In Wednesday’s paper, we reported a biting quote from Rep. Mike Pitts, R-Laurens, blasting Gov. Mark Sanford for vetoing a bill creating a sportsmen’s caucus.

But somewhere between our brains and our fingers, we mistakenly attributed the colorful quote to Rep. Ted Pitts, R-Lexington.

Oops.

Thankfully, both lawmakers are, well, good sports.

“I tell people that I am older and smarter, and he is younger and better looking,” Mike Pitts said.

“I just thought it was funny,” Ted Pitts said.

Given the sentiment in Lexington County recently over the governor’s veto of a bill important to Lexington Medical Center, getting credit for the quote might be a good thing for Ted Pitts.

For the record, lawmakers in the House and Senate voted to override the veto.

MORE ON THE WEB

What you can find online at thestate.com

• S.C. Politics Today, midday news from inside the State House and campaign-related developments, is updated several times each legislative day.

• Our searchable list of state employee salaries for workers earning more than $50,000 a year

UPCOMING DEBATES

ETV and The State are sponsoring debates featuring participants in contested statewide races on the June 13 primary ballot.

All debate shows begin at 7 p.m. on local ETV stations. Programs also will be streamed through http://www.thestate.com/.

FRIDAY: Republican candidates for lieutenant governor

SUNDAY: Democratic candidates for governor

JUNE 7: Republican candidates for governor

A QUICK SPIN AROUND THE STATE HOUSE

Twice-convicted child rapists would be eligible for the death penalty under a bill Gov. Mark Sanford’s is set to sign.

The House accepted a Senate bill that included the provision. The measure includes electronic monitoring of convicted sex offenders.

The Senate-inserted provision was struck earlier this session by a House subcommittee, which did not want to jeopardize other aspects of the bill. But the full House voted to add the death penalty provision back in.

Sanford participated in a news conference earlier this year to support the bill, including the death penalty provision.

TAX CREDIT

Couples going through premarital counseling will get $50 income tax credits under a new law Sanford signed.

To get the credit, couples would have to show proof they went to a professional or clergy-based counseling program when they get a license.

Couples would have to spend a minimum of six hours together in the course within 12 months of applying for a marriage license.

HOG-DOG FIGHTING

An effort to clamp down on hog-dog fighting and increasing penalties for cockfighting will be decided by a House-Senate conference committee.

The move comes after the Senate did not agree with a House-passed provision that includes the cockfighting penalties in the bill.

The measure makes cockfighting a felony and specifies that fights between hogs and dogs are illegal. It clarifies current law to apply to bloody events known as “hog-dog fights,” “hog-dog rodeos,” or “hog-dogging.” The felony would carry a fine of up to $5,000 or five years in prison.

The House version makes cockfighting a felony on third offense. The crime is now a misdemeanor in South Carolina, carrying a $100 fine or up to 30 days in jail.

REC COMMISSION

The power of the governing body of the Richland County Recreation Commission to levy taxes and issue general obligation bonds will be taken away if the governor signs legislation headed to his desk.

The bill, which gives those rights to Richland County Council, comes a year after the county’s legislative delegation gave council the power to appoint members of the commission. Previously, the delegation made those appointments.

Five commissioners challenged the constitutionality of the appointment change, and the S.C. Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case.

In other news:

• Hospitals and other surgical facilities will be required to collect data on hospital-acquired infections and state regulators will have to make the information public under a bill Sanford signed.

• Consumers would have to buy more car insurance under legislation heading to Sanford’s desk. Minimum liability coverage drivers are required to buy moves to $25,000 for bodily injury for each person injured in a wreck, $50,000 for all people injured and $25,000 to cover property damage. The existing requirements are $15,000, $30,000 and $10,000.

• Lawmakers voted to override Sanford’s veto of legislation that moves control of the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy from the Department of Public Safety. The measure sets up a board to oversee the academy’s operations.

• The House advanced a bill that says a child or the child’s parent cannot waive the child’s right to counsel in family court proceedings if the child faces detention or incarceration.