COLUMBIA - Local legislators joined the majority of the House on Wednesday in passing a constitutional amendment that would allow significant changes to the state's property tax system.

However, the House still was debating a bill detailing the exact changes Wednesday night.

The House approved the constitutional amendment 102-17. Two-thirds of the Senate still must vote for the amendment for it to be placed before voters in the November election.

Rep. Robert "Skipper" Perry, R-Aiken, voted for the amendment, despite misgivings over the specific plan, which proposes the removal of most property taxes on homes in exchange for a 2-cents-on-the-dollar bump in sales tax.

"The train's running," Mr. Perry said. "I'm not going to stand in the way of it."

The debate stems from concerns from property owners tired of property tax hikes, especially in areas of high growth where increasing home values are yielding significant increases in property taxes.

Neither Mr. Perry nor Mr. Clyburn knew Wednesday evening how they would vote on the second bill.

"It's a horrible bill," Mr. Perry said. "It hurts the middle class and poor. But I've got (political) opposition ... and all you're going to see is him say, 'Perry voted against property tax relief,' which is a lie." Bottom line, he said, "If lawmakers don't get elected, they can't work up here."

Mr. Clyburn said many of his constituents are clamoring for tax relief.

"They're still telling me, 'We want a tax cut, We want a tax cut,' and sometimes you can't save people from themselves," he said.