Basketball game
delays debate on tuition bill
By Jennifer
Talhelm Knight
Ridder
That fiery House floor debate we've all been expecting on Gov.
Mark Sanford's bill giving tax breaks for private school
tuition?
It's going to be a day later than expected.
About a dozen House members signed up to play basketball in
Raleigh against the Tarheel state's General Assembly, so they have
to leave early Tuesday. That moves the debate to Wednesday.
S.C. lawmakers say they had been planning the game for two months
- long before the tuition tax credit bill was scheduled to be
debated.
The S.C. team has T-shirts, and the Tarheels have reserved the
coliseum in Raleigh and planned a reception.
"I asked that it be moved to accommodate members who want to
play," said the team captain Rep. Adam Taylor, R-Laurens. "I said if
you can't move it, we will cancel."
The bill, called Put Parents in Charge by supporters, is perhaps
the most controversial issue facing the legislature this year.
Lawmakers dealt it a blow this week when they delayed debate till
Tuesday - now Wednesday.
Any bill that is approved by one chamber after May 1 must earn a
two-thirds vote from the other chamber just to be heard this year.
Many think it's unlikely the bill will get two-thirds vote from the
Senate.
"It's past May 1, what does it matter?" Taylor said.
Team members represent both sides of the debate.
Denver Merrill, spokesman for a group lobbying for the bill, said
he hopes they return united over more than basketball. |