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Article published Jun 18, 2003
Sanford announces vetoes for state budget

By JENNIFER HOLLAND
Associated Press Writer

Republican Gov. Mark Sanford used his budget veto powers for the first time Wednesday and sent legislators a message that they need to stop raiding trust funds.

Sanford sent 22 vetoes to lawmakers, who will have to wait until they return in January to address them. The General Assembly went home two weeks ago without passing a resolution to return and deal with vetoes this summer.

The freshman governor's vetoes returned about $2 million to trust funds legislators raided to help balance the $5.3 billion budget. The raids included several environmental cleanup accounts.

"I am vetoing these items because they improperly strip funds from trust funds or restricted accounts and transfer them to the general fund for purposes other than" they were intended, the Republican governor wrote in his veto message to House Speaker David Wilkins, R-Greenville.

Wilkins says lawmakers had to deal with the worse state budget year in 50 years and had to use desperate measures to create the $5.3 billion spending plan.

"I don't think anyone disagrees with the governor," said Wilkins, R-Greenville. But "sometimes you do things that in a perfect world you wouldn't do like take money from special funds."

The South Carolina Wildlife Federation had asked Sanford to protect the trust funds.

"Raiding the trust funds and diverting private donations is not sound fiscal policy," said Angela Viney, executive director of the federation. "We applaud Gov. Sanford for keeping his promise to be fiscally accountable and represent the wishes of the citizens of South Carolina."

The budget still takes $5.5 million taken from the state housing trust fund; $10.8 million taken from a state accident fund that covers injured state workers and $2.4 million taken from the Barnwell nuclear waste cleanup fund.

Sanford didn't veto more spending like that, saying he wanted to keep the budget balanced.

House Democratic Minority Leader James Smith, who fought to stop the raids on special funds, was disappointed the governor didn't go further.

"I'm grateful the governor agrees with us that's not a very responsible way to balance the budget." said Smith of Columbia. "I hope Republicans will hear the message and do a better job" with the budget next year.

Sanford's vetoes also eliminated:

- The $1,200 stipend for the state poet laureate. Sanford said the person has agreed to serve for free.

- $99,955 for the Commission on Women in the governor's office. Sanford said the duties will be handled by the governor's staff.

- $118,675 for a motorcycle safety program funded through the Technical and Comprehensive Education Board. Sanford said the program should be paid by students.

- $321,949 for litter control administered through the governor's office. Sanford said the state already receives $2.5 million in court fines to pay for the litter cleanup program.

Those vetoes and others were used to keep the budget balanced, Sanford said.

"In lean times, it takes this type of management," said Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston.

The vetoes were "well reasoned and well thought out," Sen. John Land, D-Manning, who voted against extending the session to deal with the vetoes. "I had faith in the governor he would not do damage to the budget."

Sanford said he also vetoed items that lawmakers set aside to get funding only if the state's revenues exceeded estimates. That type of "wish list" funding is a bad way to budget money, Sanford told Wilkins.

Sanford said he wanted to veto more but did not want to disrupt agencies and programs.

He said he also wants budget writers to separate funding items into distinct sections, which is required by the state Constitution. Legislators often roll many items into one budget item to avoid a governor's line-item veto. If that practice doesn't change, Sanford says he will be forced to veto programs with merit to get at objectionable items.

Sanford he plans to hold public hearings on the budget throughout the summer and start building a budget that won't be a surprise next year.

"I think it would help to sit down and about whether we should change the way the budget was written," said House Ways and Means Chairman Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston.