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COLUMBIA -- A House committee voted Tuesday not to allow the governor appointments on the state Department of Transportation board.

Rep. Brian White of Anderson asked the committee, which previously had voted to allow two appointments by the governor on a proposed nine-member board, to change the structure.

White said allowing the governor two appointments could mean one area of the state could send three commissioners to the board. He proposed keeping the same number of board members as there are now, seven, each elected by lawmakers from each of DOT's service districts.

Lawmakers currently elect six commissioners and the governor appoints the chairman, who cannot vote except in a tie.

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The committee voted 6-2 for White's proposal, with Rep. Jay Lucas of Hartsville and Rep. Bill Clyburn of Aiken voting against it.

"Obviously DOT is an executive agency and our governor is the chief executive officer," Lucas said. "I don't see the harm of him appointing some on the commission."

One of two Senate committees studying DOT has proposed an 11-member DOT board, with 10 being elected by lawmakers and one being appointed by the governor.

Joel Sawyer, a spokesman for Gov. Mark Sanford, praised the committee for proposing to allow the governor to appoint a secretary of transportation.

"It is somewhat worrisome that the House is moving in the opposite direction when it comes to executive branch representation on the DOT board," he said.

The panel also voted to have a performance audit done on the agency every three years.