State Senate Pushing Deadline On Budget

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- With only four weeks left in this year's South Carolina legislative session, House Speaker David Wilkins is tapping his watch and hinting that it's time for lawmakers to finish the budget.

But much of the work is out of his hands.

Major legislation that the House has already passed, chief among it the state budget, is log-jammed in the Senate.

South Carolina is facing an unprecedented budget gap of more than $500 million. How to fill it has been a source of much discussion in the Senate.

The House finished its version of the budget in March. The Senate is still debating its version.

There are major differences between the budget bills.

The House chose to make drastic cuts and not raise any taxes, while the Senate has considered several tax-increase proposals to head off some of the deeper cuts to education and other programs.

Once the Senate passes its version of the budget, the two bodies must reach compromise on a final plan.

Wilkins held a news conference in his Statehouse office Tuesday to express concern about the pace of the Senate's progress.

If senators aren't done in two weeks, the General Assembly may have to work overtime, Wilkins said.

That could cost the state tens of thousands of dollars it does not have, he said.

"If we have a three-day session, that costs mileage and per diem," Wilkins said. "We took the week off before Easter to save $42,000. We don't have the money to spend. We don't want to spend it."

Greenville state Sen. David Thomas, like Wilkins a Republican, said that he is confident he and his colleagues will complete their work in time.

"I have gone through many, many budget years, where it seemed like we pushed the midnight hour," Greenville state Sen. David Thomas told News 4. "There was weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. Everyone said 'what will we do?,' but it works out."

In addition to the budget, other key legislation passed in the house and awaiting a vote by the Senate includes: campaign finance reform, Medicaid reform, Division of Motor Vehicles restructuring and lowering the blood-alcohol limit for a driving under the influence from .10 to .08 percent.

Wilkins said that he would like all of those to be passed before the end of the session on June 4, but that the budget is clearly the top priority.

Previous Stories:

• May 12, 2003: Slow Senate Budget Debate May Mean Extended Session
• April 16, 2003: Teachers Rally In Columbia To Protest Budget Cuts
• March 14, 2003: Sanford: Raise Cigarette Taxes, Cut Income Taxes
• March 14, 2003: House's $5.1 Billion Budget Could Be Tough On Upstate Schools
• March 12, 2003: Republicans: No New Taxes ... Even On Cigarettes
• March 10, 2003: House To Begin Final Wrangling Over Budget