News and Press Releases for March 2007

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3/15/2007

Governor Sanford Issues Statement on House Budget Passage

Governor Applauds Steps Forward on Tax Relief and Debt Repayment, Urges Caution on Use of Part II Provisos, Overall Spending Level

Columbia, S.C. - Gov. Mark Sanford today issued the following statement on the S.C. House's passage of the FY07-08 state budget:

"I'd first of all give credit to the House for putting a down payment on a three-year income tax cut to take the top rate from 7 percent down to 6.4 percent, something that we've long advocated as being incredibly important to our state's ability to compete," Gov. Sanford said. "As well, the House is taking a step toward addressing our state's long-term retiree healthcare liability, they're paying for the unfunded liability in the tuition prepayment program, and they're funding the core needs we laid out in our Executive Budget like healthcare, education and law enforcement - and they've taken out a problematic proviso dealing with the Grants Review Committee. The House has made much of what we believe in as an administration a priority, particularly when it comes to providing South Carolina with much-needed tax relief.

"That being said, we do have some concerns with the House budget. Obviously, Part II provisos are not our preferred way of passing laws, because of the lack of transparency that has often plagued this type of budget proviso in the past. We're going to continue monitoring these provisos as they head to the Senate, where we'd ask that Part II provisos be used sparingly and transparently, if at all.

"As well, we've been very clear about the idea of only growing government at a sustainable rate, specifically the rate of population plus inflation. The House's budget obviously exceeds that, and it spends at a level that we don't believe will be sustainable. To that end, I'd ask the Senate to look for ways to lower the total spending level in this budget, and in fact to add any surplus revenue to the House's income tax cut so that we can return more dollars to hard-working South Carolinians."