The bill was filed in the House in reaction to the increasing opposition of county councils to large-scale confined animal operations that have created problems for the areas that surround them, primarily with water contamination and odor. Several counties in the Pee Dee have approved local restrictions in addition to the state regulations that govern them.

"I don't know why the House bothered to send it over," Sen. Arthur Ravenel, R-Charleston, said of the bill. "It's a non-event his year."

Reportedly, though, poultry interests are seeking a separate exemption from local zoning regulations, recognizing that the main local objection has been to hog farms. While poultry farms haven't created anything like the problems of large-scale hog farms, the principle of local control is one that the Legislature should generally recognize. What's good for the pig is good for the pullet.

Sen. Phil Leventis, D-Sumter, tells us he's unaware of any poultry farmers being turned down for operating permits by local authorities for merely arbitrary reasons. South Carolina is dotted with poultry houses, he said, and while the state has experienced little problem with them, that's no reason to eliminate local control. Passing any exemption will simply encourage other efforts to eliminate local control over land-use planning, he said.

"DHEC has no land-use expertise, mandate or understanding," Sen. Leventis said. "Land-use planning ought to be local."

The Senate might not get to the bill because of time constraints and the crush of other business. The best fate for the proposal would be repudiation. The Senate should affirm the principle of home rule.