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COLUMBIA -- A spokesman for Gov. Mark Sanford on Monday said a state contract to administer a sign program "highlights the absurdity" of the state Department of Transportation asking for more money.

The Greenville News reported that the contract was awarded to a firm, South Carolina Logos, that offered to pay DOT more than $1 million less over the life of the contract than its nearest competitor, which protested the award.

During its protest, Corey Media of Atlanta pointed out that an executive with the winning firm's parent company is a DOT commissioner, John Hardee. Corey did not allege any impropriety. Hardee said he had nothing to do with S.C. Logos, the bid proposal or any DOT decision on the matter.

DOT officials said they need more funding next year because of flat or sinking gas revenues and increased construction costs. DOT Executive Director Elizabeth Mabry has said the agency needs an increase in its annual funding of $1 billion over the next decade.

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"This highlights the absurdity of DOT asking for significantly more money when there is a contract that they appear to have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on more than they had to," said Joel Sawyer, a Sanford spokesman.

A DOT official said while the amount of money both firms offered was considered in the bid scoring, other factors such as experience also were included. S.C. Logos won the state's first sign contract, which expired last year.

Sawyer said the contract also highlights an "accountability problem" with DOT.

"The Governor's Office is not aware of things like this until they are brought to light in the newspaper," he said. "The governor has zero oversight of DOT."

Sanford has called for DOT to be included in state government restructuring, pointing out that in 47 other states, the governor appoints either the executive director or the board members of the transportation agency.

In South Carolina, the governor appoints the chairman of the DOT board. The other six members are selected by the Legislature.

Two of the current members' terms, including Hardee's, are being challenged by a lawsuit pending before the South Carolina Supreme Court. The suit, initiated by Edward "Ned" Sloan of Greenville, alleges that three commissioners have served longer than the law allows.

Sawyer said Hardee would not be an issue in the sign contract "if this individual wasn't already serving a third term of questionable legality."

"Unfortunately, it is symptomatic of something you see over and over in state government," he said, "whether it's trial lawyers voting on tort reform legislation or practicing in front of state boards or commissioners, or a highway commissioner who just happens to work for an advertising company. It really speaks to the need for stronger ethics legislation in the state so that situations like this don't have the appearance of a conflict of interest."

Hardee said after becoming a commissioner, he asked the executive director of the State Ethics Commission for his opinion on serving both as a commissioner and as governmental affairs director for an outdoor advertising firm. The official said Hardee was clear to do both since DOT is not considered a regulatory agency.