Sanford proposal hits snag

COLUMBIA -- A bill that would allow voters to decide the structure of South Carolina's government was sent back to a Senate Judiciary subcommittee on Tuesday.

The bill is part of Gov. Mark Sanford's proposal to restructure state government. It would place a referendum on the ballot in November's general election asking whether constitutional officers -- with the exception of the attorney general and treasurer – should be elected or appointed. It also would put the governor and lieutenant governor on the same ticket.

Opponents on the full Judiciary Committee gutted the bill two weeks ago -- passing amendments taking the adjutant general and agriculture commissioner out of the mix and keeping the governor and lieutenant governor running separately.

An amendment keeping the secretary of state an elected office, proposed by Sen. Jake Knotts, R-Columbia, passed by an 11-7 vote Tuesday before the bill could be sent back to the subcommittee. Mark Hammond of Spartanburg is the current secretary of state.

Moving the bill back to the subcommittee keeps it alive -- barely.

"It's going to take a lot of work to bring it back to the full committee," said Sen. Jim Ritchie, R-Spartanburg, who helped craft the legislation. "The public will have to communicate with the General Assembly that it believes change is important to South Carolina's future. Without that public outcry it will be hard to change many votes to yes."

Sanford spokesman Will Folks said that, despite the setback, the governor would continue to push the plan.

"Whether you're afraid of change or have a disagreement about how to get there, it would seem the least you could do would be to let the voters decide," Folks said.

Sen. John Hawkins, R-Spartanburg, proposed the amendment two weeks ago to keep the adjutant general an elected office. Hawkins is a major in the National Guard.

Hawkins said the second half of the proposal, which deals with reorganizing and combining many state agencies, would be approved largely intact.

"What happened today is that the 10-page bill was sent back to subcommittee and the 1,900-page bill is still alive," Hawkins said. "The meat is alive and well and I believe restructuring will go forward.

Robert W. Dalton can be reached at 562-7274 or bob.dalton@shj.com.

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