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Supporters and opponents of the bill are preparing to amend it by striking language that would offset building costs by returning sales taxes to The Sembler Co., which plans the 280-acre shopping center and luxury outlet mall in Beaufort and Jasper counties.
Sembler officials have said the incentives are critical to their plan to invest $400 million and create as many as 2,500 jobs in a relatively poor, rural region.
Instead, lawmakers will insert language allowing local government -- likely the City of Hardeeville -- to impose a sales tax to pay for infrastructure, said Sen. Tom Davis, who spoke at length against the original bill.
Davis, R-Beaufort, expects to review a draft of the amendment over the weekend.
He expects it will be introduced Tuesday. He said senators could approve it the next day.
Davis said he would support an amended bill because it would likely involve less public money and would not take funds from the state.
He said it would be akin to legislation lawmakers have already passed that allows officials in the Myrtle Beach area to collect a sales tax for tourism promotion. The Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce is pushing a similar bill for Beaufort County municipalities.
If Hardeeville leaders and residents want to tax themselves to entice Sembler, "that's essentially a local discussion," Davis said.
Gov. Mark Sanford, who had been expected to veto the original bill, said Thursday he is not likely to oppose the amended version.
Sanford has said tax incentives for retail projects are different from those for the manufacturing plants because retailers should build only where they find sufficient purchasing power.
Sen. Greg Ryberg, R-Aiken, among the first to publicly oppose the bill last year, also said he would support the amendment.
"If it reads like they're talking about, I think it's something I could live with ...," Ryberg said.
Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler, R-Cherokee, said he will likely support it and encourage his colleagues to join him.
"It's not time for the end zone dance, but we're very close," Peeler said.
The original bill's downfall apparently came Wednesday, when Davis argued against it while facing questions from Sen. Robert Ford, D-Charleston.
Before that debate, Davis said 24 senators opposed the bill and 22 supported it.
By Thursday, he said, that count had changed to 27 against and 19 for.
Davis said he and Ryberg met Thursday morning with Minority Leader John Land, D-Clarendon.
Sanford and Peeler both praised Davis, the governor's former chief of staff.
Both men also credited Sembler's supporters with lobbying vigorously for the measure.
Peeler credited Ryberg with slowing down the legislation long enough to allow Davis to "put the icing on the cake."
Phil Bailey, caucus director for Senate Democrats, said he does not view discussion of the amendment as a defeat for the bill championed by Sen. Clementa Pinckney, D-Ridgeland. Pinckney could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Pinckney and other supporters want to use any mechanism necessary to get Sembler to build.
"(In) whatever venue that comes about is a victory," Bailey said.
Sembler officials did not return a call seeking comment Thursday.
Although lawmakers were still drafting the amendment Thursday, several confirmed they intend it to allow Hardeeville to impose a tax of as much as 2 percent.
It was not clear if the tax would apply only to goods sold at Okatie Crossings or also include those sold elsewhere in the city. It also was not clear if the city council alone could impose the tax or if voters would be asked to approve it in a referendum.
Ted Felder, Hardeeville's interim city manager, said he thinks the city would be willing to consider a local-option tax.
"I think we would certainly be open to anything that helps get the project here," Felder said. "We would not turn a blind eye toward anything."
