The Statehouse became an open house for a while this week as Gov. Mark Sanford held his first Open Door After 4, meeting with anybody who wanted to come by and had signed up in advance.

Between 3:50 and 10:07 p.m. Wednesday, Sanford met with 46 people, one-on-one, in his office. Some came by to bring gifts, others to have their picture made. (No word on how many Parrotheads, in town for the Jimmy Buffett show at the Carolina Center that night, stopped in.) A good number of them also were in need of some constituent services help. Sanford spokesman Chris Drummond said staffers got on those problems and had answers within a day.

The event was popular. All the time slots, which had to be booked earlier in the day, were filled within 12 minutes. Sanford's next Open Door After 4 dates are Feb. 19 and March 5, both of which are already booked.

Sanford will announce his next day for the open houses soon, and staffers say he eventually will hold such sessions in towns across the state. Sanford doesn't expect everyone to come to Columbia just to see him (even if it is kind of cool to hang out in the governor's office).

The Legislative Audit Council's report on the Public Service Commission got some lawmakers moving with their plans to reform the agency. Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell of Charleston has insisted on revamping the commission, which regulates the state's utilities, before new elections for board members can be held. (They are nearly a year overdue now.)

Lawmakers may have been upset to find that PSC commissioners are making more than they do on per diem and mileage. In fiscal year 2001-02, the six commissioners collected between $805 and $20,045 in "subsistence" reimbursements, and up to $4,508 in mileage. (The average was $2,003.)

Sen. Robert Ford dropped in legislation that would move control of the Charleston Naval Complex Redevelopment Authority to the city of North Charleston. Ford said the idea was batted around in the past session, but lawmakers backed off from it after reaching an agreement to expand the port to the old Navy Base. Though Ford has the obvious support of North Charleston officials, no other Charleston lawmakers have signed on to the bill. It now sits in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

A bill that would combine Charleston County's voter and election offices hit a snag in the state House this week when state Rep. Floyd Breeland said the move, which basically would abolish the Voter Registration Office and fire its employees, should be amended. McConnell also has expressed concern about the employees' future, and a solution could emerge as early as the coming week, some say.

The House Ways and Means Committee unsurprisingly adopted the legislation introduced by leadership to cap government growth this week.

The legislation creates a new formula forecasting growth based on population and inflation, and sets an upward limit of 6 percent of annual appropriations. The legislation also would establish a spending limit reserve fund to replenish the state's rainy-day fund. It will be debated in the full House in the coming week, and is expected to pass easily. After that, its fate is unclear. Few senators have said much about the House initiative.

The House also introduced legislation to revamp the state's Division of Motor Vehicles by making it a stand-alone agency. Currently the DMV is part of the Public Safety Department. House Speaker David Wilkins said the DMV has been moved around too much and needs to stand alone, and it needs accountability. Under this plan, the governor would appoint a director, who would be confirmed by the Senate.

Sanford praised the legislation, noting the similarities between the findings of the House study committee and his own task force, which he set up shortly after winning election in November. Most observers expect to see this legislation pass in some form or another before the end of the session, as lawmakers have made much hay out of their intentions to "fix" the problems with DMV, which has been criticized for lines longer than those for beer at the aforementioned Buffett show.

This week, the House will take up predatory lending in subcommittee and begin work on a PSC reform bill. Also in subcommittee, the .08 DUI legislation. In the full House, the spending cap bill. Also, expect to see a continued debate over school start dates throughout the state. A fight has been brewing in the Senate about who gets to set opening day for schools. Different regions of the state seem to have different ideas about when school should start, and the bottom line is that the Upstate doesn't want the PeeDee telling them when to convene school. Should be interesting.