South Carolina Statehouse Blog

Columbia, S.C. - June 4, 2009 - Governor Mark Sanford today issued the following statement on the Supreme Court’s verdict that he must apply for a disputed $700 million in stimulus funds, allowing the General Assembly to spend those dollars rather than use them for state debt relief:

“Some very clear handwriting was on the wall with respect to how the Supreme Court would come down on this issue, and while we’re not surprised by the verdict we’re certainly disappointed,” Gov. Sanford said. “This decision is terrible news for every taxpayer in South Carolina, and even more so for future taxpayers who will ultimately bear the responsibility of paying for this so-called ’stimulus’ without seeing any benefit from it. The legislature squandered the best chance in a generation to make some much-needed reforms to the antiquated horse-and-buggy form of government that has plagued our state from a cost standpoint and an accountability standpoint for over a century.

“If there’s to be any positive from this, it’s our hope that people across South Carolina will see just how ill-served they are under our current system of government. What the Supreme Court said today is that a governor elected to represent the interest of four million South Carolinians doesn’t matter - the only thing that matters is the will of legislative leadership elected by a few thousand, and the will of the Supreme Court justices elected by and funded by those very same legislators. That’s just one of many tragic oddities in our state government, but it’s emblematic of the legislative dominance keeping our state from competing in the 21st Century. In our final 18 months in office, we’re going to use every tool available to us to highlight some much-needed reforms to our governmental structure, but it’s going to take energy and commitment on the part of every South Carolinian who wants to see those changes to help us push them over the finish line.”

As Gov. Sanford previously noted, he plans to abide by the Court’s decision and will sign needed paperwork to draw down stimulus dollars.