Gov. Mark Sanford's pledges to reorder the way government does business kicked into high gear as spring merged into summer this week.

On Thursday, Commerce Secretary Bob Faith announced elimination of nearly a quarter of the department's 130 jobs; half of the 30 people leaving will take early retirement.

Also this week, the governor's Commission on Management, Accountability and Performance got down to work by taking a few pointers from Tom Schatz, president of Citizens Against Government Waste. Schatz gave the governor's new 14-member commission a pep talk and ideas about improving efficiency in S.C. government.

Reminiscent of the Grace Commission, named for its chairman, J. Peter Grace, the S.C. commission has been dubbed the Wingate Commission after Chairman Ken Wingate, a former Republican gubernatorial opponent of Sanford's.

While the Grace Commission took two years to detail 2,478 changes that were supposed to have saved the federal government more than $424 billion, the MAP panel, or Wingate Commission, will conduct its work in just three months.

Sanford mentioned the commission in his State of the State address. That it is at work halfway through his first year in office is commendable.

Private business leaders from throughout the state comprise the 12-member panel, which includes Stewart H. Rodman, a Hilton Head Island resident who has held leading positions with a number of international and national companies, including Ford Motor Co. They have the advantage of a non-bureaucratic view of government as they spend the summer poring over the state's budget before making recommendations to Gov. Sanford in September. Two elected officials, Lt. Gov. André Bauer and Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom are ex-officio panel members.

CAGW, the government watchdog group that Schatz runs, was created to carry on the work of the Grace Commission and draw attention to government waste. The group has 11,800 members in South Carolina.

Much as the Grace Commission did, the S.C. commission will examine the culture of government and how to change it. "The purpose of this commission is to go back to a frequent drumbeat É in this administration of how do you get more out of government," the governor said when he introduced the panel. Among the things the commission will analyze is the number of employees, vehicles and buildings an agency has. The panel will look to streamline a number of things, including reducing costs, increasing accountability, improving services and reducing redundancy.

Sanford and his commission members could face obstacles similar to those of the Grace Commission. Critics say Congress was an obstacle to implementing Grace Commission recommendations. Some doubt that much money was saved.

While Sanford hopes to make many changes by executive order and directives to cabinet members, it is important that taxpayers get involved to make sure legislators contribute laws that streamline other functions in government.