The degree to which the governor of South Carolina has been deprived of executive authority is evident in the wide-ranging powers of the State Budget and Control Board. Personnel, property management and procurement all function under the nominal authority of the five-member board, of which the governor is but a single member.

Gov. Mark Sanford correctly insists that most of the board's operations belong under the executive branch, and has asked the Legislature to create a Department of Administration to assume many of the B&C Board's responsibilities. The Legislature should authorize the governor to take over what are clearly executive duties.

Bills have been introduced in the House and Senate to give a limited number of B&C Board duties to the governor, but don't go nearly as far as Mr. Sanford envisions. That is not to say that the changes recommended in the legislation aren't substantial. For example, giving the governor authority for the Office of General Services, as proposed, would put property management where it belongs.

But the Legislature should recognize that real accountability and efficiency depend on more than half-measures. The duties of the Budget and Control Board that would be controlled by the executive of a corporation, if the state were a business, should be assumed by the state's chief executive.

Delegating to a five-member board meeting monthly matters that include personnel, information technology, real estate, building construction and maintenance is an indefensible diffusion of authority. Two members of the board besides the governor -- the comptroller general and the treasurer -- are elected statewide. They have defined duties over state finances, but their responsibilities extend far beyond the fiscal realm as policymakers on the board. Two board members owe their membership to legislative positions as chairmen of the budget committees of the House and Senate. Legislators elected by a few thousand voters in a House or Senate district shouldn't be commanding the statewide executive authority that is inherent in board membership.

A 1991 legislative restructuring study cited in the governor's budget found that "clearly executive tasks ... fall within the Budget and Control Board's authority." It further concluded that because the board meets infrequently, "day-to-day oversight of these functions has been delegated to the executive director of the board." That office should be a Cabinet position and its direction should come from the state's chief executive.

Mr. Sanford makes the point in his budget statement that South Carolina is the only state in the nation that denies its governor the executive responsibilities enjoyed by the State Budget and Control Board. "While they may be named different things ... all of the other 49 states have their administrative support agency under the sole authority of the governor," he said.

Central to Mr. Sanford's restructuring plan for state government is a Department of Administration operating as a Cabinet agency under the governor's direction and scrutiny. The governor's authority over administrative services is important to accountability and the efficient use of state resources.