Sanford gives last State of the State
Paul Cheezem
Issue date: 1/27/10 Section: Voices
Gov. Mark Sanford gave his last State of the State address on Wednesday, Jan. 20. Skipping over the apologies and comments about his wife's grace in handling the unraveling of their marriage, the three biggest things that came from this address were information about the Department of Administration, Department of Workforce and the cigarette tax increase.
The Department of Administration would allow the governor to administer the laws of the state. South Carolina, according to Sanford, is the only state where the State House has the power of administration instead of the governor. This would be part of a restructuring plan that he has been championing for some time now, and includes gubernatorial appointments of constitutional offices and a single-ticket election. The single ticket election would make the gubernatorial election similar to a presidential election. South Carolina is also the only state where the attorney general is elected instead of appointed.
The Department of Workforce would link the Employment Security Commission (E.S.C.) to the Department of Commerce. Sanford felt that the E.S.C. was spending too much time and resources on unemployment claims and not on linking the unemployed with jobs. The new department would allow the unemployed to be placed with jobs more quickly through Commerce initiatives. This also would be the restructuring of the E.S.C. that Sanford has been after for years due to his belief that this institution is not being held accountable to the citizens of the state.
The cigarette tax would be part of a plan to increase the state's competitiveness in obtaining more economic development projects. This would raise the cigarette tax, which is the lowest in the nation, and lower the corporate tax. Sanford says this would move South Carolina from 25th to 6th in the State Business Tax Climate Index.
All of Sanford's proposals have been heard recently in the House and have significant support. This willingness to work with the legislative branch is new for the governor. As a lame-duck governor, Sanford is not expected to put aside drama in order to make some progress during the current legislative session.
Rep. Harry Ott spoke on behalf of the Democrats and talked about the Republicans' control of both the House and the Senate. He offered very little insight over any proposed legislation other than campaign finance reform, voting records and general measures of accountability.
There were no surprises in Sanford's speech, and it was very similar to his other State of the State addresses. Overall, we can expect Sanford to be more willing to work with the State House for the duration of his term.
The Department of Administration would allow the governor to administer the laws of the state. South Carolina, according to Sanford, is the only state where the State House has the power of administration instead of the governor. This would be part of a restructuring plan that he has been championing for some time now, and includes gubernatorial appointments of constitutional offices and a single-ticket election. The single ticket election would make the gubernatorial election similar to a presidential election. South Carolina is also the only state where the attorney general is elected instead of appointed.
The Department of Workforce would link the Employment Security Commission (E.S.C.) to the Department of Commerce. Sanford felt that the E.S.C. was spending too much time and resources on unemployment claims and not on linking the unemployed with jobs. The new department would allow the unemployed to be placed with jobs more quickly through Commerce initiatives. This also would be the restructuring of the E.S.C. that Sanford has been after for years due to his belief that this institution is not being held accountable to the citizens of the state.
The cigarette tax would be part of a plan to increase the state's competitiveness in obtaining more economic development projects. This would raise the cigarette tax, which is the lowest in the nation, and lower the corporate tax. Sanford says this would move South Carolina from 25th to 6th in the State Business Tax Climate Index.
All of Sanford's proposals have been heard recently in the House and have significant support. This willingness to work with the legislative branch is new for the governor. As a lame-duck governor, Sanford is not expected to put aside drama in order to make some progress during the current legislative session.
Rep. Harry Ott spoke on behalf of the Democrats and talked about the Republicans' control of both the House and the Senate. He offered very little insight over any proposed legislation other than campaign finance reform, voting records and general measures of accountability.
There were no surprises in Sanford's speech, and it was very similar to his other State of the State addresses. Overall, we can expect Sanford to be more willing to work with the State House for the duration of his term.
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