COLUMBIA -- Hopes that South Carolinians will be able to repeal the state's minibottle law next year were revived Thursday.

Measures in the House and Senate would authorize a referendum during the November 2004 general election that, if passed, would allow restaurants and bars to use a free-pour bottles rather than minibottles. South Carolina is the only state in the nation with the restriction, which was passed in the early 1970s.

"Thursday, I told a House member that we probably had run out of time," said Tom Sponseller, president of the Hospitality Association of South Carolina, a group that has lobbied in favor of the legislation for years. "But Thursday night at 7 p.m., things changed. É We now have a chance."

Until Thursday, supporters of the measure thought the proposal would be delayed until next year because it hadn't received approval on third reading in either chamber by May 1, the generally accepted cutoff.

A similar House resolution was stuck in committee. The Senate minibottle bill had received the two-thirds majority vote needed for legislation involving constitutional amendments, but opponents had delayed the mandatory third reading vote until after the budget debate.

But on Wednesday, House members approved their resolution out of committee.

"It has never even made it out of committee in the House," said Rep. Bill Cotty, R-Columbia, who has sponsored the legislation for the past nine years.

On Thursday, House members placed the matter and a companion bill on next week's calendar. That evening, Senate minibottle bill sponsor Sen. Wes Hayes, R-Rock Hill, unexpectedly propelled his bill almost to the top of next week's calendar through a special order motion. Now, only the state budget and one other bill stand in the way of almost certain simple majority approval by the Senate, Hayes said.

"We are in a great position to get third reading," he said, adding that convergence of the bills in the House will greatly improve the likelihood of passage.

Hayes made his motion while the measure's most vocal opponent, Sen. Phil Leventis, D-Sumter, was out of the chamber. Leventis is a beer wholesaler.

"Sen. Hayes had the opportunity to give the bill third reading approval right then, but he was extremely polite, " Sponseller commented. "He did not want to jam the bill through. He wanted to give Sen. Leventis a chance to speak on it one more time."

Leventis has said in the past that he worries about a potential decline in tax revenue that could result if the state were to abandon the 25 cent surcharge levied on each minibottle. Out of the approximately $18 million generated annually, some funds support drug and alcohol treatment programs.

But Cotty said the proposed 5 percent excise tax on every drink sold would more than make up the difference.

The legislative session is scheduled to end Thursday, but it may be extended a week due to disagreements over the state budget. An extension can only help the minibottle bills, Cotty said.