Voters would get to voice their opinions on school start dates under a bill proposed last week by two local legislators.

Complaints from voters about early school start dates spawned the bill that brings the issue back to the table when the session convenes next month.

State Rep. Billy Witherspoon, R-Conway, and Rep. Vida Miller, D-Pawleys Island, are co-sponsoring the measure, filed last week, calling for a nonbinding advisory referendum for the 2004 general election on whether all schools should start after Labor Day.

A bill earlier this year that proposed a uniform school start date closer to Labor Day was the most bitter and divisive topic of the past legislative session.

The issue was driven by those in the tourism industry who say revenue has steadily dropped in August since schools began opening earlier. Most schools in the state open the first or second week of August, a rapid change in the past 10 years from schedules that mostly started near Labor Day.

Most legislators thought the issue was behind them when state Superintendent Inez Tenenbaum agreed to a last-minute compromise that schedules crucial achievement tests later in the school session. After that, action on the bill was dropped.

Many districts said they started school earlier to have more time to prepare for the tests.

Witherspoon said he proposed the measure because he thinks the opposition was mainly driven by teachers and school administrators.

"I think the people ought to speak; that's what I'm trying to do," he said.

Witherspoon said he heard during the session-long debate that parents want school to start later and heard the same comments over the summer.

The votes on the referendum could guide legislators in passing a law on school start dates, Witherspoon said.

Neal Thigpen, a political scientist at Francis Marion University, served on the state Election Commission from 1978 to 1994 and said he does not know of any previous advisory referendum.

"There's nothing to gauge it against as to how much impact it would have with legislators," Thigpen said.

But it would give lawmakers cover to support a uniform start date if a wide majority favors it, he said.

Miller said she has continued to hear complaints about early school openings.

Miller owns an art gallery and frame shop at Pawleys Island and has experienced the fall-off of business when school starts across most of the state in early August.

"I understand the business end of it; and I understand that starting school later, especially for the coastal areas, does extend the tourism season, which we all depend on," she said.

Tom Sponseller, president of the S.C. Hospitality Association, thinks the question will pass.

"The legislators aren't hearing that much from parents. This would guarantee that parents were heard," Sponseller said.

The bill has been sent to the House Judiciary Committee and will most likely be assigned to its Special Laws Subcommittee.

Rep. Philip Sinclair, R-Spartanburg, is chairman of that subcommittee. He was opposed to the uniform start date bill but said he will give a fair hearing to the proposal.