Sanford To Lawmakers: “Start Over”

Telling S.C. lawmakers to “start over” on the state spending plan, Gov. Mark Sanford ripped off a 33-page veto message this afternoon that basically sent the entire budget back from whence it came.

“The General Assembly needs to start over on its spending plan if we’re going to have a responsible state budget that not only looks out for current taxpayers, but future generations as well,” Sanford said.

Since there’s some confusion over what the governor did – and didn’t veto – let’s go through it quickly.

First of all, the governor vetoed all of Part 1A – the state’s primary spending plan – along with all of Part III, which is the portion that directs stimulus funds.

Within Part 1B – which includes provisos that direct how money is spent – Sanford fired off 47 individual vetoes of items that he said “made inefficient structural changes, continued wasteful practices, or represented misplaced priorities.”

Among those vetoes?

From Sanford’s press release:

* The newly created “Capitol Police Force”
* A provision that prevents exploring privatization of state-owned golf course parks that lose $500,000 annually
* A legislative attempt to avoid $350,000 in cost savings related to state aircraft by moving the state Aeronautics Commission to the Budget and Control Board
* A prohibition on the Highway Patrol recouping costs from game day traffic control, part of the nearly $1 million annually it costs the Highway Patrol to provide traffic enforcement at special events
* A $37 million raid of the state’s Insurance Reserve Fund, and a $15 million raid on unclaimed property in the Treasurer’s Office

Needless to say, the legislative complaining and agency wailing is already reaching a fever pitch.

“We are facing sky-high unemployment, massive teacher layoffs, and a struggling economy,” said State Sen. Vincent Sheheen. “Yet our governor is obsessed with his continued efforts to turn away our own tax dollars that we will be forced to pay back whether they come here or are sent to California.”

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