Mark Sanford's campaign promise to reorganize state
government played a big role in getting him elected governor of
South Carolina last year. The fruits of that promise were made
public last week by Sanford and other top Republicans.
The Government Restructuring Act is designed to make state
government leaner and more responsive, said Senate President Pro Tem
Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston. It calls for the governor and
lieutenant governor to run on the same ticket and for the governor
to appoint some statewide officers who are now elected.
The measure would also give the governor greater flexibility to
move Cabinet agency programs and functions from one department to
another. It would greatly reduce the size of the Budget and Control
Board, and it would create a Department of Administration as a
Cabinet-level agency.
"Restructuring, ultimately, is about delivering
more cost-effective and cost-efficient government to the citizens of
South Carolina," Sanford said.
There can be no doubt about the need for a government overhaul.
As Sanford pointed out, South Carolina is 30 percent above the
national average in the cost of delivering goods and services to its
residents. Given the state's severe budget problems, that's got to
change.
Restructuring
should not cost the state any money, the governor said, but it would
likely reduce state jobs. It should. Without a reduction in payrolls
- the largest expense for any enterprise - it's hard to see how
there could be any savings in restructuring.
Actually, this isn't the first effort at revamping state
government. The process was started 10 years ago by then-Gov.
Carroll Campbell. "Now that we've worked under that restructured
government for almost a decade, we've seen what works and where we
need to make even greater reforms," noted House Speaker David
Wilkins, R-Greenville.
Democratic Sen. Tommy Moore of Clearwater told the Associated
Press he would like to hear specific details of the new plan and
study the impact of Campbell's restructuring before moving ahead.
That's fine, as long as Democrats don't use that as an excuse to
nit-pick the plan into the grave.
The constitutional officers who are currently elected but would
be appointed under the restructuring bill are the secretary of
state, the education superintendent, the treasurer and the
agriculture commissioner.
Some lawmakers argue making these positions appointive will deny
voters' rights to elect them. But not one voter in 10 even knows the
names of these elected officials. Besides, if they foul up, the
governor - whom voters do know - usually gets the blame
anyway. So why not make him accountable to begin with?
Fortunately, the attorney general will remain an elective office.
And that's a good thing. The state's top legal officer should be
accountable directly to the voters - and the law - not to other
politicians. An independent A.G. also is a useful check on the rest
of government.
Overall, the restructuring bill portends a healthy change.
Augusta Chronicle 
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