Gov. Mark Sanford eliminated funding for his own Commission on Women on Wednesday, angering advocates who say the advisory group is critical in a state that ranks near the bottom nationwide in the status of women.

Sanford used his line-item veto to cut the commission's $99,955 appropriation from the $5.3 billion state budget.

The commission is made up of seven gubernatorial appointees, who will remain in place.

But the veto eliminates the commission's two full-time employees and $10,000 in office costs - replacing them with "part-time support" from other governor's office employees.

"It's an insult to women to say these issues are just part-time important," said state Rep. Vida Miller, D-Georgetown. "They're not; they're full-time important."

Sanford spokesman Chris Drummond said that's not the message the governor wants to send.

"He fully supports it. He's going to continue to make appointments to the commission."

Instead, Drummond said, Sanford's message is that he should have the authority to move resources around within the governor's office - especially since the executive director's position is vacant and a program administrator will be offered another job in the governor's office.

Commissioners will be able to get administrative help from other gubernatorial staffers when needed, Drummond said.

"It's an example to other state agencies to try and consolidate functions with existing staff," Drummond said.

The governor's veto will stand at least until January when the Legislature reconvenes andcould override it.

In the past four years, the commission has organized statewide forums on women's health care and lobbied effectively that if the state employees' health plan paid for Viagra for men, it also should pay for contraceptives for women.

The commission also fought successfully for a $20 fee on all marriage licenses to raise money for domestic-violence shelters.

State Rep. Becky Meacham-Richardson, R-York, and chairwoman of the Republican Women's Caucus, said she was surprised and disappointed.

"That commission has done a lot," she said. "It's been instrumental in domestic violence issues the last several years, and that's a real problem we've had."

The commission was formed in 1971 through a bipartisan effort, spurred by President Kennedy and led here by Democratic Gov. John West.

It lost some of its independence in the early 1990s, when a major restructuring of state government brought it under the umbrella of the governor's office.

But former commission member Susan Romaine of Sullivan's Island said the commission still served a function.

"There is a reason for it, and that's because women are still incredibly underrepresented in our government," Romaine said. "That basically means that the issues that women face are not being addressed."

But she said if the commission's funding is eliminated, the commission is effectively shut down.

South Carolina ranks near the bottom of most indicators for the status of women, from health care to pay equity - making 71 cents on the dollar compared with men.

The state ranks 50th nationwide in the rate of women elected to office. Of the 124 people in the S.C. House, 14 are women. Of the 46 senators, two are women. State Superintendent of Education Inez Tenenbaum is the only woman who serves in a statewide elective office.

It's ironic, said state Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, that the commission gets its funding taken away just months after it published a report showing the poor state of women in South Carolina.

"The governor's veto reinforces the notion that women are not important as far as state government is concerned," Cobb-Hunter said. "It speaks volumes about Governor Sanford's belief about the role of women."

But other women in the State House were not as concerned.

State Rep. Shirley Hinson, R-Berkeley, said times have changed.

"I believe we've got individuals serving on boards who are qualified and hopefully we've got men in these positions who recognize a woman's contribution," Hinson said. "I don't think we need a separate commission. We don't have a Men's Commission."

Her Lowcountry colleague, state Rep. Annette Young, R-Dorchester, agreed.

"It's a tight budget year," she said. "There are other areas we really need the money."

Laurel Suggs, president of the state's League of Women Voters and daughter of Barbara Moxon, a former commission chairwoman, said cutting the commission's "small potatoes" budget won't go far in helping the state save money.

"It's just an indication that women still aren't making the progress we ought to be making in South Carolina," Suggs said. "I mean, they had a pitiful budget, just pitiful."

Two years ago, in 2001-2002, the commission had an annual budget of more than $145,000. Last year, it received $103,000.

The state's commission is much smaller and less active than its neighbor in North Carolina, the N.C. Council for Women and Domestic Violence Commission.

That council has a $6 million state budget, used to make grants to regional state offices and shelters as well as to train women who find themselves seeking a job later in life.

North Carolina's executive director Leslie Starsoneck said some commissions do fall victim to budget cuts, because advocacy can be seen as a luxury.

"You lose ground on these things pretty quickly. If you're going to defund, you lose ground. You need a constant presence."

Contact Bauerlein at (803) 771-8485 or vbauerlein@thestate.com and Gould Sheinin at (803) 771-8658 or asheinin@thestate.com.