Sanford out of luck on restructuring proposal

COLUMBIA -- Gov. Mark Sanford tried to convince the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday afternoon that reshaping South Carolina's government is the right thing to do.

The committee seemed to disagree.

Committee members listened to Sanford lay out his case for about 90 minutes, then added amendments stripping away portions of the restructuring legislation that would have allowed voters to decide whether constitutional officers should remain elected officials or should be appointed by the governor.

The restructuring proposal covers 1,900 pages in two bills. The first, which was the focal point of Tuesday's committee meeting, deals with making constitutional officers, with the exception of the attorney general and the treasurer, appointed offices. It also puts the governor and lieutenant governor on the same ballot.

Senators passed amendments Tuesday that keep the adjutant general and agriculture commissioner as elected officials, and keeps the lieutenant governor as an independent elected office.

They did agree to put the secretary of education on that ballot. That office is currently held by Inez Tenenbaum, the only Democrat among the constitutional officers.

Sanford spokesman Will Folks said the governor would continue to push "for the right of every South Carolinian to have a voice in the future of their state."

"It's hard to believe that some folks won't let the voters decided the form they want their government to take," Folks said. "The last time South Carolinians had a voice in the structure of their government, women and minorities couldn't vote."

Sen. John Hawkins, R-Spartanburg, introduced the amendment to keep the adjutant general an elected office. He stated his objection to making it an appointed office on the day the legislation was introduced.

"It was the right thing to do," said Hawkins, a major in the National Guard. "We're at war, a third of our troops are deployed in Afghanistan or Iraq, and we've got the best National Guard in the nation. I'd hate to tamper with that right now."

Hawkins said he disagreed with Sanford's contention that putting the constitutional offices on the ballot would allow voters the opportunity to decide the structure they wanted for the state's government.

"If the goal were to let the people vote on everything, he wouldn't have cherry-picked the attorney general and the treasurer's offices," Hawkins said.

Sen. Jim Ritchie, R-Spartanburg, said he was disappointed by Tuesday's actions. Ritchie served on the committee that crafted the legislation.

"The positions taken for a variety of reasons I don't think serve the public well," Ritchie said. "But we'll keep working and hopefully South Carolina will be put on course to a modern and more effective government."

Ritchie said the committee's actions were not a total defeat for Sanford.

"It's just one round of votes," he said. "We'll go back to work over the next 10 days and see where we are."

Sanford said he took the rare action of testifying before the committee because "the structure of the state government hasn't been dealt with in over 100 years."

"These are the folks who will determine what is dealt with," he said. "We're pushing toward a more competitive playing field for South Carolina. We'll keep pushing a day at a time."

Ritchie applauded the governor for coming before the committee.

"It's historic for any governor to come before a committee and testify on a piece of legislation," Ritchie said. "I think he spoke eloquently on the importance of restructuring."

Robert W. Dalton can be reached at 562-7223 or bob.dalton@shj.com.

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LOU KRASKY
Gov. Mark Sanford testifies Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary committee in Columbia. In the end, the committee voted on amendments that significantly weaken parts of his legislation.

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