COLUMBIA - An attempt to require court-appointed guardians ad litem to disclose their fees stalled in a House committee last week, but it still has a chance of passage.

The fees came under scrutiny last year as part of the debate over reform of the guardian ad litem system. The system that caused the controversy is the one that allowed the guardians to be appointed by family court judges to represent the children in child custody disputes during divorce cases.

Complaints of exorbitant and unregulated fees imposed without approval of the parents were filed during debate on that bill and during the re-election of Horry County Family Court Judge Tommy Abbott. His re-election was stalled over guardian issues, with his supporters saying he was made a poster child for the reform movement.

But the guardian reforms did not require the fees to be recorded anywhere other than within the case file. Someone wanting to know how much a certain guardian earned from assigned cases would have to go to the courthouse and examine each file.

Rep. John Graham Altman, R-Charleston, sponsored the bill requiring guardians to report their fees once a year, saying that "if you use the court system to get paid," people should have a way of knowing how much.

But Altman's bill required guardians to pay a $20 filing fee, and Rep. Murrell Smith, R-Sumter, didn't like that. He said sometimes he has to serve as a guardian for $100 and it's not fair to pay a fifth of that to file a report, especially for those who don't seek guardian work but have it assigned to them.

Smith moved to send the bill back to a subcommittee for more study, which was agreed to on a voice vote.

Seat belts

Debate in the House last week centered on a bill to allow police to stop people for not wearing seat belts. Currently, they can ticket for not using seat belts only if they find that offense after stopping a motorist for a different violation.

The current law makes the state's seat belt law toothless, the bill's sponsors said. Most states that require seat belts list the failure to buckle as worthy of being stopped and ticketed.

Opponents say it is a personal freedom issue and the state should not be acting as everyone's mother.

The bill will have rough going in the Senate, though, where the leadership is generally opposed to issues such as seat belt enforcement.

Here's how local House members voted on the seat belt bill:

Voting yes: Alan Clemmons, R-Myrtle Beach; Jackie Hayes, D-Hamer; Tom Keegan, R-Surfside Beach; Vida Miller, D-Pawleys Island; Bubber Snow, D-Hemingway; Billy Witherspoon, R-Conway.

Voting no: Liston Barfield, R-Aynor; Thad Viers, R-Myrtle Beach. Jim Battle, D-Nichols, did not vote.

Drug prices

Bills requiring drug companies to sell products at the same prices for Medicare patients as for Medicaid patients gained the favor of a Senate subcommittee Wednesday but were held for more study.

Sen. Dick Elliott, D-North Myrtle Beach, is a sponsor of one of the bills aimed at lowering drug costs for seniors.

The panel agreed on the concept but not the wording of bills. Another measure, sponsored by Elliott and Sen. Luke Rankin, D-Myrtle Beach, sets up a drug-buying consortium to band with other states for lower wholesale prices.

A similar House bill sponsored by Rep. Alan Clemmons, R-Myrtle Beach, was incorporated into the state budget the House sent to the Senate.

Elliott said the Senate is determined to pass some form of drug-cost relief. The measures are the top priority of the Silver Haired Legislature.

Another Silver Hair priority is the nursing home ombudsman program. A House bill authorizing that has reached the agenda for debate.

Road name

The House passed and sent to the Senate a resolution sponsored by Horry County members asking the state Department of Transportation to name the Conway Perimeter Road "Billy Jordan Boulevard." The road runs between U.S. 521 and U.S. 378 west of Conway.

Next week

The House is off next week to save money. Usually, the House takes off one day in the week before Easter, a sort of midterm break.

When the House comes back, there will be seven more weeks in the legislative session, not including extra days that can be added to resolve issues.

Meanwhile, the Senate Finance Committee is racing to finish its version of the budget.

The week is mainly devoted to time for the Finance Committee to finish its work and prepare the document for floor debate in two weeks.