Sanford signs Ten Commandments display bills

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) _ The Ten Commandments and the Lord’s Prayer could be part of displays at public buildings soon under legislation Gov. Mark Sanford signed into law.

But the Republican governor vetoed a bill encouraging businesses and homeowners to install fire sprinkler systems just a week before the anniversary of a deadly Charleston blaze that killed nine firefighters.

The Ten Commandments would be part of displays of more than dozen other documents including the Magna Carta and Martin Luther King Jr.‘s “I Have a Dream” speech that supporters say would provide historical context for the framing of the nation’s laws. But detractors say it’s a not-so-veiled effort to put faith in the public square.

Sanford signed the bill Wednesday night after getting legal advice from Attorney General Henry McMaster earlier in the day.

In the nonbinding legal opinion, McMaster said the prayer and commandments have a secular purpose and “an established place in teaching of American constitutional history and civic virtue.“ Apart from their sectarian symbolism, they would, as part of a display “serve the function of teaching history, morality, ethics, integrity and virtue.“

Because of that, the displays outlined by the Legislature would stand up to a court challenge, McMaster wrote.

But the state was already expected to face legal challenges on the public display of faith. Last week, Sanford let a bill become law without his signature that lets the state sell license tags with a cross and “I Believe” on them.

But the stack of bills also had items Sanford didn’t want on the law books as they were written.

For instance, supporters pushed incentives for sprinkler systems in the wake of a furniture store fire that killed nine firefighters in what was the deadliest incident for the profession since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Sanford vetoed the bill out of concerns about a 25 percent tax credit local governments could offer, Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer said. That amount of tax credit becomes more of a subsidy than an incentive. Sanford also was concerned about different governments offering different breaks, raising a constitutional concern that people wouldn’t be treated the same.

The Legislature returns to the Statehouse on June 25 to take up Sanford’s vetoes and take final action on compromises reached on other legislation. Meanwhile, legislators ratified another stack of bills on Tuesday, giving Sanford more bills to act on by next week.

Sanford also signed a bill that says military dependents who begin college studies in South Carolina will be able to keep paying in-state tuition, even if the military sends a family member or caregiver elsewhere. South Carolina joins 35 other states with similar benefits that would, for instance, let a College of Charleston student pay $8,400 in tuition instead of the out-of-state undergraduate rate of $20,418.

And those college students and other motorists will get a break in paying local parking meter fines. Sanford signed a bill that bars local governments from raising fines on unpaid tickets for a minimum of 30 days. Some cities double the fines if they are not paid within a week