Gov. Mark Sanford during his term has taken exception to a number of bills the General Assembly has approved because they violate the S.C. Constitution and other laws. He should have used his veto and bully pulpit to help change a bad practice that lawmakers have used for 30 years to skirt the state Home Rule law.

Little doubt exists that a piece of special legislation crafted to affect only the five counties in the 14th Judicial Circuit could be beneficial to a lot of spouses and children. The law signed by the governor on June 10 allows -- but doesn't mandate -- the solicitor to take first-time domestic violence offender cases to the circuit court instead of magistrate's court. The domestic violence prosecution law changes oversight from the Department of Social Services to the solicitor's office but is effective only in circuits of five or more counties. The 14th Judicial Circuit is the only one that fits the criteria.

The governor was on the right track in January when he included $2.2 million in his executive budget to combat domestic violence. Domestic abuse is a huge problem nationwide, especially in South Carolina.

Duffie Stone, 14th Circuit solicitor, has made headway with a strategy that may lead to more convictions in Beaufort County without the need for victims to cooperate. Stone assigned at least one assistant solicitor to on-call duty to respond immediately to the scene of a domestic-violence case to interview victims or witnesses, gather evidence and prosecute the offender.

But the 14th Circuit with 2,963 reported cases in 2004 isn't S.C.'s worst. At least three have a higher caseload: the 3rd Circuit -- 3,765; the 15th -- 3,684; and the 13th - 3,082. While the 14th Circuit has an eager-beaver solicitor who should be turned loose, the remainder of the state has a problem that needs solving, too.

The state is making progress along the road to protecting the victims of domestic violence, but lawmakers should abandon a procedure that circumvents the Constitution. This is a crime that deserves more attention in all circuits and counties. They should revisit this law next session and add money if necessary to implement it statewide. The money spent in the courts may be offset by a reduction in other agencies, including Citizens Opposed to Domestic Abuse, hospitals and mental health centers, schools, ministers and other social groups.

But they have to end the habit that special legislation and the governor could have helped.