The governor has used the statistic, generally rounded up to 30 percent, as proof state government needs restructuring, a key part of his legislative agenda.

Trouble is, according to the state Board of Economic Advisors, it's not true.

According to a study acquired by The Post and Courier, running South Carolina's government actually costs 5.7 percent less per capita than the national average. The study, based on 2000 numbers provided by the U.S. Bureau of Census, shows South Carolina trailing the nation by a wide margin in several critical areas, such as public safety (spending 25.3 percent less than the average), environment and housing (27.2 percent less) and government administration (23.9 percent less).

The news was no surprise to several Republican legislators, many of whom say they were always skeptical of Sanford's numbers.

"I have never believed our state was spending 30 percent more than the national average," said Speaker of the House David Wilkins, R-Greenville. "We've consistently made tough cuts rather than raise taxes, so where exactly was all this fat coming from."

House Ways and Means Chairman Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, and Rep. John Graham Altman III, R-Charleston, also said they felt Sanford's estimate was too extreme.

"I always thought that number was cooked up," Altman said. "Does that mean SLED is more costly than the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, or our troopers are 30 percent more costly that the North Carolina Highway Patrol? I think the answer is clearly no, and anyone making that argument is making a nonsense argument."

Sanford spokesman Will Folks said the governor stands by his numbers, derived from raw data supplied by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Folks said the governor reached his figure by comparing the state's gross state product with the national average. State and local government makes up 11.29 percent of South Carolina's GSP, compared to the national average of 8.73 percent.

"This isn't something the governor pulled out of the air and said, 'Hey lets use this,' " Folks said. "If you have 40 percent more employees than the national average, your citizens pay 29 percent more on government spending and government debt is increasing at the second-fastest rate in the nation, you can't say South Carolina spends less on government. Bottom line is our state government walks, talks and quacks like it's bigger than the national average."

Folks said South Carolina has 248 state employees per 10,000 in the population, compared with the national average of 177.

He said Sanford is not the only governor in the country to use GSP numbers when judging the size and cost of government.

But the state's chief economist, Bill Gillespie, said using the GSP is an incorrect approach because it doesn't focus on the cost of state government, it focuses on the value of South Carolina's output.

"You can't treat state government like it's a business in that way," he said. "Profit is not a part of state government. The truest way to judge the cost of running state government is to truly look at how much it costs to run state government."

University of South Carolina economist Don Schunk said the GSP is a misleading statistic. He said he uses the Bureau of Census when measuring such costs.

"This is a complex issue, because every state does things differently," he said. "There will always be some disagreement. But I would do it the same way the BEA did, because the Bureau of Census gives you the best reading of government costs."

Sanford has again made government restructuring one of his top priorities. After facing a bitter defeat last year, the governor scaled back his proposal.

He still wants to reduce the size of government, but as last year proved, he faces an uphill battle.

This has Folks wondering about the origin of the board study. A state legislator commissioned the study last year and never released it. Gillespie would not say who asked for the report or when exactly it was conducted.

"If this governor has a problem with spending, he says so himself," Folks said. "He puts his name on his ideas and takes responsibility for them. The objective of this study is ... to reach into your wallet and grab more of the money you've worked for and take it and put it in government."

Wilkins, who supported nearly every item on Sanford's agenda last session, disagreed with the notion that the study was commissioned to torpedo restructuring.

"I think we can believe the BEA," Wilkins said. "They are the most reliable source we have. They don't have a dog in this fight. They don't have a reason to inflate or deflate the numbers."

In the end, much of this restructuring fight will fall onto the shoulders of Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston. McConnell took the lead last year in fighting for restructuring and is expected to do the same this year.

McConnell said he still believes restructuring is needed.

"The evidence that I've seen indicates that we are operating inefficiently," he said. "I don't get hung up on statistics, because they can be manipulated. I stick with common sense and experience."

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