News and Press Releases for November 2007

GOVERNOR SAYS COURT SHOULD LET ALL SIDES BE HEARD, AND WILL CONTINUE PUSHING LEGISLATIVE CHANGE THIS SESSION

November 27, 2007

Columbia, S.C. – Gov. Mark Sanford today called on the S.C. Supreme Court to revisit its decision to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the existence of the S.C. Budget and Control Board, and said if they do not he will continue pushing for legislative change to the chronically inefficient and unaccountable agency.

“It’s unusual for the Supreme Court to grant original jurisdiction in a case like this and then immediately throw it out without providing any reason for its dismissal, so it’s our hope that the court will ultimately revisit that decision and give all sides a chance to be heard on this important issue,” Gov. Sanford said. “The issue of where we go next with respect to the Board goes right to the heart of whether our state is going to be able to compete in the 21st Century, because our current government structure is costing our state’s taxpayers in very real terms. That’s why we’re going to keep pushing for a legislative remedy if the Court does not.”

Earlier this year, a group called Change SC Now filed a lawsuit seeking to disband South Carolina’s Budget and Control Board, a mammoth state agency that is unique to South Carolina. The Board handles the administrative functions of government that are handled by governors in the other 49 states. Some recently disclosed consequences of South Carolina’s unaccountable structure have been:

• $500 million in unnecessary costs to taxpayers highlighted by the GEAR report.
• A recently ended 20-year no-bid contract with a politically connected insurance firm, expected to save taxpayers roughly $2 million per year going forward.
• Approval of $117,000 in salary increases for agency heads despite no performance review for the raises, despite some of those affected only being on the job for a few months, and despite no one asking for the raises.

Yesterday, Change SC Now petitioned the Supreme Court to reconsider its previous decision to dismiss the lawsuit, a move supported by the governor.