Amendments may threaten incentive bill

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But Gov. Mark Sanford is still threatening to veto the bill over a tacked-on measure that would make the University of South Carolina's branch campus in Sumter a four-year college. Other amendments would add a culinary school to Trident Technical College in Charleston and a convention center in Myrtle Beach.

The governor remains "strongly inclined" to veto the bill "as a result of these political tack-ons," Sanford spokesman Will Folks said Thursday.

The Life Sciences Act would provide financial incentives to pharmaceutical or biotech companies investing at least $100 million and creating at least 200 high-paying jobs. Lawmakers say a major drug company is waiting to see if the legislation passes before deciding whether to build a facility in the Upstate.

The legislation would also create a $50 million venture capital fund to boost entrepreneurism and provide $220 million to build research "infrastructure" — land, buildings, roads — at the state's three research universities.

"We're going to have to wait and see what happens when the bill reaches the governor's desk," said Chuck Whipple, president of the South Carolina Economic Developers' Association, which supports the incentives legislation and the venture capital fund.

Lawmakers had sent the legislation to a conference committee to work out differences between House and Senate versions. The committee reported the bill out Thursday, and the House passed it 96 to 15. The Senate is expected to vote Tuesday.

On Thursday, the deal ran into trouble on the Senate floor, where legislators questioned plans to spend $7 million on an international tourism conference center in Myrtle Beach. That and other concerns prompted two senators to keep the bill from getting final approval Thursday, according to The Associated Press.

"Not one bit of discussion did we have about this economic development project," Sen. Greg Ryberg, R-Aiken, told the AP.

Some lawmakers said they're not sure if the General Assembly would override a Sanford veto. The governor has line-item veto power for appropriations bills only.

"I'm hopeful the governor will work with the Legislature and recognize that we had to accept certain compromises," said Sen. Jim Ritchie of Spartanburg.

Rep. Bobby Harrell of Charleston, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, said he hopes Sanford won't veto the bill.

"But if he does, I expect that we would try to override it, and if we fail, it just won't happen," Harrell said. A two-thirds vote in both legislative houses is required to override a veto.