Gov. Sanford Calls for Restructuring Passage

Gov. Sanford Calls for Restructuring Passage

With important votes on constitutional officer restructuring coming up in the state Senate on Wednesday of this week, Governor Mark Sanford today visited businesses in Charleston and Myrtle Beach to push for restructuring legislation aimed at bringing a greater degree of accountability to South Carolina government.

Under the legislation currently in the Senate, voters would be given the option to have future governors appoint the Superintendent of Education, Adjutant General, Commissioner of Agriculture, Comptroller General, Secretary of State and have the governor and Lieutenant Governor run on the same ticket -- or to continue with the current system of separately electing those offices.

"We think it's very important that regardless of how individual Senators feel about the idea of future governors appointing these positions that it's only fair to let South Carolina voters decide the question for themselves," Governor Sanford said. "Whether it's in the public sector or the private sector, structure matters and clear lines of accountability matter very much to outcomes, which is why giving people the opportunity to make these changes is so important. Bringing the constitutional officer structure more in line with what is seen in other states would be an important first step toward further restructuring that needs to happen this year, whether it's with the Department of Transportation, creating a Department of Administration, or consolidating our state's healthcare agencies."

In addition to Constitutional Officer restructuring, the governor is also pushing for agency restructuring in three areas this year. The governor has called for making the Department of Transportation directly accountable to the governor as it is in 47 other states, creating a Department of Administration to take over many of the functions of the Budget and Control Board -- an agency unique to South Carolina -- and consolidating the state's nine healthcare agencies to provide more coordinated care.

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