South Carolina Statehouse Blog

Columbia, S.C. - May 20, 2009 - Gov. Sanford today issued the following statement on veto overrides in the House and Senate:

“We’ve long said that spending the stimulus money in this fashion is incredibly irresponsible for the way it ignores the impact on future generations, and for the way it puts our state on shaky financial footing with a nearly $1 billion budget hole two years from now,” Gov. Sanford said. “To that end, we’re incredibly disappointed that the House and Senate would choose to run roughshod over today’s and tomorrow’s taxpayers by overriding our budget vetoes tied to the stimulus. While we’re pleased that a handful of other vetoes have been sustained, what they represent pales in comparison to this larger issue of the stimulus.”

“We know that a suit will be filed against us on this issue, and as such we’ve filed a suit tonight in response. We believe the legislature’s end-around move on the stimulus won’t pass constitutional muster, and if it were allowed to stand it would have far reaching implications for future governors of this state and for governors of other states as well.”