The proposed commission would duplicate the efforts of the South Carolina Military Base Task Force, which Sanford created in 2003, said Will Folks, a spokesman for the governor.
"Though well-intentioned, this legislation duplicates ongoing efforts to work with communities of interest in the 2005 round of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission established at the Department of Defense," Sanford said in a letter dated Wednesday to members of the state House of Representatives.
A round of Pentagon-mandated Base Realignment and Closure is set for next year to eliminate excess installations and allow the military to operate more efficiently. About 25 percent of the nation's bases are expected to be impacted.
State Rep. Catherine Ceips, R-Beaufort, who sponsored the bill, said it was an important first step to put South Carolina in a position to protect its military communities should the state be faced with a round of base closures.
"This is a bill for the future of South Carolina," Ceips said. "When (a base closure round) comes around, everybody gets busy and forms commissions. They did nothing over the years when (the base closure round) wasn't looming."
In this way, South Carolina has fallen behind other states like Texas, Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Oklahoma, as far as showing the Pentagon that it's serious about taking care of its service members' quality of life at all times, she said.
"This bill is simply a framework for South Carolina to start protecting its bases," Ceips said.
Sanford's veto letter also noted the lack of money to operate the commission.
The initial bill included a $25 million revolving loan to benefit military communities in need, but the money was removed to get the bill passed in April as the state faced a budget crunch.
"This is a bill with no funding for this group," Folks said. "Creating a task force when you don't have funding for it seems impossible to do."
Ceips said she planned to get the money for the revolving loan added to the legislation when the General Assembly reconvenes next month and stressed that the bill was not designed just for the impending round of base closures, but for the future of the state's military communities.
Retired Army Gen. Jim Shufelt, who serves on the executive committee of the governor's base task force and volunteers with Beaufort County's Military Enhancement Committee, an offshoot of the Greater Beaufort Chamber of Commerce working to protect the area's bases, said he wasn't surprised the governor vetoed the bill.
"The bill without the funding mechanism doesn't really accomplish very much," Shufelt said.
It might be beneficial to reexamine the bill and see if there is a better way to accomplish some of its goals, rather than by creating the commission, he said.
"It certainly should not be construed by anyone as saying the governor does not support the bases," Shufelt said. "That's clearly not what he's saying.
