Restructuring Government

State government exists to serve and protect citizens. All three branches of government have their roles spelled out by the state constitution. The legislature makes laws and raises and spends revenues. The judiciary provides for the adjudication and interpretation of the law. And the key role of the governor – as the chief executive of the state – is to carry out the state’s administrative and executive functions.

But there’s a difficulty. The state constitution – drafted in 1895 by populist Ben Tillman – effectively strips the governor of many of his executive roles. The result is that the the state’s governor is effectively prevented from carrying out many executive and administrative functions.

This is one indication of a much larger problem. Simply put, South Carolina’s government is too costly and too inefficient. For every 10,000 South Carolinians, there are 234

state employees – that’s 34 percent more than the U.S. average. South Carolinians currently spend about 130 percent of the national average of the cost of government. Add to this the fact that in South Carolina more than 18 percent of our personal income goes to pay for government – the national average is less than 14%.

South Carolina’s state government is a hodgepodge of some 50 independent agencies and departments. Many of the programs and services these agencies provide are redundant. For instance, the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Health and Environmental Control, and the Clemson Public Service Authority all have water management programs. Similarly, South Carolina supports five different agencies delivering health and rehabilitation services – each providing its own drug treatment services, each having its own administrative arrangements, and each with its own governance board or commission.

In short, we want to continue the legacy of Governor Carroll Campbell by restructuring government in a way that increases accountability and cuts out duplication and waste.

Restructuring the constitution

Imagine if, every four years, voters across the nation not only had to vote for a presidential ticket, but also for a Secretary of State, a Secretary of the Treasury, a Secretary of Education, a Secretary of Agriculture, and even for a separate Vice President. Most of us lead busy lives, and wouldn’t know enough about national politics to cast informed votes about all these offices.

But that’s only the beginning. Imagine, furthermore, a President having to work with a cabinet he didn’t choose and often doesn’t agree with – a cabinet in which many members are sometimes opposed to the President’s own policies. What sort of administration would this be? Not much of one. And yet, in South Carolina, we still expect the governor to function effectively in just this kind of jumbled, incoherent system.

That’s why we support legislation that allowed the voters to decide whether or not they want to vote separately for the Lieutenant Governor, Adjutant General, Commissioner of Agriculture, Superintendent of Education, and the Secretary of State.

We’re also proposing making the central administrative functions of government accountable to the governor. We believe a cabinet-level Department of Administration would provide better support services to state agencies. South Carolina is the only state in the country that empowers a semi-legislative, semi-executive board to oversee the state's administrative support functions. Accountability through a direct line of authority is an essential component for any leader, whether leading a well-run company or a well-run state, and our current system fails in this regard.

This shouldn’t be a partisan or political issue. Making these and similar changes would benefit the next governor. More importantly, however – they’d benefit the taxpayers.