Legislators close year with new speaker

ROBERT W. DALTON, Staff Writer

COLUMBIA -- The state House said goodbye to Speaker David Wilkins and hello to Speaker Bobby Harrell on Thursday, the final day of the legislative session.

The Senate didn't endure a filibuster, ending a three-year streak of last-day gridlock.

And by the time they called it a year shortly before 5 p.m., lawmakers had put the finishing touches on some key legislation.

Heading to Gov. Sanford's desk is a bill that will allow bars and restaurants to pour liquor from large bottles. Currently, South Carolina is the only state that requires the use of minibottles.

Last November, voters approved amending the state constitution to eliminate the requirement that drinks be mixed from the 1.75-ounce minibottles. Sanford is expected to sign the bill -- which also would allow liquor stores to sell minibottles, something that currently isn't allowed.

Sanford said he is undecided about what he'll do with a bill that would allow police to stop adult motorists for not wearing a seat belt. Violators would face a $25 fine.

Violations would not be reported to insurance companies, nor would they be admissible as evidence of negligence in lawsuits. Law enforcement also could not set up roadblocks to ticket drivers.

Those provisions concern Sanford.

"The fine is less than the price of two movie tickets, and it's not admissible in court," Sanford said. "I have a problem with a bill like that."

The House's top priority, a bill designed to spark job creation that originally passed in January, gained final approval as time was winding down. The Jobs Creation act would give tax credits to small businesses that hire at least two new workers, down from the 10 new employees currently required.

Businesses would receive a full credit if the jobs pay at least 120 percent of the state's or the county's per-capita income, whichever is higher. If the pay doesn't reach that threshold, the businesses would still qualify for half of the credit.

Legislators also passed a bill reforming the state retirement system, ensuring that retirees will receive a 3.4-percent cost-of-living increase this year and at least a 1-percent raise in the future.

The bill would increase the amount workers pay into the system from 6 percent to 6.5 percent, effective July 1, 2007. It also takes away new retirees' rights to file grievances.

"The big issue for me is that the retirees are depending on that cost-of-living increase," said Rep. Mike Anthony, D-Union, an educator. "I'm willing to give more to the system to guarantee that they get a cost-of-living raise for life."

On the local front, the Spartanburg County delegation ironed out a bill that would transfer ownership of National Guard armories in Inman, Jonesville and Lockhart to the respective cities.

Sen. John Hawkins, R-Spartanburg, originally sponsored the bill to transfer the Inman armory to Spartanburg School District 1, but the city requested ownership and Sen. Glenn Reese, D-Boiling Springs, and Rep. Ralph Davenport, R-Boiling Springs, amended the bill. Anthony then added Jonesville and Lockhart to the mix.

Harrell, a Charleston Republican, became the last man standing in the race to replace Wilkins when Rep. Jim Harrison, R-Columbia, pulled out Thursday morning. Wilkins, who has served as speaker for 11 years, will be sworn in on June 21 as the new ambassador to Canada.

"I'm more overcome than I anticipated being, quite frankly," Harrell said shortly after being sworn in.

Harrell was elected by a 118-1 vote. Rep. Dan Tripp, R-Mauldin, a Harrison supporter, staged a one-man protest against Harrell's election.

"I am taking a principled vote against an unprincipled leader, a leader who has personally threatened me with retribution on two occasions," Tripp said in a statement.

"My no vote on Bobby Harrell's election to speaker is a symbolic vote on behalf of all the people who were directly threatened or who feared retribution in this race for speaker."

Tripp said Harrell, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, twice threatened to keep him from "getting anything in the budget," -- once last year and again this year.

Harrell has a one-word response when asked whether he had threatened Tripp: "No," he said.

Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, serves on the Ways and Means Committee and said she'd never seen Harrell threaten anyone. She called Tripp a sore loser.

"He's got no home training and no class," she said. "He needs to know when to let it go."

Robert W. Dalton can be reached at 562-7274 or bob.dalton@shj.com.