This was not a good day for the taxpayer, of the votes cast:
Elimination of competitive grants lost 31-9
Elimination of National Green Bean museum lost 28-14
$320 million in tax relief tabled on voice vote
$81 million in tax relief lost 25-17
Total elimination of sales tax this year lost 24-18

This video is a perfect example of Tuesday’s (4/24) deliberations on the budget. Click here to see complete list
A short list of earmarks: $950,000 National Green Bean Museum in Lake City, $200,000 Randolph Cemetery in Columbia, $550,000 Johnsonville Library in Florence, $500,000 Weldon Auditorium in Clarendon, $500,000 Chapman Cultural Center in Spartanburg, $500,000 York Museum, $225,000 Abbeville Courthouse renovation, $100,000 Spartanburg Humane Society, $800,000 Anderson parks, $300,000 Horry parks, $500,000 Reedy River project, $990,000 Greenwood sewer line, $500,000 Camp Spearhead, $950,000 City of Easley, $3,900,000 Florence County Museum.

This was not a good day for the taxpayer, of the votes cast:
Elimination of competitive grants lost 31-9
Elimination of National Green Bean museum lost 28-14
$320 million in tax relief tabled on voice vote
$81 million in tax relief lost 25-17
Total elimination of sales tax this year lost 24-18

This video is a perfect example of Tuesday’s (4/24) deliberations on the budget. Click here to see complete list
A short list of earmarks: $950,000 National Green Bean Museum in Lake City, $200,000 Randolph Cemetery in Columbia, $550,000 Johnsonville Library in Florence, $500,000 Weldon Auditorium in Clarendon, $500,000 Chapman Cultural Center in Spartanburg, $500,000 York Museum, $225,000 Abbeville Courthouse renovation, $100,000 Spartanburg Humane Society, $800,000 Anderson parks, $300,000 Horry parks, $500,000 Reedy River project, $990,000 Greenwood sewer line, $500,000 Camp Spearhead, $950,000 City of Easley, $3,900,000 Florence County Museum.

Gov. Sanford Unveils Spending Clock NEW DISPLAY WILL SHOW HOW FAST BUDGET SPENDS SOUTH CAROLINIANS’ NEW TAX DOLLARS

Columbia, S.C. – April 23, 2007 – Governor Mark Sanford today unveiled a new spending clock, aimed at displaying just how fast the state budget is spending new tax dollars coming into Columbia this year.

This week, the Senate will begin debate on its budget, which as of right now contemplates spending nearly all of the $1.3 billion in new money coming into Columbia this year, while only providing $54 million in tax relief to hard-working South Carolinians. By contrast, the governor’s spending plan called for $205 million in income tax relief, while the House’s spending plan called for more than $80 million in tax relief.

That rate of spending growth translates into roughly $33 per second – more than $2.8 million spent per day. The governor said the spending clock is an important illustration of just how fast that money is being spent, particularly in light of how little tax relief the Senate Finance Committee’s budget would provide.

“This clock provides a fairly startling reminder of just how fast an average South Carolinian’s hard-earned dollars are being spent in Columbia,” Gov. Sanford said. “Our state’s budget is poised for yet another year of double-digit growth after growing by more than 25 percent over the past two years. That’s a rate of growth that far exceeds the growth in the average South Carolinian’s paycheck, that far exceeds the growth in the national economy, and that’s unsustainable by any measure. As the Senate begins its budget debate this week, I’d ask that conservative Senators make their voices heard about the need for more in the way of tax relief and less in the way of government spending, so that we can return more of these dollars to hard-working people of this state.”

Currently, the Senate budget would return only about three percent of new dollars to South Carolinians in the form of tax relief. The budget also only puts $205 million toward state’s $9 billion unfunded retiree healthcare liability, compared to the $439 million recommended by Gov. Sanford toward that debt. In addition, the Senate Finance Committee’s budget contains $242 million in annualizations – the use of one-time money for ongoing expenses – compared to $73 million in the governor’s budget plan.

The spending clock will continue to be displayed outside the Governor’s Office throughout the budget process.