South Carolina is unlikely to create its own Do Not Call registry anytime soon, state lawmakers said Monday.

“I would still like to see it done on a federal level,” said Rep. Harry Cato, D-Greenville, chairman of the House Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee. “If the national proposal has constitutional problems, then so would any state law.”

While North Carolina and four other states begin enforcing their own lists Wednesday, South Carolina will most likely opt for a “wait-and-see” approach, Cato said.

That’s what the Legislature did last year, said Rep. Vincent Sheheen, D-Kershaw, who introduced one of a half-dozen no-call bills that stalled.

“If the federal list is up and running, I would support narrowing our legislation to local items, intrastate concerns,” Sheheen said. “If it’s still on hold, I’d like to see a state list, similar to those passed by other states.”

The General Assembly will reconvene in January. “Hopefully we’ll have a federal list by then, and I want to see how effective the federal law will be,” said Sen. Jefferson Smith, R-Greenville, chairman of the Senate Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee.

By virtue of their committee leadership, the fate of any no-call legislation lies largely with Cato and Smith, who favor fighting telemarketers at the federal level.

“The last thing we need is 50 different laws from 50 states,” said Cato, adding that any state law would apply only to calls originating from South Carolina.

But other legislators said they would like to see the state pass its own ban, even if it is limited.

South Carolinians would benefit if they could go to state courts to fight telemarketers, said Brandolyn Thomas Pinkston, acting director of the S.C. Department of Consumer Affairs.

“It would be nice if South Carolina had jurisdiction over a no-call list, to have legislation like our sister state of Georgia,” she said. “It would especially help the elderly who have been victimized by unscrupulous telemarketers.”

Sheheen said there is bipartisan support for such a bill, as well as pressure from constituents.

“The thing I get called about most is roads,” he said. “But after that, in the past year or so, I’ve received the most calls from people complaining about telemarketers.”

Reach Wachter at (803)771-8404 or pwachter@thestate.com