AIKEN - Gov. Mark Sanford's push to restructure state government might create clearer lines of communication, but some critics warn that it might not deliver taxpayer savings as promised.
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Dan Carter watched former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter retool his state's inner workings in the 1970s. It eliminated some of the state's wasteful purchasing habits, but didn't do much to lighten the taxpayers' burden, said Mr. Carter, a political history professor at the University of South Carolina who once taught at Emory University in Atlanta.
"It is an illusion that by somehow shuffling offices that you can achieve enormous efficiency or savings," he said. "Huge organizations are by their very nature not very efficient."
Mr. Sanford, a Republican, contends that his power to lead is limited because of the state's crowd of constitutionally elected officers, the Legislature's overreaching oversight of his office and overlapping administrative services.
The result is an inefficiently run state, he says in the executive budget he released in January.
"In the battlefield, our military has imposed a 'chain of command' to ensure the orders of the general are implemented by the soldiers in the field," he wrote. "Our state government must have a governor who is able to exert the same form of hierarchical control."
Mr. Sanford wants the governor and lieutenant governor to run on a single ballot. He also wants to give the governor power to appoint the currently elected offices of adjutant general, commissioner of agriculture, comptroller general, secretary of state, education superintendent and state treasurer. The attorney general would be elected separately.
Before any changes can be made to constitutional offices, a referendum calling for such action must be approved by South Carolina voters.
Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, has introduced a 1,900-page bill that mirrors much of what Mr. Sanford wants to accomplish.
It would grant the governor the power he wants, a trend that started around 1980, when governors were given the ability to run for re-election, said Bill Moore, a political science professor at the College of Charleston.
Mr. Sanford's restructuring scheme would produce immediate savings by eliminating or consolidating 15 state agencies, which would save about $26 million next year, according to his budget proposal. It would also cut 1,300 jobs.
State Sen. Tommy Moore, D-Clearwater, worked on the restructuring committee that in 1993 whittled the state's list of agencies from about 110 to the current 87. He has also co-sponsored legislation that would allow the governor to appoint constitutional officers.
He said he saw the positive effects of eliminating unneeded agencies.
Still, he said, "I think it's doubtful you're talking about any major savings.
Reach Josh Gelinas at (803) 279-6895 or josh.gelinas@augustachronicle.com.
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