Any question about the fate of government reorganization in South Carolina, at least for the near term, was probably settled by the removal of the state's Criminal Justice Academy from the authority of a Cabinet agency. Streamlining government by strengthening the executive branch isn't going to happen under this Legislature.

The academy, which had been under the control of the Department of Public Safety since restructuring in 1993, was made a separate agency and put under the authority of a commission. Clearly, South Carolina is moving in the wrong direction in terms of reorganization.

No question there have been problems at the academy, many of which were uncovered by the "Tarnished Badges" investigation of The Post and Courier. Many of those problems were related to an inadequate source of revenue, something over which the Legislature has authority. The academy is primarily funded by fines and fees collected by law enforcement officers. Last year, the Legislature responded to the funding woes by adding $500,000 late in the session to reinstate a psychological screening program that had been cut for lack of money.

In response to the need for campus improvements, DPS recommended $2 million for capital upgrades. The governor additionally sought $550,000 in his budget for computer improvements and $90,000 to hire personnel to oversee officer certifications. Sid Gaulden, a spokesman for DPS, says those requests were approved by the Legislature in the budget.

Some of the budget recommendations, initially came from a committee of law-enforcement officers that was created by Gov. Mark Sanford. The committee did not recommend a change in governance, Mr. Gaulden tells us.

The new governing commission will include Cabinet members, but the academy will no longer be under the governor's chain of command.

Rather than streamline the governmental process by giving the governor more authority, as befits his position as the state's chief executive, the Legislature is moving backwards by creating another layer of government. The governor's veto of the legislation was overwhelmingly overridden.

The decision to remove the Criminal Justice Academy from the Cabinet system says volumes about how the Legislature approaches state government. Rather than complete the reorganization of state government begun by Gov. Carroll Campbell, the Republican Legislature is finding ways to create more government at the expense of the executive branch.