State & Regional Interest	Wednesday, May 21, 2003
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Senators work into early morning hours on state budget (Published May 21‚ 2003) COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Sen.s spent Tuesday night working out the details of the state budget and were expected to spend Wednesday charting a plan for state lottery spending. The Senate took up and adopted or killed dozens of amendments before adjourning just before 2 a.m. Wednesday. One of those amendments would get rid of the Education Oversight Committee, an agency formed to help implement the 1998 Education Accountability Act. The proposal passed on a 32-10 vote. Supporters of the amendment say the oversight committee duplicates functions of the state Education Department. The move would save about $1.2 million. The Education Oversight Committee will now become fodder for a Senate and House conference committee that will work out differences in versions of the spending plan, said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence. It will have plenty of company. For instance, Sen. Greg Ryberg won a 38-3 vote that will keep legislators and agencies from obscuring pork projects in agency budgets. Ryberg used a proposal of House Republican Majority Leader Rick Quinn, of Columbia, as an example. Quinn funneled $900,000 to the Richland County Recreation Commission to pay for soccer and baseball fields in his district through the Department of Health and Environmental Control budget. "The General Assembly didn't know what is in some of these agency budgets," Ryberg said. Agencies that help obscure funding will lose the money, and it will instead go to schools, Ryberg said. The urgency to get work done Tuesday showed up as senators began objecting to delays in debating those amendments. "We've had a good day today, it's a shame we couldn't do this two weeks ago," Leatherman said. The Senate is expected to spend Wednesday working out the details of the state lottery spending plan. Still ahead is a debate on a separate bill seen as the Senate's last chance to head off deeper spending cuts at the Education Department and in Medicaid programs. Senate rules forced plans to increase the cigarette tax and sales taxes from the state budget. "I suspect in the wee hours of the morning or daybreak we'll take a break" then take up that bill, Leatherman said. Going into Tuesday night, the budget debate was still well behind schedule. The amendment wrangling usually comes in the first days of debate. The Senate is now in its eighth day of debate and burning through its third week. A budget debate that usually takes a week has been stymied by a lack of money and no agreement on raising taxes or cutting state programs. There were tense moments during the day as tempers surfaced. Sen. Phil Leventis, D-Sumter, offered an amendment to take about $26,000 out of Republican Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer's budget. Leventis, Bauer's opponent in the Nov. 5 election, said the budget as it stands shields Bauer's budget from the same cuts other agencies are taking. But, Sen. Jake Knotts, R-West Columbia, said that the lieutenant governor inherited a budget from then-Lt. Gov. Bob Peeler that "was in shambles because of budget cuts." Peeler's brother, Sen. Harvey Peeler, R-Gaffney, fired back. "Explain the shambles" Peeler demanded. Knotts said it was all tied to last year's budget cuts and that he wasn't knocking the former lieutenant governor. Both teamed up on Leventis. "When it comes to slamming the present lieutenant governor, let someone else do it," Peeler said. "You ran for the office. ... It just doesn't look good." "I'm doing what I think is the appropriate thing to do," Leventis said.

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