Any hopes that the S.C. Supreme Court would give its blessing to the ballot language ended Wednesday, when its justices unanimously declined to rule on the language, saying they could find no "justiciable controversy."

The ballot asks if voters want the county's sales tax to rise from 6 percent to 6-1/2 percent for 25 years or until $1.3 billion is raised for road projects, including the new Cooper River bridge, for public transit and for "greenbelts," such as parks and other lands.

Last month, S.C. Attorney General Henry McMaster's office issued an opinion stating that voters should be able to cast separate votes on the different projects.

The opinion did not carry the force of law, but McMaster agreed to work with the county to see if the Supreme Court would lift any legal cloud before the vote. The answer was no.

McMaster said Wednesday he wasn't surprised that those efforts were in vain, adding, "There's no telling that another route would have produced a better result or any result at all."

County Council's acting chairman Curtis Bostic, a lawyer himself, also wasn't surprised with the court's decision, but Bostic said he was confident the ballot language would hold up in court.

"I honestly don't know what else could have been done to comply with the law, and I think the Supreme Court will concur with that," he said.

The order said the Supreme Court would get involved only in a "real and substantial controversy" instead of a hypothetical question.

"Addressing the merits of this matter would amount to issuing an advisory opinion, which this court has consistently declined to do," the order said.

Joey Douan, one of the plaintiffs who successfully toppled the 2002 vote, said the court's refusal to get involved will encourage him to sue.

"The likelihood is increasing every minute that we're going to have to do something," Douan said, "We feel like we have no other choice. ... I don't want to give the impression that I enjoy going to court because I don't."

For those who have followed the sales tax controversy, all this might seem like deja vu.

In 2002, county voters narrowly approved the half-cent sales tax, but the Supreme Court later tossed out the result because the ballot language was biased. It described the tax as a "traffic congestion relief, safe roads and clean water sales tax."

McMaster said Wednesday that he doubts whether the 2004 ballot language ultimately will stand up in court.

"Does our opinion (questioning the language) still stand? Yes it does," he said. "That's why we recommended in the opinion that the matter be taken to the trial court and go through that route if the county wanted clarification."

Bostic said he has read the attorney general's opinion, but he put little stock in it, describing it as "one of the most inartful memorandums of law I've read in my life."

Bostic also said it was "interesting" that the opinion came weeks after the ballot was written, "at a time when there was little that could be done anyway."

McMaster noted his office wrote the opinion as soon as possible after it was requested by state Sens. Glenn McConnell and Arthur Ravenel and state Rep. Chip Limehouse, all Charleston-area Republicans. His office is required to issue opinions when lawmakers ask for them.

"We're disappointed for the county because we know the county wanted to have a resolution of this issue so they could proceed with the vote, possibly with the clouds removed," McMaster said. "There really was no good way out of this once we were all in it."

HALF CENT FORUMS

Anyone seeking information on Charleston County's half-cent sales tax vote may attend two forums next week in downtown Charleston, including:

-- A panel discussion, "The Half Cent Sales Tax and You," at 6:30 p.m. Monday in room 309 of the College of Charleston's Simons Center on St. Philip Street.

-- The League of Women Voters' half-cent forum, from 7-8:45 p.m. Tuesday at the Charleston County Library, 68 Calhoun St. Those attending will have a chance to ask questions.

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