COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - The South Carolina House resurrected an attempt to create a research university in Charleston after two senate leaders tried to defeat it.
The House on Thursday attached an amendment to establish the University of Charleston onto a bill that allows colleges to bypass multiple layers of state approvals for certain construction projects. The amended bill passed 82-13 and returns to the Senate.
The Senate and House have just three days to hash out an agreement on the bill before the Legislature’s session ends.
The move is an attempt to establish a research university at the College of Charleston. A bill that would have done that appeared to die Wednesday when Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler, R-Gaffney, and Senate President Pro Tem John Courson, R-Columbia, placed procedural holds on it.
Courson said the bill should first be vetted in the Education Committee he chairs. The Senate voted last week to remove the bill from the committee and skip that step in the typical legislative process after an unidentified, significant donor came forward with interest in the proposed university.
“The process is my only concern, not the content of the bill,” Courson said.
Rep. Leon Stavrinakis, D-Charleston, who put forward the amendment, said supporters don’t want to wait on getting the university approved.
Sen. Larry Grooms, R-Bonneau, said the creation of a research university would meet the needs of the region’s growing technology sector by offering more advanced degrees in computer science and engineering.
The regulatory relief bill seeks to save colleges time and taxpayer money by speeding up reviews of construction projects. Under it, a school with good financial standing could bypass several months of delays and wouldn’t need prior approval to determine exact costs for a project.
The current five-step approval process involving two agency boards and a legislative review committee adds at least six months to any proposed construction project.
Grooms said there were other alternatives to get the measure passed before adjournment, but he did not specify them.
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