Gov. Sanford's vetoes up for debate

Lawmakers will return to the Statehouse this week to take up the remaining 20 vetoes issued by Gov. Mark Sanford.

The vetoed bills include: incentives for the installation of fire sprinklers in homes and businesses, notification standards for school-aged children with HIV, financial breaks for residents concerned with the environment and a day set aside to honor baseball.

Additionally, the governor rejected legislation that would allow the state's colleges and universities to spend more lottery money on research projects and another that shifts the oversight of movie making in South Carolina.

House Speaker Bobby Harrell and President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell said the vetoes made it necessary for the Legislature to return.

The session adjourned June 5 but a resolution allows lawmakers to come back Wednesday through Friday for the main purpose of taking up the vetoes.

"The entire General Assembly worked tirelessly up until the final minutes of the regular session to finish its work on major legislative issues for the year," according to a joint statement released by the Charleston Republicans.

"Both the House and Senate worked very hard to pass many key bills during our regular session and it was not our original intent to return. However, both bodies agreed to this measure because members felt they had to return if major economic development or job creating bills were vetoed and to ensure that the work of the people of South Carolina was completed before we adjourned for the year.

"Considering that South Carolina has the third worst unemployment rate in the nation, it would be a disservice to our state and our citizens if we allowed these economic development and job creating bills to sit in limbo until January.

"Instead of waiting, and to discourage companies from taking their jobs to another state, we will return to finish the work we started and address these issues as quickly as possible."

Sanford explained his reasoning for each veto in individual letters available on his Web site at www.scgovernor.com

Read more in tomorrow's editions of The Post and Courier.