WHAT BEGAN AS A worrisome property tax revolt in the state Senate could turn into our best chance in more than a decade to get to a more rational tax system, precisely because of the blunt instrument that tax opponents seized to make their point.

The uprising started last week, when Sen. David Thomas tried unsuccessfully to bypass the Senate Finance Committee and bring up a poorly thought-out tax swap bill for debate on the floor. After getting a tongue-lashing from both Finance Chairman Hugh Leatherman and President Pro Tempore Glenn McConnell, Mr. Thomas and his colleagues lost their effort — but only momentarily. They immediately managed to pluck an even worse measure from Sen. McConnell’s Judiciary Committee, threatening to plunge the Senate into an ill-informed debate on eliminating routine reassessment.

If there’s anything legislators could do that is worse than ignoring a dysfunctional tax system that is crumbling under its own weight, it is to rush forward with a simplistic “solution” to rising property taxes.

Fortunately, that’s not going to happen — or at least it doesn’t have to happen.

Sens. McConnell and Leatherman quickly huddled and agreed to form a special committee to review the property tax system this summer and fall — a process that, if taken seriously, will inevitably lead to a review of the entire tax code. Then they, along with Sens. Larry Martin, Chip Campsen and Tom Alexander, issued a statement declaring that “The issue is now a centerpiece for the next session.”

Yes, we’ve been down this road before. Too many times to count. A panel is formed to study the tax system. It meets. It fades away. Or else it issues a report that fades away.

But there are at least four reasons to think things could turn out differently this time:

• There’s a gun to the head of those who want to avoid knee-jerk, populist “solutions” to a complex problem. The tax-cut gang agreed by week’s end to hold off on debating the no-reassessment bill — but only until Jan. 30.

• There’s a high-powered outside group involved. The new giant gorilla in South Carolina politics — Darla Moore’s Palmetto Institute — has its own, well-financed study of the tax system set to come out this summer. Ms. Moore has made it clear she does not expect her report to gather dust.

• The most powerful member of the Senate has figured out this matters. One of the biggest problems with the Senate since Republicans took over has been that Mr. McConnell was not attuned to things financial. That has changed, now that he has figured out how the entire tax code affects his constituents’ property taxes.

• The Senate is engaged. Most of the big talk about big reform over the past decade has come from the House, with the Senate merely nodding in agreement; knowing that any House bill likely was DOA across the hall has made it easier for House leaders to ignore the controversial decisions that must be part of serious reform.

Sens. McConnell and Leatherman can further improve the chance of getting serious reform by making wise appointments. Two choices are obvious: Sen. Wes Hayes, a widely respected Republican whose studious approach helps any topic, and Sen. Vincent Sheheen, the Democratic half of the team that lit a fire under the idea of real reform two years ago.

The House is about to undergo a potentially bruising and difficult leadership transition that threatens to take it out of the tax debate for the rest of the year. Now, more than ever, it’s time for the Senate to lead.