South Carolina Statehouse Blog

Columbia, S.C. - May 12, 2009 - Governor Mark Sanford today issued the following statement after the House passed its $5.8 billion budget plan with little deliberation:

“Given the fact that legislators had only a few hours to review this budget before voting on it, not all of what’s in the budget is known, but there are a number of things we do know,” Gov. Sanford said. “One, being asked to vote on the budget in such a short amount of time isn’t fair to the people expected to vote responsibly on it, and it’s a disservice to the people they represent. Two, we know that the state is going to be in a $450 million next year and a $700 million hole two years from now when the choices being put off today come home to roost. Three, by not dedicating any of the stimulus dollars to debt relief as we’ve said, this budget does nothing to help our state weather an economic storm that is far from being over. That being said, I’d give real credit to those in the House who supported an alternative that would have been a far more constructive starting point in this conversation about debt repayment.”