Sanford vetoes bill letting Lexington hospital open heart center

Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Gov. Mark Sanford vetoed a bill Wednesday that would have let Lexington Medical Center open a heart care center opposed by state regulators.

The state Department of Health and Environmental Control can decide where different types of health care facilities can be built or expanded through what's called a certificate of need process. DHEC opposed the new heart center.

Sanford said in his veto message the process is flawed. "Unfortunately this legislation does not fix the process," Sanford wrote.

The Legislature's rewriting of regulations comes as an administrative law judge is deciding whether to uphold the DHEC's decision or allow the hospital to go ahead.

Sanford said those "rules of engagement" shouldn't be changed in the middle of the process. He said the legislation blurs "the line between branches of government."

The state should have an approval process "and adhere to it or not have one at all," Sanford said.

It will be up to the House to decide whether Sanford's veto stands. Members will need to muster a two-thirds vote to override the veto.

Sanford also vetoed a Senate bill that would have let Lexington County health service district security officers attend the state Criminal Justice Academy. Sanford said it was unconstitutional special legislation that affected just one county.

Sanford has until midnight to decide the fate of two other bills. One raises the fine for people violating the state's child restraint laws to $150 from $25. The second requires pharmacists and others selling pseudoephedrine to better monitor those sales in an effort to curb meth labs.