The announcement capped a two-week trek across the state in which the governor announced his main issues for the next legislative session, including lowering the state income tax, changing liability laws, providing private school tax credits and restructuring state government.

Most of the items were, in one form or another, key segments of Sanford's agenda last session. The problem is they all died on their way through the General Assembly, an outcome Sanford blamed on archaic Senate rules.

"The bottom line is, if you care about creating new jobs, better government, improving our kids' test scores and making our state more business-friendly, you've got to first update the rules of the Senate," Sanford said. "It's the linchpin. Despite the best efforts of a lot of senators on both sides of the aisle, the current process has proven effective at keeping things from happening, but not so effective at making things happen."

Standing in front of the old courthouse, Sanford detailed his plan to revamp the rules, making it harder for a small group of senators to hold up legislation. His plan calls for raising the number of senators needed to hold up a bill, lowering the number of senators needed to break a filibuster and tightening the rules on bobtailed bills.

The Senate can change its rules only once every four years, after an election year. New rules must be in place by the end of the session's first week.

Sen. Phil Leventis, D-Sumter, has become a favorite target of the governor recently. Several times during the past session, Leventis led filibusters against Sanford's bills. On Wednesday, Leventis said Sanford's efforts to change the rules were more an admission of weakness than a vision.

"Dick Riley and Carroll Campbell were able to get bills passed," he said. "The governor needs to put down the pigs and learn to work with people." Last session, in an effort to criticize what he felt was pork in the state's budget, Sanford brought two pigs into the Statehouse. The move angered lawmakers, who said it was proof he did not work well with others.

Through two sessions, Sanford has been unable to get much major legislation passed. Last session, the governor listed 16 legislative agenda items in his "Checklist for Change." The House passed 14 of them. The Senate passed three.

Several times during the session, Sanford was at loggerheads with members of his own party. Many believe it led to a failed agenda.

The Senate's rules protect the minority party by allowing senators to delay votes through various procedural maneuvers. Senators can hold up votes by simply placing their names on a bill, a courtesy from a prior age when travel to the capitol was more trouble. Senators can also kill a bill by filibuster, a procedure that requires a two-thirds vote to end, or 28 out of 46 senators. Sanford is in favor of decreasing that number to three-fifths of members present.

"Despite what the governor says, it takes more than one senator to hold up legislation," Leventis said. "It takes 18. The truth is, the governor is just not coming up with good, well-thought-out legislation."

Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, who's in the middle of a race against Democrat Justin Kahn, joined Sanford for the press conference, saying the changes were needed.

SANFORD'S 2005 LEGISLATIVE AGENDA

1. Decreasing income taxes

Sanford wants to gradually reduce the state's top income-tax bracket by nearly a third, from 7 percent to 4.75 percent over a six-year period. Last year the governor pushed for the same plan to occur over a 10-year period. The cuts are conditional on the state projecting revenue gains of 2 percent or more each year. In years when this doesn't occur, there won't be any cuts.

2. Government restructuring

Last year, Sanford's plan for restructuring died under it's own weight. This year, he released a pared-down version, focusing on health care and government administration. Sanford still wants to reduce the number of constitutional officers from the current nine to four: governor and lieutenant governor on a joint-party ticket, the attorney general and the treasurer. Elections for adjutant general, education superintendent, comptroller general, secretary of state and agriculture commissioner would be eliminated.

3. Private school tax credits

Last year, Sanford pushed a plan to provide $4,600 in income or property-tax credits for qualifying families, and for businesses or individuals that contribute to scholarship funds, to offset costs of private-school tuition or home-schooling. The plan died in the S.C. House Ways and Means Committee. A Sanford spokesman said last year's plan will serve as a template this year, but the governor would be open to tweaking it.

4. Changing liability laws

Last session, the governor supported efforts in the U.S. House to change the state's liability laws, which Sanford believes are hurting businesses in the state. This year, the governor has made the issue one of his key agenda items. Sanford's plan would include: a $300,000 cap for noneconomic damages, establishing a sliding cap for punitive damages, and limiting venue shopping.

5. Changing Senate rules

After watching several ideas die in the S.C. Senate, Sanford decided rules changes are needed in the more deliberative body. Sanford wants to increase the number of senators needed to hold up a bill, decrease the number needed to end a filibuster and tighten the rules on bobtailed bills.

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