Governor Sanford Calls for Better Priorities on Budget Cuts

GOVERNOR PUTS FORWARD THREE-POINT PLAN TO LESSEN IMPACT OF PROPOSED CUTS TO CRITICAL SERVICES

Columbia, S.C. - April 14, 2008 - Governor Mark Sanford today proposed a three-part plan aimed at lessening the impact of cuts the House and Senate have proposed at key agencies.

The governor called on budget writers to adopt the following three proposals:

-Shut down once and for all the legislative slush fund known as the "Competitive Grants"; program, freeing up $18.5 million.

-Use the GEAR Commission recommendation to tap $10.5 million from the Budget and Control Board's $323 million "rainy day" funds

-Defer a $20.5 million proposal to create regional farmers markets around the state.

Governor Sanford said the resulting $50 million could be used for a number of purposes, such as restoring cuts to the Department of Commerce, Medicaid, the Corrections Department, or addressing the state's retirement obligations. Governor Sanford's proposal comes one week after the state Board of Economic Advisors voted to cut the state's revenue estimates by $90 million this year and $90 million in the coming year. The governor warned nearly two months ago that such a revision would be necessary.

"The sad reality is that we wouldn't be having this discussion if budget writers had exercised more spending restraint when times were good," Gov. Sanford said. "Their generosity with others' money has gotten us right back to the point our state was with these types of budget cuts a few years ago. Overall, we believe that the House and Senate budgets do a poor job of setting priorities, as across the board cuts do not set priorities, and we'd ask that they look very carefully at what we're proposing in this plan."