COLUMBIA, S.C. - Those tiny bottles of liquor will disappear from bar shelves starting Jan. 1 as part of a bill Gov. Mark Sanford signed into law on Tuesday.

Voters asked for the legislation when they approved a state constitutional amendment last fall to end a state law that required bars to serve booze from the 1.7 ounce bottles. South Carolina was the only state that served liquor only from minibottles.

Lawmakers negotiated into the final hours of the session last week, agreeing to allow retail liquor stores the new benefit of delivering minibottles to bars beginning July 1. Retailers will be able to distribute larger bottles of liquor to bars, and the public would be able to purchase minibottles at stores as of Jan. 1.

Wholesalers were left out of the mix, but that issue will be revisited during the 2007 legislative session.

The governor was pleased to sign the law getting rid of the minibottle monopoly because he had been pushing for it since his campaign, Sanford spokesman Will Folks said.

"It's another step in taking our state out of the dark ages in addition to keeping government from mandating that our restaurants pour the stiffest drinks in the country," Folks said.

Sanford also signed 24 other bills into law on Tuesday, including legislation that makes trafficking or manufacturing methamphetamines a violent crime; a bill that strengthens rules to keep better track of convicted sex offenders; and a measure that abolishes the Orangeburg County Board of Education.