Sanford's budget plan
The governor unveiled a $6.5 billion spending plan for 2007-08, providing food for thought for state lawmakers, who have the final say in setting the state's priorities.

BY YVONNE M. WENGERAND ROBERT BEHRE

The Post and Courier

COLUMBIA - Gov. Mark Sanford unveiled his $6.5 billion executive budget Wednesday, but that doesn't necessarily mean South Carolina residents or business owners can start banking on his proposals.

Lawmakers likely could decide to disregard much of Sanford's vision for state spending, which starts a six-month process for the approval of the state's 2007-2008 fiscal year budget, along with his proposed $205 million in income tax cuts for individuals and businesses.

Not helping matters is a rekindling of the rift between the Republican governor and the General Assembly laid out in the first few pages of the inch-and-a-half-thick budget proposal.

In the executive summary, Sanford writes that when "unanticipated new tax dollars poured into the state coffers ? the commitment of many House Republicans to a spending limit pledge went out the window." It went on to say that a House GOP leader said that the House had to spend all the new money to "beat the Senate to the punch."

House Speaker Bobby Harrell said he was "terribly disappointed" to read the tone of the governor's proposal that attacked the Legislature in its executive summary.

"It makes me think that all the effort I put in the last three or four months toward a more congenial relationship has been in vain," said Harrell, R-Charleston. "If the goal is to lower the rhetoric and work together, writing something like that in this very important document does not help at all."

Harrell said the paragraph is erroneous, noting that Sanford used inaccurate figures in a spending comparison he made last year.

"I wanted us to work with him, but he makes it tough for me to go get the votes in support of him when he writes something like that," Harrell said.

However, Harrell said, the Legislature still will consider Sanford's proposals.

"What's frustrating to me is when I look at the budget document, I support most of what he's got in there," he said.

For example, Harrell said, he backs the idea of spending $100 million to help build an access road from a new North Charleston port to Interstate 26 and chipping away at the state's unfunded liabilities.

Sen. Robert Ford, D-Charleston, wasn't quite as supportive.

"In the four years of the Sanford administration, his budget has never seen the light of day," Ford said. "I don't think that's going to change. If it so happens some of Sanford's things get in, that would be a miracle."

The hallmark of Sanford's budget is money for the income tax cuts funded by recurring revenue and a 30-cent per pack cigarette tax increase. The state's rate of 7 cents per pack is the lowest in the nation.

"Whether your political philosophies lean to the right or the left, I think everyone could agree on this notion of actually spending at a sustainable rate," Sanford said. "Because if you don't, you get ahead of yourself and see the mid-year budget cuts."

Representing population growth and inflation, Sanford's 2007-08 executive budget is $600,000 higher than the spending plan he recommended for the current year. The governor drafted his budget after a series of public budget hearings and work with teams that prioritized spending.

Last year, Sanford vetoed the Legislature's $6.6 billion state budget because he felt it represented an unsustainable increase in spending. Lawmakers quickly overrode the governor's veto and closed their session for the year, declining Sanford's request to rewrite the spending plan.

The House will begin drafting its own version shortly after the Legislature's return Tuesday, and then it will be determined whether Sanford's proposal will get the needed support.

Here are some highlights:

--Providing $57.5 million to reward and recruit high-quality teachers.

--Using $1 million to provide start-up costs for Public Choice Innovation Schools through the state's Public Charter School District.

--Dedicating $439 million toward previously unfunded health-care liabilities, $41 million toward unfunded liabilities associated with the Tuition Prepayment Program and $21 million toward repaying state debt.

--Spending $3 million to create the South Carolina Virtual School pilot program to let students in small, rural schools enroll in advanced courses and give lower-performing schools remedial education opportunities.

--Suspending $775,000 in funding for the Trident Technical College's Culinary Arts program, despite recent pleas from its president for support.

--Cutting $1.3 million from the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism for programs, including the Southeastern Wildlife Expo and the Palmetto Trail. However, Sanford proposed adding $13.4 million a year toward the department's budget that could be matched by local nonprofits to market destinations.

--Adding $20 million to the state Conservation Bank to protect timberland.

--Reducing funding by $130,000 for law enforcement expenses associated with the H.L. Hunley.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dan Cooper, R-Piedmont, said budget writers would take Sanford's proposals into consideration. However, in the past, he said the committee has not been able to get all of the governor's proposals certified by the Office of State Budget, which is required for the Legislature's version.

"We'll look at it and try to incorporate stuff where we can," Cooper said. "But a lot of it is not practical."

Rep. Annette Young, R-Summerville, said she agrees with the governor on the concept of tax cuts but she hasn't had a chance to pore through all his proposals.

"I am going to take into consideration everything the governor says," said Young, first vice chairwoman of the Ways and Means Committee and a 10-year budget writer. "That's not to say I am going to adopt everything."

However, Sen. John Land, D-Manning, said in the past, Sanford's budgets haven't been much of a guideline for senators.

"I don't find it very helpful," he said. "I think it's more of a statement on his part about what he believes how the funding ought to go, but it doesn't really match the heavy lifting we have to do in the General Assembly to adequately fund our education systems and health care systems."

Still, Land said he agreed with Sanford's plans to increase spending to hire more officers for the Highway Patrol and the State Law Enforcement Division.

A vocal opponent of Sanford's, Land said the governor's executive budget already has been changed by the time it goes through the House and eventually into the Senate.

"By the time it gets to the Senate, the governor's proposals of the past four year have pretty much gone away," he said. "I find this governor comes out with a big splash this time of year and then in the State of the State address and then throws it in our lap and walks away and doesn't give us any help."

Kyle Stock, Katy Stech and Peter Hull contributed to this report. Reach Yvonne M. Wenger at ywenger@postandcourier.com or 803-799-9051.