COLUMBIA, S.C. - The committee Gov. Mark Sanford appointed to make government more efficient was sharply divided Tuesday on turning seven statewide elected officials into appointed positions.

The Commission on Management, Accountability and Performance adopted proposals to stop electing the education superintendent, adjutant general and secretary of state.

But they rejected, sometimes on tie votes, efforts to have the lieutenant governor run jointly with the governor and turn the offices held by the comptroller general, treasurer and agriculture commissioner into appointed jobs.

Sanford has pushed plans to eliminate elections for most constitutional offices, putting those responsibilities and powers in the governor's office. The Legislature considered similar plans, but took no final action on them during this year's session.

On Tuesday, the commission continued to wrap up work on a report they'll deliver to Sanford at the end of the month.

The panel was considering a plan that would have left the governor and attorney general as the state's only elected constitutional officers. But criticism for those efforts came quickly from commission members, including Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer.

If the state's power was concentrated that way "you've almost got a kingdom then," Bauer said. People enjoy the access they have to statewide elected officers and wouldn't have that if the positions were put mostly under the governor's control, he said.

John Lumpkin, another commissioner, said a subcommittee studying eliminating the offices of comptroller general and treasurer found no problems with how efficiently those operations are run under elected officers. "What's the compelling reason to do otherwise?" he asked.

If the Legislature agrees to eliminate constitutional officers, voters would have to approve the changes. "We're going to have a 10-page ballot if we have to vote on all of these," said commission member John Pettigrew, who opposed most of the constitutional officer changes along with Bauer and Lumpkin.

The committee's plan called for reorganizing much of state government under 12 cabinet agencies with secretaries appointed by the governor.

For instance, a Health and Human Services Department would oversee work of the state's mental health, alcohol, disabilities, health and environmental regulation, social services and minority affairs agencies. The commission stressed that those agencies wouldn't be merged, but administrative functions would be consolidated to save money.

The commission rejected a proposal that would have eliminated the Workers' Compensation Commission. That plan, projected to save $1 million a year, would have required injured workers go through the state's Administrative Law Judge division to handle disputes with the loser in the case paying the costs.

"It's going to get cost prohibitive for (workers) to have their day in court," Pettigrew said. Instead, the commission agreed to put the Workers' Compensation Commission under the cabinet-level Insurance Department.

The votes taken Tuesday will be reflected in the final version of recommendations Sanford gets, Commission Chairman Ken Wingate said. Sanford will decide later what he wants to present to the Legislature.