COLUMBIA, S.C. -- The first steps to the possible impeachment of South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford are expected next week and could be headed to a special committee.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Harrison of Columbia said Thursday it is up to House Speaker Bobby Harrell to decide how to handle a resolution already drafted to remove Sanford because he abandoned the state for five days in June to rendezvous with his Argentine lover.

Sanford spokesman Ben Fox says the governor won't comment on what the House may do with impeachment next week.

Some say Sanford may avoid impeachment because the state landed a Boeing expansion. Others say Sanford's fate rests on a State Ethics Commission review of his use of state planes for personal and political purposes.