News and Press Releases for June 2007

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6/14/2007

Governor Sandord Signs Continuing Resolution

Measure Will Allow State Government to Continue Functioning While Pressing Issues Being Dealt With

Columbia, S.C. - Gov. Mark Sanford today signed the General Assembly's continuing resolution, a contingency measure that will keep government from shutting down in the absence of a state budget, as legislators continue work on two of the our state's most pressing priorities - DOT reform and workers' compensation reform.

"Let's be clear that this continuing resolution has less to do with the continuation of government and more to do with being a mechanism to allow work to continue on our state's most pressing needs - DOT reform and workers' compensation reform," Gov. Sanford said. "The people of this state have waited six months for these issues to be dealt with, and time is now short for finishing work on them. As we've said before, history has shown that once a budget is passed, the chance for any other meaningful reforms is slim. Time after time this year, progress on each of these fronts has slowed to a crawl in the Senate, and that's something the people of South Carolina just can't afford with only a handful of days left in this extended legislative session. I appreciate the House's willingness to stand firm on these issues, and I'd urge the Senate to do the same."

So far this session, both the House and Senate have passed versions of DOT reform and workers' compensation reform. The House has dedicated more money to tax relief - a net $81 million compared to only a net $23 million in the Senate - from the $1.5 billion in new money coming into Columbia this year. The resolution signed by the governor today will keep government from shutting down in the event a budget is not passed while those other issues are being negotiated.

A November audit found a number of problems at the state DOT, including overpaying by tens of millions of dollars for contracts, purposefully manipulating account balances, and violating state law on hiring practices for temporary employees. All told, the report found more than $60 million wasted by the agency that could have been used for infrastructure needs in South Carolina.

Last year, South Carolina's workers' compensation premiums grew more than 18 percent and our state ranks second in the nation since 2000 in terms of how quickly rates have increased. Meanwhile, reform in other states has produced insurance premium rate reductions for their businesses - California has seen a cumulative rate reduction of 55 percent since July 2003 while Florida's workers' compensation filings, which impact the cost of premiums, have seen a 13 percent decrease this year alone.