COLUMBIA--The state Senate on Thursday passed Public Service Commission reform legislation that would delay the election of new board members until next year.

The bill, which passed the Senate on a 43-0 vote, requires college degrees for members and bars the spouses or live-at-home children of lawmakers from seeking a seat on the board that regulates the state's utilities.

It is more restrictive legislation than the PSC reform bill passed by the state House last month. In fact, the measure is much like the Senate bill passed last year that the House refused to act upon.

Now, both sides say the issue is likely headed for a conference committee in hopes that the General Assembly can reach some sort of compromise.

Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn McConnell said the unanimous vote is a message to the House that senators insist on stricter rules for serving on the agency that approves or denies rate changes for all of South Carolinas electric, water, cable and telephone companies.

"If they don't get the message now that we're pretty serious, they aren't going to," said McConnell, R-Charleston.

Still, there appears some spirit of compromise in the air. McConnell said that next week the Senate Judiciary Committee will likely amend and pass out the House version of PSC reform to give lawmakers another vehicle for change. If the Senate amends the House bill to its liking, that legislation could go to a conference committee. Only bills that have passed both chambers can go to a conference committee, which is a group of three senators and three House members who negotiate a final version of the legislation.

The House version requires only that PSC candidates have a high school degree for the $78,000 a year part-time job. The Senate says members should have at least a college degree and, preferably, some knowledge or expertise in business, law or the industries they would be regulating.

House Speaker David Wilkins said Thursday that he is encouraged by the Senate's action and hopes the chamber will pass the House version next week so the two sides can hash out their differences in conference.