COLUMBIA - Senators learned a lesson in lawmaking this week: Read before you write.

On Tuesday, the Senate gave initial approval to a bill changing the state's charter school laws without seeing a copy of the bill's final language. On Wednesday, legislators said they didn't like what showed up in print and that prompted senators to backtrack.

The problem arose as charter school legislation supporters worried that taking more time on the issue would jeopardize deals worked out during several hours Tuesday, Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell said.
"It was supposed to have been in the computers, and the folks that were handling it were supposed to understand what was there. Obviously they didn't," McConnell said.

Instead, some issues were jumbled or left open to interpretation, including whether the Senate would retain final word on the nine people serving on a charter school board either appointed by or through the governor.

"There were too many cooks in the kitchen," McConnell said. "In retrospect now, it was a ... mistake for us to move forward."

On Thursday, McConnell said the bill wouldn't budge "until we have it in our hand." After a few more hours of wrangling, the Senate undid Tuesday's vote and made the changes.

The House has had its own reading problems lately. Last week, the House approved a bill that barred power cutoffs for state residents with health conditions during extremely hot or cold weather, but a handful of legislators noticed too late that the bill also limited utility company lawsuit liability to $200,000.

In a seldom-used move, House members sent that bill back to committee to get the liability limit removed.

Snafus aside, Gov. Mark Sanford was happy to see the charter school legislation moving closer to his desk.

"We've said from Day One that creating more charter schools in our state would be a great win for every parent and student in South Carolina, which is why this bill has been a top priority for us," Sanford said in a prepared statement.