COLUMBIA, S.C. - Gov. Mark Sanford said he decided to back off threats, for now, to sue the Legislature over a massive economic development bill after a secret meeting with Republican leaders on Wednesday.

"We're certainly not giving up the option of taking this thing to court," Sanford said. "Based on feedback from folks in the General Assembly this afternoon, though, I'm taking them at their word that there is a willingness to fix this thing legislatively."

Sanford called the House GOP Caucus into the closed-door meeting, where reporters were physically barred from the door by his spokesman. Only a handful of Republican senators met with the governor next. Democrats were not invited.

"I wanted to get their unbridled thoughts on this matter," said Sanford, who has threatened to challenge the constitutionality of putting unrelated items into the bill.

Sanford was upset the bill, which extended broader economic development incentives to pharmaceutical companies, included provisions to expand the University of South Carolina-Sumter to a four-year school and to create a four-year cooking program at Trident Technical College.

The General Assembly easily overrode his veto two weeks ago.

"We believe that there are no merits to the lawsuit," House Speaker David Wilkins said. "He will not prevail."

Sanford's earlier threats have chilled relations with lawmakers.

"We should have met pre-veto," said Sen. Dave Thomas, R-Fountain Inn, who did not attend the meeting because it was held in secret. "A lot of us are very much mystified."

Only Sens. Mike Fair, R-Greenville, and Greg Ryberg, R-Aiken, briefly met with the governor after about 40 House Republicans spoke with Sanford for nearly an hour.

"I think a meeting like this is important on a regular basis," said Rep. Rex Rice, R-Easley.

Sanford said he warned the General Assembly several times through his State-of-the-State address in January and reports in the media that he would veto the bill, called the Life Sciences Act, if it was loaded with unrelated amendments.

House Minority Leader James Smith, D-Columbia, said he was disappointed the governor did not reach out across party lines to discuss the lawsuit.

"I'm very interested in meeting with the governor, but nobody has asked me," Smith said.

The threat of a lawsuit still left Sanford's fellow Republicans guessing how he would act until the end.

"It is a real shame," said House Ways and Means Chairman Bobby Harrell, who thinks energy could be better spent on passing legislation to move the state forward.

Sanford said his goal was to fix this process to protect taxpayers.

"If there's a willingness to achieve that objective on the legislative side of the equation then I'm certainly willing to give that process a little bit more time before moving forward with a legal option," the governor said.