Date Published: April 27, 2006   

Delegation revives
USC Sumter bill

Lawmakers: House likely to pass legislation this week; still must go to Senate

By LESLIE CANTU
Item Staff Writer
lesliec@theitem.com

Sumter's legislative delegation revived legislation late Wednesday afternoon granting four-year status to the University of South Carolina Sumter and expects to see the House pass the bill this week.
The bill must still go before the Senate, and after that Gov. Mark Sanford.

State Reps. David Weeks, D-Sumter; Grady Brown, D-Bishopville; Joe Neal, D-Hopkins; Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, and Marty Coates, R-Florence, introduced the bill in March 2005, after the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that legislation granting the campus four-year status was unconstitutional because it had too many unrelated provisions.

The House gave first reading to the current bill March 1, 2005, then sent it to the education and public works committee, where it's remained ever since.

Weeks sprang the bill from committee Wednesday with some fancy parliamentary footwork, and the House gave it second reading.

"I always felt we could pass this bill if we could get it out of committee," Weeks said.

The university system administration didn't lobby against the bill, he said, although administrators didn't come out in favor of it, either.

"Because of the margin of it passing, 77 to 27, I honestly don't see why we would have a problem getting third reading," Weeks said.

He's not sure what the atmosphere in the Senate is, though. Only one legislator, state Rep. B.R. Skelton, R-Pickens, spoke against the bill, Smith said, saying the bill would have a fiscal impact and wasn't working in conjunction with the Commission on Higher Education.

But the House as a whole didn't debate the bill much, he said.

"This is a bill that passed the House and the Senate in years past," Smith said.

However, it's getting late in the legislative session, which can make bills more difficult to pass, he said.

State Sen. Phil Leventis, D-Sumter, was delighted to learn of the House's action.

"This will keep the focus on USC Sumter and keep the focus on the positive things happening in Sumter," he said.

Getting the bill through the Senate could be difficult, he said, but the delegation will continue to work with university President Andrew Sorensen and the commission.

"All we're asking them to invest in us is confidence. We're not asking for more money," Leventis said.

Smith and Weeks were upbeat Wednesday afternoon as they received congratulations from fellow House members on the bill's successful second reading. Weeks emphasized the teamwork of the entire delegation, not just the resident representatives, in getting approval.

Brown, Coates and Neal made "very strong efforts" on the bill's behalf, Weeks said.



Contact Staff Writer Leslie Cantu at lesliec@theitem.com or 803-774-1250.