Senators Agree to Take Up Governor Vetoes Next Week

Some Senators Feel House Override Vote Was "Disrespectful"

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO)-The road to better buses just got a little longer after legislators put on the brakes in the Senate Wednesday.

Senators are asking representatives to go back and take a second look at their overrides to the governor’s budget vetoes.

The South Carolina Senate has agreed to take up the governor’s vetoes next week.

“I’m suggesting to the body that we have this available to the members, weekend, tomorrow, whenever and take up the vetoes on Tuesday,” said Senate Pro Tempore Hugh Leatherman.

The move comes after House members overrode most of the vetoes related to using extra lottery money for education purposes outside of scholarships.

Some senators said the House sustained important vetoes in the process of pushing for buses.

“They took some vetoes that benefited their regions and they overrode the governor’s vetoes and other vetoes that benefited perhaps The Midlands especially, they sustained to make sure funding didn’t come into The Midlands to help with aids prevention and drug and alcohol abuse prevention committed specifically to helping the midlands,” said Senator Vincent Sheheen.

Lawmakers had the chance to work on vetoes this summer but they waited to take them up now, a move some lawmakers said was a missed opportunity.

“I want to see those buses put on the road. I wish the house would have agreed to come in this summer so we could have done it,” said Sheheen. “Unfortunately, by their delay now everything is in jeopardy. I think the real answer to this is for the house to call those vetoes back which they can do if they want to, take them up in a fair manner which does not just favor certain powerful leaders, and do it in a fair way so we can take up that bus veto and other vetoes. Until then I don’t know what will happen.”

No word on if House Leadership will reconsider the veto overrides before the Senate takes them up next week.