COLUMBIA - A constitutional amendment proposed by Gov. Mark Sanford to limit the growth of government is facing an uncertain future after voters in two other states recently stuck down similar initiatives.

The latest blow for fiscal conservatives came this week in California, where voters overwhelmingly defeated a spending cap proposed by Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In a similar ballot initiative last week, Colorado residents decided to temporarily repeal the state's spending restrictions, the strictest in the country, in the face of potentially devastating budget cuts.

Colorado's Taxpayers' Bill of Rights was a nationwide model that Sanford was hoping to bring to South Carolina.

"We were basing part of (our amendment) off of Colorado," Sanford said this week. "Colorado's language was apparently fundamentally flawed, and so (my staff) has gone in and looked at what went right and wrong in Colorado, and we are trying to come up with modified language."

Sanford vowed that the recent setbacks in other states won't derail the proposal for good.

"The concept we are still after. There are questions in terms of size, scale and implementation," he said.

Sanford also hinted that his proposal might not be as far-reaching as once planned.

"There's been some lessons learned personally ... that have applications with what's going on in California with the importance in recognizing that any political system is incremental," he said.

In June, the Republican governor unveiled his Taxpayer Empowerment Amendment as a way to draw attention to the state budget's 9 percent growth. Sanford's executive spending plan limited growth to about 4 percent.

Sanford criticized the Legislature for approving a budget that grew "at a rate faster than their ability to pay for it."

His original taxpayer amendment proposed curbing state spending to the rate of growth in population plus inflation. Any surplus would go into an account as a cushion against future budget shortfalls. If revenues didn't fall, taxpayers would get a tax credit or rebate.

A comparable cap was previously passed by the House but died in the Senate. And lawmakers opposed to the idea say now is the wrong time to cut funding.

"It shows a total lack of understanding of South Carolina government," said Sen. John Land, the Senate Democratic leader. "We are underfunded on state law enforcement ... our education system is underfunded, our higher education system is underfunded.

"He has some way far right-wing, libertarian government philosophy, and he's trying to put that in place while we are struggling in South Carolina to stay up with ... the rest of the nation." Land added.

The limited-government concept is an important issue nationally for fiscal conservatives, especially with an election year looming. South Carolina is one of two dozen states that are considering new spending caps.

The amendment is a bread-and-butter issue for Sanford. If the administration can retool the proposal, Sanford likely will use it heavily during his 2006 re-election campaign.

"We are still just as committed to it," Sanford said.

Contact John Frank at (803) 799-9051 or jbfrank@postandcourier.com.