Two Upstate lawmakers said Monday that campaign contributions from the advertising industry had nothing to do with votes they cast to support legislation making it tougher for local governments across the state to remove billboards.

State. Rep. Harry Cato, a Travelers Rest Republican who sponsored the bill, and state Sen. Larry Martin, R-Pickens, confirmed their campaigns received $1,000 from the Outdoor Advertising Association of South Carolina.

State Sen. Danny Verdin, a Laurens Republican who couldn't be reached for comment, also received $1,000 from the association, according to state Ethics Commission disclosure statements.

All three voted last month to override Gov. Mark Sanford's veto of a bill requiring governments to compensate billboard companies if local laws force them to permanently remove their ads.

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The Senate vote was 28-13, while the House vote was 78-25.

Scott Shockley, president of the Outdoor Advertising Association of South Carolina, confirmed the group spent $339,000 on lobbyists and campaign contributions over the past two years. He said the association was participating in the political process, just like many other businesses in the state.

"We support the people who believe in business and property rights," Shockley said.

State Sen. Gerald Malloy, D-Hartsville, said he didn't know if money influenced the way his colleagues voted, but he voted to sustain the governor's veto because he was against the bill from the beginning.

"It limits local government's ability to control billboards in their area," he said. "It is a home rule issue."

The association took lawmakers out to lunch four times in 2004 and 2005, including a $37.96 per person meal at The Palmetto Club last January, according to disclosure statements. Among those receiving more than $1,000 in the same period were 20 lawmakers who voted to override the veto and five caucuses representing lawmakers, the statements show.

Cato said he sees the legislation as a private property rights issue and that the contribution wasn't unusual. The money, he said, never influenced his vote.

"I have one of the largest campaign accounts in the General Assembly," Cato said. "So $1,000 in the grand scheme of my campaign account is peanuts."