On the last day of the General Assembly's 2004 session, legislators approved a bill aimed at stemming the rapid rise of property taxes by capping increases in reassessment appraisals at 20 percent.

The bill received its final legislative approval June 3. Now, more than four months later, Gov. Mark Sanford still hasn't decided whether he'll sign or veto the bill, and legislators involved in the process say they don't have the slightest clue what he'll do.

State law requires property to be reassessed once every five years. Beaufort County was scheduled for its countywide reassessment in 2003, but opted for a one-year delay.

Many Beaufort County properties have increased in value, with some properties rising by 300 percent or more. Deputy assessor Robert Reames said about 70 percent of the parcels in the county would be affected by the bill.

Tax bills are expected to be sent out in mid-October and are due by Jan. 15.

Sanford has three options: sign the bill into law, veto it or do nothing, in which case the bill automatically becomes law. The governor said Saturday he would make a decision "shortly."

Beaufort County's Legislative Delegation supported the bill, but none of the lawmakers claims to know how Sanford will act on it.

State Sen. Scott Richardson, who sponsored the amendment that tacked the assessment cap onto a larger bill, said he wanted to see the governor make a decision soon.

"We continue to wait," said Richardson, R-Hilton Head Island. "It's very frustrating. I think everybody's frustrated about it."

Rep. Bill Herbkersman, R-Bluffton, said he had received more phone calls from the public on that issue than any other, and that all callers assured him that he was right to support it.

"They just think (the current system is) inequitable," he said. "They're already paying a lion's share for equal services, and they're just getting hit up again. They're getting taxed off their retirement property."

Sanford says he's having his legal team review the bill's constitutionality. But legislators said it wasn't the governor's decision whether the bill would pass constitutional muster; that decision should be left to the courts, they said.

"It's not up to the governor's office to decide whether it's constitutional," Richardson said.

But the governor noted that when he was sworn into office, his oath requires him to uphold the constitution.

"I think that which is or isn't constitutional always has to be a driver in my decision-making process because if you skip it, you're really skipping the first promise you make when you're sworn into office," Sanford said.

The legal questions center on two issues.

First, some opponents have said the bill would violate the constitution's requirement that property taxes "shall be laid upon the actual value of the property taxed." The other concern is regarding the General Assembly's requirement that bills affecting revenue pass by a two-thirds vote; the Senate approved the bill on a voice vote, which does not guarantee that two-thirds of the members in fact voted for it.

Even if Sanford vetoes the bill, lawmakers are confident they could summon the two-thirds majority needed to override his veto and make the bill a law. Or, they said, lawmakers could pass a new bill that contains essentially the same provisions.

Richardson said, "I don't think the issue's going to go away."

House Speaker David Wilkins said he also hadn't had any indication as to whether the governor would sign or veto the bill but noted that it received "overwhelming support" when it passed the House earlier. He said the governor could veto the bill and ask legislators to consider some other ideas that might have a similar effect.

"I would listen to what the governor had to say, but I do not have any reasons to think I would change my vote," said Wilkins, R-Greenville.

If the bill becomes law, all local entities that collect property taxes -- including county and municipal governments, schools, fire districts and public utility districts -- could be required to recalculate taxpayers' bills. Almost all of those entities already have set their tax rates based on the recently completed property assessments.

But if the property reassessment cap takes effect, all properties that increased in value by more than 20 percent would be appraised for tax purposes at a lower value. That means the tax rate would have to increase for the county and all of the entities that receive property taxes, said Tom Henrikson, Beaufort County controller.

The governor said in a speech Saturday on Hilton Head that his legal team still is reviewing the bill.

"We're looking at that very, very hard right now," Sanford said. "We'll come down on that one way or the other here shortly."