COLUMBIA--Round 2 of the Leon Howard vs. John Graham Altman III feud in the state House nearly derailed legislation Thursday to introduce partisan politics to the Charleston County School Board.

Howard, D-Columbia, who two weeks ago called Altman a "racist bastard" on the House floor after Howard's bill requiring wrappers on plastic straws was defeated, broke the Statehouse's "gentleman's agreement" by inserting himself into the Charleston delegation vote, giving opponents of the partisan school board bill the margin to defeat the measure.

In Act 2 of the House's theatrical display, Charleston lawmakers cried foul, chaos ensued and Howard ultimately stepped aside and allowed the bill to pass on a second vote, after opponents of the bill asked that they be given the chance to be defeated with honor.

"I'm not even the sponsor of the bill," said a perplexed Altman, R-Charleston.

Thursday's drama began as a simple vote on local legislation two years in the making. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Arthur Ravenel, R-Mount Pleasant, calls for the nine members of the county school board to identify their political parties and run in primary races. The bill passed last year but was vetoed by then-Gov. Jim Hodges. The legislation was re-introduced and passed by the Senate earlier this session.

The Charleston House delegation was expected to pass the measure largely along party lines, with Republicans for it, Democrats against it. Though there is no law preventing it, members of the General Assembly generally do not vote on legislation directed at a single county unless they represent the area.

As the House's electronic scoreboard lit up, it appeared the vote was 7-6 in favor, with Republican Rep. Ben Hagood joining Democrats in opposing the measure. But when the vote was tallied, the final count was 7-7, with Howard casting a last-second vote that seemingly doomed the effort. A measure fails if the vote is a tie.

Rep. Jim Merrill, R-Daniel Island, asked Speaker David Wilkins to rule on whether Howard could vote. Wilkins reminded him that the unwritten rule that leaves local bills to local lawmakers had no force of law behind it.

The bill appeared dead, until Hagood stepped in. The East Cooper Republican asked for another vote, a courtesy extended only to members who voted with the prevailing side. Since Hagood had voted against the bill, he qualified.

Reps. David Mack and Seth Whipper, both North Charleston Democrats, asked Howard to step aside and not stir up delegation trouble. He agreed.

The bill then passed, 7-6.

Howard, a former Richland County school board member, said later that he was compelled to break the gentleman's agreement because the bill was "not in the best interest of education.

"Being noble gentlemen, Reps. Whipper and Mack asked me not to vote against it," Howard said. "They wanted to take the high road. I don't think John Graham Altman would take the high road in that position. He would take the road that's lower than a snake's belly."

Some Charleston lawmakers said Howard was simply exacting payback for Altman's role in defeating a bill earlier this month that would have banned uncovered drinking straws in restaurants. After that measure failed, Howard rushed Altman on the House floor, called him a "racist bastard" and asked him to step outside, as if challenging him to a fight.

The Charleston bill to require school board candidates to run by political affiliation has raised the eyebrows of several lawmakers, with some stepping into the local debate to question the issue. Merrill argued that party backing in a primary gives candidates more exposure and voters a better idea of their choices.

"The liberals don't want it because they know their people won't win anymore," Merrill said.

Mack, an opponent of the move, said Republican lawmakers weren't listening to the people who showed up at Sen. John Kuhn's hearings on public education earlier this year.

"A majority of Charleston County voters said they didn't want this, black, white, Democrats, Republicans," Mack said. "That's the thing that is so disappointing."

Hagood, the lone dissenting Republican, said he opposed the measure because he preferred the methods of school reform outlined in his pending legislation. One of those bills would create a non-partisan primary, in which a field of candidates without party affiliation would be whittled down to two people who compete in a general election.

"I asked for the reconsideration even though I was pleased with the outcome because I think it's not only important to get the right results, I believe you need to get there the right way," said Hagood, R-Sullivan's Island.

With the vote Thursday, the bill needs only a final, third reading vote from the House on Tuesday to move to the governor's desk. Often, local bills approved on second reading are given "unanimous consent" for third-reading approval, which in this case would have occurred automatically today with the House in perfunctory session.

Altman said he was afraid to ask for that motion.

"I was afraid the speaker would laugh at me," Altman said.