Governor Sanford Issues Statement on BEA Numbers

ECONOMIC ADVISORS ADJUST ESTIMATES DOWN BY $90 MILLION

Columbia, S.C. - April 7, 2008 - Governor Mark Sanford today issued the following statement on the state's Board of Economic Advisors' $90 million downward adjustment to next year's budget projections - confirming concerns that Governor Sanford expressed about revenue projections back in February.

"We've said for months that this year's projections for budget growth were far too optimistic, and unfortunately today those concerns were shown to be founded," Gov. Sanford said. "With so little new money to work with, this again highlights the need for more responsible budgeting when times are good, rather than digging an annualization hole that was done last year to the tune of $270 million while growing government by 40 percent over three years. We believe this also presents a real opportunity for budget writers to dig a little deeper in tightening the belt - like families and businesses do across the state - rather than relying so heavily on cutting across the board, because all programs are not created equal. Most importantly, many believe that the economic forecast is going to get worse before it gets better, and that's something we'd urge budget writers to keep in mind before they consider any new spending or borrow from reserve funds - and it again shows the importance of addressing our state's $20 billion in unfunded political promises."

In a February 9 letter to BEA Chairman John Rainey about the need to consider lowering the estimate, Gov. Sanford wrote, "the starting point is to cut out around $100 million because that is pretty close to the one percent number, and I think the further north you go from there, the more prudent you should become."