Not extraordinary

THE SOUTH Carolina Constitution says governors “may on extraordinary occasions convene the General Assembly in special session.” It is a power that was designed to cover actual governmental emergencies — a disaster strikes that requires immediate legislative action, or lawmakers adjourn without passing a budget to keep the government operating.

It is not intended to allow a governor to manipulate elections. Yet that is precisely what Gov. Mark Sanford is threatening to do if the Legislature does what it has routinely done for decades — schedule a brief wrap-up session after the June 13 primaries, to consider the governor’s vetoes and tie up any loose ends.

We agree that voters would be better informed if lawmakers completed their work before the primaries. And if Mr. Sanford wants to urge voters to kick out incumbents for failing to do so, he has every right to. What he has no right to do is use this power for purposes totally unrelated to the operation of government.

It’s true that some governors have pushed the limit on “extraordinary occasions,” calling lawmakers back to finish work that was important but could have been completed later. But we have never seen such a clear abuse of the power as Mr. Sanford proposes.

Mr. Sanford should back off his threat; if he follows through, lawmakers should ignore him. We expect the Supreme Court would find his action extraordinary — and extra-constitutional.