COLUMBIA - State Sen. Luke Rankin has introduced a bill forbidding the governor's grab of $13 million from Santee Cooper, saying he doesn't have the power to take the money and such a move could cause a rate increase for Horry and Georgetown county customers.

Rankin, D-Myrtle Beach, said the state-owned utility that serves most of Horry and Georgetown counties either directly or indirectly is not a Cabinet agency and Gov. Mark Sanford cannot order it to give money to the general fund.

Santee Cooper Chairman Graham Edwards said his board approved the money transfer to help the state "based on the information that we had."

But because of Rankin's bill, the board will look at the issue again when it meets Jan. 26, Edwards said.

Sanford's request for money from Santee Cooper is a proposal "to meet critical needs" of the state, said his spokesman, Will Folks.

But the money has not been transferred, and lawmakers can change the request when they write the state's budget, Folks said.

In his proposed budget, Sanford includes $13 million from the sale of surplus property belonging to Santee Cooper. Rankin said the governor ordered the utility's board to identify surplus property that could be sold, and it did so.

Taking money from the independent agency is a way to prevent tax increases on other residents but could cost the utility's customers, Rankin said.

"It's a tax increase, that's what it is, on Santee Cooper customers," he said.

Rankin's bill, which was sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee for review, says money from the sale of surplus property cannot be used for a purpose other than for Santee Cooper "without the express approval of the General Assembly."

If there is surplus property, money from the sale should be used for "rate reductions to customers, payment of additional principal and interest on existing bonded or other debt, and for other recurring purposes of the authority," Rankin's bill says.

State Sen. Bill Mescher, R-Pinopolis, is a former president and chief executive officer of Santee Cooper, and he agrees with Rankin.

"It's ratepayer money," Mescher said.

Santee Cooper is the only state agency that has never asked for state money, he said, and it pays 1 percent of its gross to the state general fund each year.

That is about $11 million this year, Mescher said.

The Senate doesn't object to the regular payment of fees but does to taking the money and ordering it allocated to the Commerce Department and state Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department.

"Only the legislature can assign money to these various agencies," Mescher said.

Part of the money Sanford requested was to be used to boost the PRT department's tourism promotion budget.