Governor Sanford Issues Budget Vetoes

GOVERNOR VETOES $72 MILLION IN AN EFFORT TO
TRIM SPENDING, SET BETTER PRIORITIES

Download Gov. Sanford's veto message
H. 4800 (General Appropriations Bill).pdf
H. 4801 (Capital Reserve Fund).pdf

Columbia, S.C. - May 28, 2008 - Governor Mark Sanford today vetoed 69 items from the legislature's spending plan, for a total of $72 million - saying that money should be put toward agencies like the Department of Education and the Department of Corrections that are already projecting deficits for next year.

In his veto message, the governor said the spending plan suffered from fundamental flaws in the way it failed to set priorities, didn't pay for deficits that budget writers know will occur, and failed to more substantively address the $20 billion in unpaid for political promises tied to the retirement system.

"While we would give credit to the General Assembly for removing a number of items in this budget that we've vetoed in the past, it's unfortunate that failing to make those choices when times were good has led us to where we are today - a government that has grown by 40 percent over the last three years," Gov. Sanford said. "We also have real concerns that this budget is in effect unconstitutional for the way it knowingly creates a deficit - despite there being a requirement that we have a balanced budget. These vetoes are aimed at both paying for that shortfall, and beginning this process of setting better priorities - and to that end I'd ask that the House and Senate give them close consideration."

Some highlights of the governor's line-item budget vetoes include:
- The so-called "competitive grants" program, effectively ending the program and instead setting aside the $18.5 million remaining in what some have called a "legislative slush fund";
-A proviso that gives agency heads a 4 percent raise, while other state employees are getting only a 1 percent raise
-Numerous line-items and provisos that direct money away from the core mission of agencies like the Department of Commerce and the Department of Health and Human Services

In his veto message, the governor did give credit to the General Assembly for:
-Funding the Endowed Chairs programs at the $10 million level requested by the governor
-Adopting the governor's cost-savings proposals for agency travel and telecommunications
-Eliminating funding for regional farmers markets
-Cutting funding for a host of local projects, totaling $31 million