COLUMBIA, S.C. - A bill that would give tax credits to parents who transfer their children from public schools got its first official hearing in the House on Wednesday, with proponents outlining the bill's components for legislators.

Dozens of people attended to the hearing, forcing it to be moved to a larger room which still could not hold the crowd that spilled into the hallways.

House Ways and Means subcommittee chairwoman Rep. Shirley Hinson, R-Goose Creek, said the preliminary meeting would let legislators learn more about the bill, so they could ask better questions and give better answers next week when hearing comments from the public. The exact time of the meeting has not been set.

The bill would give tax credits to parents of who transfer their children from public schools to independent schools or other public schools. Homeschooled students could also take advantage of the credit.

Legislators peppered bill proponents with questions ranging from accountability in private schools to whether the bill does enough to ensure protection of taxpayer money to why the bill caps the amount of income a parent can make to receive the tax credit is capped at $75,000.

Eric O'Keefe, who works with LEAD Foundation, told legislators the bill allows parents more choices with their children's education, creating a more competitive educational system that helps drive improvement at public schools.

Much of the discussion surrounded a component of the bill that would allow the creation of organizations that would provide scholarships to cover tuition for students. Both Republican and Democratic committee members worried whether the bill provides enough oversight of so-called "scholarship granting organizations."

Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, said she worried that the bill could allow businesses to avoid paying large tax liabilities by claiming credits for scholarship contributions.

Hinson asked whether a statewide scholarship granting organization could be created to ensure that aid would be available for the neediest parents.

Cobb-Hunter drew applause and cheers from some in the crowd when she asked, if the bill is about helping poor students, "what would happen if we gave tax credits to businesses for making those contributions to public schools?"