An illness has kept state Rep. Walter Lloyd home through the first two months of the state's legislative session, and there's no indication of when the representative for Colleton and Beaufort counties will return.

Lloyd's daughter and spokeswoman, Tonya Lloyd, said Tuesday that her father would not comment on his illness or his plans to return to the House of Representatives until a news conference in the next two weeks.

Though House staff have said Lloyd, 73, has been recovering from pneumonia, his daughter said she could not comment on his illness and that he had a medical appointment Tuesday.

An outspoken legislator for more than a decade, Lloyd, D-Walterboro, has missed more than 80 roll-call votes on legislation this year, including whether to override the governor's veto of a controversial cap on property value increases during reassessment years, several tort reform bills and continuing budget deliberations.

Lloyd's District 121 seat includes 5,293 registered voters in southern Colleton County and 8,803 voters from northern Beaufort County, including Yemassee, Sheldon, most of Burton, Pigeon Point and the rest of downtown Beaufort north of North Street and west of Charles Street.

Absent even from regional meetings, including last month's Beaufort County Legislative Delegation meeting, its only meeting so far this year, Lloyd usually is involved in the community, said Rep. Thayer Rivers, D-Ridgeland.

"You can't have a meeting of more than three people without having Walter be there," he said.

Although Lloyd has missed several votes, Rivers said it's his input on issues, including education, agriculture and rural land, that is missed most.

Jane Frederick, chairwoman of the Beaufort County Democratic Party, said she hoped Lloyd would recover quickly.

"We miss having him there because he really looked after the interests of the people of Colleton and Beaufort counties," she said.

One battle Lloyd will be missed on is Gov. Mark Sanford's plans for a tax credit for parents transferring their children to private schools, she said. Many Democrats oppose the measure, contending it pulls state money from public schools.

Before the session began in January, Lloyd said he would work to fully fund the state's school systems this year while holding districts accountable for climbing debt attached to new schools.

Lloyd retired in 1992 from the S.C. Department of Education, where he worked as an agricultural consultant. He was first elected to the House in 1995.