Life Sciences Bill vetoed by Sanford

Gov. Mark Sanford made good on his threats Tuesday by vetoing an economic development bill that enjoys broad support among lawmakers, business groups and many of the state’s colleges.

The veto was announced Tuesday, a little more than an hour before his midnight deadline to act.

The heart of the bill includes incentives for biomedical companies to relocate to South Carolina and calls for creation of a $50 million venture capital fund to help startup companies.

By vetoing the entire Life Sciences Bill, Sanford averted a potential showdown with lawmakers who feared he would strike only the parts he disagreed with, such as allowing USC Sumter to offer four-year degrees.

In a five-page, point-by-point explanation of his veto, Sanford stressed that he supports the key economic development plans.

But he said the bill had become a cornucopia of amendments cobbled together through legislative deal-making with some of the additions running counter to his plan to better coordinate the state’s higher education system.

“I am vetoing this bill in its entirety because there are so many other components of it that are objectionable which I believe do not serve the best interests of South Carolina,” Sanford wrote.

One amendment would provide $220 million in bond money for research universities to construct new buildings, and $30 million to the state’s other colleges for maintenance needs.

The bill also would make USC Sumter the state’s 13th four-year university, a move that is opposed by top USC officials and the agency charged with overseeing the state’s colleges.

Another provision would grant the General Assembly the sole authority to close college campuses — a direct rebuttal to Sanford’s suggestion to shut down USC Salkehatchie and USC Union.

The bill easily passed the House and Senate earlier this month, and lawmakers expect to garner the two-thirds majority vote in both chambers needed to override Tuesday’s veto.

Sanford kept many insiders guessing about how he would handle the Life Sciences Bill by toying with the idea of vetoing only specific items.

That likely would have led to lawsuits by members of the General Assembly who believed he lacked the authority to issue line-item vetoes on the bill.

Sen. Phil Leventis, D-Sumter, said he would challenge Sanford in the state Supreme Court.

“I’m sorry he vetoed the bill, but I’m glad he chose to do it this way,” Leventis said. “It’s much better to agree to disagree than to battle it out in the courts.”

Other lawmakers were hoping Sanford would strike only specific sections of the bill.

“Parts of this bill just reek, and it’s the kind of thing that makes people hate government,” said Sen. Scott Richardson, R-Beaufort.

The financial stakes of the bill are high, and the relocation of at least one unnamed pharmaceutical company to the Upstate depends on its eventual adoption.

Tom DeLoach, president of the S.C. Business & Industry Political Education Committee, said business groups are anxious about the bill’s fate.

“There’s a lot of great opportunities for economic development (in the bill), but we do know that this General Assembly is filled with a lot of independent-minded individuals,” he said.

Fred Carter, president of Francis Marion University and former Sanford chief of staff, said the bill also caused a lot of hand wringing in higher education circles.

“Most of the universities regard it as a bundle of joy and frustration,” said Carter, whose school stands to gain about $1.5 million in maintenance money. “As it got larger, it really started to muddy the waters.”

Some say Sanford’s veto could jeopardize efforts to gain a foothold in cutting-edge research fields.

The state’s research universities, for example, hope to lure biomedical companies to campus through a relaxation of development rules provided in the bill.

“This is not just another piece of legislation,” said Ray Greenberg, president of the Medical University of South Carolina. “This would allow all of us to move up to the next level. Really it would be a quantum leap from where we are now.”

Reach Stensland at (803) 771-8358 or jstensland@thestate.com