A state House of Representatives' bill sponsored by local state legislators would give probate judges more autonomy over how they spend their money.

The change is needed, says Beaufort County probate Judge Frank Simon, for legal and practical reasons.

But some Beaufort County officials and their counterparts around the state are adamantly opposed, saying the change would hinder the county's ability to oversee finances and personnel issues.

"This legislation is supported by the S.C. Association of Probate Judges, it's supported by the chief justice, and it's supported by the vast majority of probate lawyers," Simon said. "It would clarify the law."

The House bill was sponsored by Reps. Catherine Ceips, R-Beaufort, Richard Chalk, R-Hilton Head Island, and Bill Herbkersman, R-Bluffton. It was introduced to the house April 13 and referred to the committee on judiciary.

Simon said that, legally, the change is necessary for the separation of the judiciary from the executive and legislative branches of government. On a practical level, he said, the change would allow for smoother administration. Other states have similar arrangements.

Similar versions of the bill have been submitted in 2003 and 2004 without passing. The proposal would give probate judges "absolute control" over budgeted funds, employee classifications, compensations and promotions.

Probate Court deals with estates, trusts and marriage licenses. Probate judges are the only popularly elected judges in the state. Simon was elected to his first four-year term in 1994.

All state probate courts face the problem of staff retention, according to Simon, who helped craft the legislation on behalf of the S.C. Association of Probate Judges.

With the change, he said, he would be able to supplement the salaries of his clerks using any leftover money. Turnover is high, he said, because clerks frequently are hired away by law firms with the means to pay higher salaries.

County administrator Gary Kubic says he meets with elected county officials each spring to discuss budgets. Unspent money in department budgets goes back to the county's general fund at the end of the fiscal year. This year's meetings with department heads begin this week.

County Council Chairman Weston Newton sent a letter to local representatives on April 19 asking them to vote against the measure. The letters followed two others he had written in previous years, including a 2004 missive that read, in part:

"This bill invades the concept of home rule and will set a precedent that other elected officials might wish to follow creating the possibility of multiple autonomous agencies, each with the ability to dictate funding levels."

Newton said that another objection was the likelihood the change would create disparate personnel policies among different county departments.

Robert Croom, assistant director of the S.C. Association of Counties, took exception to the bill on similar grounds.

Among his chief objections is the portion of the bill that reads:

"The governing body shall make every effort to adopt, approve and effectuate the annual budget as proposed by the probate judge. Barring extraordinary circumstances, the annual budget proposed by the judge ... may not exceed by more than 6 percent of the previous fiscal year."

If the judge and the government cannot agree on a budget, the proposed law says the state Supreme Court would make the decision.

That, Croom said, basically guarantees a 6 percent increase that taxpayers would have little means to fight. Distancing the court from the personnel policies of other county departments also could create the risk of lawsuits, he said, if the policies are seen as uneven.

The Beaufort County Probate Court has a budget of $762,469 for the current fiscal year, which runs through June 30. The court employs the judge, an associate judge, 12 full-time clerks and deputy clerks, and one part-time clerk in its Hilton Head Island office, said Associate Probate Judge Ken Fulp.