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Date Published: March 5, 2004
USC Sumter clears House
By BRADEN BUNCH
Item Staff Writer
bradenb@theitem.com
The bill containing four-year status for the University of South Carolina Sumter passed only one of the two Statehouse chambers Thursday, postponing a showdown with Gov. Mark Sanford until at least after the weekend.
As expected, the conference committee considering the South Carolina Life Sciences Act reported the compromise bill to the two legislative bodies early Thursday. The bill quickly cleared the House of Representatives, but failed to come up for a vote in the Senate.
The delay in the Senate came after Sen. Greg Ryberg, R-Aiken, requested more time to examine the committee report, upsetting Sen. Phil Leventis, D-Sumter, who said supporters of the proposal had more than the two-thirds needed to pass the measure.
“Anybody in Sumter that knows anyone in Aiken ought to call them up and ask why Greg Ryberg is being so stingy,” Leventis said. “Aiken has gotten so much from the (Sumter) university for USC Aiken, and we’re happy they have, but he’s being awfully darn stingy with anything else for us.”
Students attending USC Sumter are able to earn degrees via their sister school in Aiken, and those students are credited as attending the Aiken campus, and not the Sumter campus.
Ryberg’s request for the delay means a vote has been postponed until Tuesday at the earliest.
The governor has said he will veto the bill because of the USC Sumter measure despite supporting most of the other measures of the bill.
First presented as an amendment to the bill at the end of last year’s legislative session, four-year status for the Sumter campus goes against the governor’s attempt to restructure the state’s higher education system by removing duplication and inefficiencies, Sanford has said.
On Thursday, Will Folks, spokesman for the governor’s office, said Sanford had not altered his position on the issue.
While overriding a veto in the Senate might still be questionable, local leaders believe overriding Sanford in the House would be likely.
The state House of Representatives passed the bill by an overwhelming 96-15 margin, and local representatives said they feel the coalition supporting the measure would be able to override a gubernatorial veto.
“During the discussions there were a few anxious moments, however, we were able to endure,” said Rep. David Weeks, D-Sumter, describing Thursday’s debate.
Weeks said he thinks the governor’s office would have to make a concerted effort to break the coalition and convince enough representatives to change their votes in order to prevent a two-thirds majority from overriding a veto.
“We’ll have to see if he’ll carry through on his threat of a veto,” said Rep. Murrell Smith, R-Sumter. “If this is any indication on how people are going to vote on the override, it would be safe to say we would win.”
Contact Staff Writer Braden Bunch at bradenb@theitem.com or 803-774-1222.
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April 6, 2004
