed said political partisanship is as much, if not more, of a factor than racism in what gets passed and what doesn't. Several black lawmakers declined to talk on the record, saying the topic was too sensitive.

Republicans control the state House and Senate and the flow of legislation. They set the agenda and the calendar.

"Most of it is partisan," said state Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, a black legislator from Orangeburg and former House Democratic leader. "But race is also a factor. Race permeates everything we do here."

When Democrats controlled both chambers in 1993-94, blacks also lagged in getting legislation approved, trailing even Republicans, all of whom are white. In those years, the General Assembly approved 8.9 percent of the bills proposed by black legislators and 16 percent of those proposed by Republicans.

House Speaker David Wilkins, R-Greenville, took issue with black representatives who say their legislation is doomed. "I see no indication of that whatsoever," said Wilkins, who is white. "Bills are defeated because of philosophies."

Clemson University political science professor Bruce Ransom, who is black, agreed.

The problem black legislators have, Ransom said, is that much of their legislation "tends to be progressive - some might say more liberal - and not in keeping with the mainstream of South Carolina."

House Majority Leader Rick Quinn, a white Columbia Republican, said, "Ideas rise and fall on their merits. People aren't going to vote against good ideas offered by black members."

One issue, creation of the state lottery, is an example of two very different perspectives in the legislature. Quinn cites it as an example of a bill initiated successfully by a black lawmaker, state Rep. John Scott, a Columbia Democrat.

Many black lawmakers, however, point to the lottery as an example of how a black lawmaker wasn't given credit for a major piece of legislation. Scott had been pitching a lottery bill for several years. The measure that finally became law looked very much like Scott's bill, but it did not have his name on it, black lawmakers said. It was credited as a committee bill.

Several black members were quick to praise Wilkins, saying his actions are not racially motivated.

For instance, they credit Wilkins with naming two black Democrats - Scott and state Rep. Joe Neal of Columbia - to key conference committees on the lottery in 1999 and predatory lending this year.

Wilkins also has appointed two black committee chairmen - Joe Brown of Columbia to Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs; and Mack Hines of Florence to Interstate Cooperation.

But this inclusiveness must encompass the entire House leadership, including Republican committee chairmen, black lawmakers say.