The S.C. Senate gave overwhelming support Wednesday to new district lines for its members, but opponents vow the bill is a long way from being passed.

By a 39-6 vote, the Senate agreed -- after two days of delays and filibustering -- to new districts for all 46 senators that will take effect with the 2004 elections. The bill is set to receive final Senate approval today. It still must be approved in the House -- a prospect that becomes more difficult starting today.

"It's now in the hands of House members, who are going to have to decide if they're going to let a plan pass without a public hearing," said state Sen. Darrell Jackson, D-Richland, one of the six senators to vote "no."

He and others argued that the new lines are unnecessary because federal judges drew new district lines in 2001 after the Senate's previous attempts were challenged in court. There also has been no public input into the new lines, Jackson said.

Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, said the changes do not benefit Republicans or Democrats, but, rather, clean up lines the court drew. The court plan leaves more than 130 voting precincts in the state split between two or more Senate districts. The Senate plan eliminates all the split districts.

"It's a big deal because we just passed a plan with major bipartisan and biracial support," McConnell said. "We heal all the precincts across the state, which have caused confusion and long lines at the polls."

Five of the eight black senators voted for the plan.

But state Sen. Phil Leventis, D-Sumter, who voted against the bill, said the Senate plan is far from a sure thing in the House.

House rules say it takes a two-thirds vote of the members present to consider a bill received from the Senate after May 1. The House will not receive the Senate bill until Friday.

While 15 of 21 Democrats voted for the bill in the Senate, House Democrats believe the bill will not receive such positive support in the House.

"I hope not," said House Minority Leader James Smith, D-Richland. "Our first and foremost duty is to the people of our state, not to protect our own electability."

If the vote were held today, Smith said, the bill would fail to receive the two-thirds it needs.

There are 123 members of the House and one vacancy. The bill needs 82 votes to move forward. With 51 Democrats and 72 Republicans in the House, 10 Democrats would have to support the bill if all Republicans vote for it.

Redistricting is the process by which lawmakers draw the lines that form their own districts. It is important because it impacts voting trends and affects communities by adjusting their state representation.

Normally, the state redraws lines for the House, Senate and the state's six congressional districts every 10 years using new Census population data. The General Assembly did this in 2001, but that plan was vetoed by then-Gov. Jim Hodges and challenged in federal court.

The court threw out the lawmakers' plan and drew its own maps. All 124 members of the House of Representatives and six U.S. House members ran on the court-ordered plan in 2002. But the 46 senators are not up for re-election until next year, and Republican leaders in the Senate want to create their own maps.

The new Senate plan only affects the 46 Senate districts, not the S.C. House or U.S. House seats.