South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford revealed Wednesday night that he’s filed a lawsuit in the U.S. district Court in Columbia in response to the Legislature trying to force his hand and make him accept $700 million in federal stimulus money.
Saying they needed the funding as a hedge against recession, State lawmakers included the stimulus money in the budget it adopted this week to fund education and public safety programs. But the governor has said he would take the money only if the legislature commits to spending an equal portion of state dollars to pay down debt.
To do otherwise, Sanford said, would lead to significant deficits further down the road.
The divergence in philosophy set the executive and legislative branches of South Carolina’s state government on a collision course this week. After Sanford vetoed the state budget almost in its entirety, the state House and Senate convened Wednesday and quickly voted to override the governor’s vetoes.
Sanford has scheduled a press conference at the state capital at 11 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss the lawsuit, and will distribute copies of the complaint at that time.
In a written statement issued last night, Sanford said, “We know that a suit will be filed against us on this issue, and as such we’ve filed a suit tonight in response.
"We believe the Legislature’s end-around move on the stimulus won’t pass constitutional muster, and if it were allowed to stand it would have far-reaching implications for future governors of this state and for governors of other states as well," Sanford said.
The governor’s office declined further comment until later this morning.
The Obama Administration has twice rejected Sanford’s attempt to use the federal money directly toward debt, and lawmakers in Columbia said they believe the stimulus money is needed to help the state make it through the recession.
All told, South Carolina stands to receive about $2.8 billion in stimulus funding. The $700 million budget aid is the only portion in dispute.
The state’s $5.7 billion budget calls for the stimulus money to be used to keep college tuition costs down, help pay teacher salaries, pay for maintenance and expansion of prisons around the state, and also to fund law enforcement. The new budget year begins July 1.
This week’s actions in regard to the disputed stimulus money will also likely jump start a related lawsuit, which has been languishing since April.
That lawsuit, filed on behalf of an 18 year old high school senior, asked the state Supreme Court to allow the Legislature to bypass the governor and take $700 million in budget aid. The justices did not take the case at that time, deciding that it was not “ripe for judicial determination.”
In a unanimous decision, the court wrote that until lawmakers actually vote to spend the money, it did not want to rule on a “hypothetical or abstract dispute.”