South Carolina

Governor Pushes for Tax Cut, Workers' Comp Reform, Improved Small Business Access to Healthcare

Columbia, S.C. - February 21, 2007 - South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford today made stops at small businesses in Aiken and Charleston to call for reforms aimed at improving South Carolina's climate for small businesses. The governor's three-point plan - outlined in his State of the State last month - would lower income taxes, reform the workers' compensation system and remove barriers for small businesses looking to provide more affordable health insurance for their employees.

"Improving the 'soil conditions' for starting and growing a business in South Carolina has never been more important than in today's increasingly global competition for jobs and investment," Gov. Sanford said. "With 97 percent of all businesses in South Carolina being small businesses and with more than half of our workforce employed by those businesses, we have to do everything we can to make sure business owners have a better playing field in which to compete."    » read more »

2/05/2007 -- Columbia, S.C. - February 5, 2007 - South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford today traveled to auto shops in Greer, Rock Hill and Florence, urging citizens to "pick up a wrench" and work for change by calling their local legislators to voice their concerns on the need to reform the S.C. Department of Transportation.

A November audit found a number of problems at the state DOT, including overpaying by tens of millions of dollars for contracts, purposeful manipulation of account balances, and violating state law on hiring practices for temporary employees. All told, the report found more than $50 million wasted by the agency that could have been used for infrastructure needs in South Carolina.    » read more »

White Becomes First African-American To Lead Agency; Tom Davis To Take Over As Governor's Chief-Of-Staff

Columbia, S.C. - January 30, 2007 - Henry White today was named Executive Director of the South Carolina Budget and Control Board, becoming the first African-American in state history to occupy the post. The Budget and Control Board is responsible for a litany of functions in South Carolina, including procurement, personnel functions, bond oversight, and property management. White, 45, an attorney, has served in Gov. Sanford's administration for the past four years as Chief Legal Counsel and more recently as Chief of Staff as well. His position with the Budget and Control Board was effective immediately after this morning's vote by the Board, with Gov. Sanford, Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom, and Treasurer Thomas Ravenel voting in favor of naming White as Executive Director.

"When you look at what has traditionally been the case in South Carolina, putting Henry in this role is an incredibly significant step toward making sure all South Carolinians are represented in the upper levels of state government," Gov. Sanford said. "More importantly, working with Henry over the past four years I've come to know him as an incredibly fair and deliberate individual, which I think makes him well-suited to take over an agency which by its very nature is difficult to manage. I look forward to working with him in this new capacity, and know that his leadership on the Board will prove to be a real benefit to every taxpayer in South Carolina."    » read more »

1/17/2007 -- Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, Ladies and Gentleman of the General Assembly, Constitutional Officers and my fellow South Carolinians:

It’s an honor to be with you tonight to deliver my view of the State of our State, but before I do I would like to offer a few “Thank yous.”

Last year I mentioned a safety calendar contest in which our third son, Bolton, had made not having your birthday party in Afghanistan his safety tip for the year. It’s a long way from “wear a bike helmet” or “don’t play with matches,” but many young Americans are still having their birthdays in both Afghanistan and Iraq. So before we consider the State of the State this evening, it’s worth pausing again to remember our country remains at war.    » read more »

1/10/2007 -- Thank you for that warm welcome. Thank you as well to all the people of South Carolina for the honor of
serving our state for the next four years.

While on the subject of thank yous:

I want to thank my Maker. I believe that God brought all of us to this moment. I am humbled in simply being here, and I'm humbled in how important the task of bringing change to our state is for every one of us. I thank my family. Jenny and the boys have made a lot of certain and real sacrifices.    » read more »

Governor's Budget Proposal To Target Expanding Port Capacity

Columbia, S.C. - December 20, 2006 - In the latest preview of his upcoming Executive Budget, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford today announced that his spending proposal will call for $100 million toward building a port access road connecting the planned Naval Base terminal to Interstate 26.

The State Ports Authority's current plan calls for expanding operations at the Charleston Naval Base with a new three-berth terminal that will be able to handle more than 1 million 20-foot-equivalent unit containers a year. If the governor's budget proposal is adopted, $177 million will still be needed to complete the access road, which Gov. Sanford said he will propose funding in future budgets.    » read more »

Budget to Cut South Carolina Income Taxes by $205 Million, Increase Cigarette Tax

Governor To Propose $98 Million In Net Tax Relief, $107 Million Tax Swap With Cigarette Tax Increase

Columbia, S.C. - December 13, 2006 - In the latest preview of his upcoming Executive Budget, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford today called for $205 million in income tax relief for South Carolina, to be partially paid for through an increase in the state's cigarette tax.

By holding spending increases to population plus inflation, the governor's budget is able to set aside $98 million to be returned to taxpayers on an annual basis. Additionally, the budget proposes a cigarette tax increase of 30 cents per pack that would generate $107 million yearly. The budget will contain a recommendation that all of those dollars be returned in the form of a $205 million income tax cut. The governor said he will work with the legislature and business groups on a proposal to return those dollars to taxpayers, through some combination of business and personal income tax cuts.    » read more »

South Carolina Gov. Sanford Joins Senate Members to Call for Gas Tax Relief

Governor, Senators Push For Gas Tax Suspension Before End Of Session

Columbia, S.C. - May 16, 2006 - Governor Mark Sanford today joined with members of the S.C. Senate to push for Senate passage of the governor's plan to suspend the state's 16.75 cent per gallon gasoline tax later this year as a way of providing immediate tax relief to South Carolinians. Last week, the governor was the first to call for the gas tax suspension from Memorial Day through Labor Day, and the S.C. House acted immediately by passing their own plan to suspend the tax starting in October. The governor today called on the Senate to follow his and the House's lead in passing gas tax relief, preferably during the summer time frame.    » read more »

South Carolina Gov. Sanford Signs Charter Schools Bill

Governor Calls Major Agenda Item Key Step Toward Improving Education

Columbia, S.C. - May 3, 2006 - Gov. Mark Sanford today signed H.3010, a key part of his education agenda aimed at stimulating the establishment of charter schools in South Carolina. The charter schools bill will create a Statewide Public Charter School District to authorize charter schools in order to give prospective operators another option for school approval rather than going through the local school district. The governor said the ultimate goal of the legislation is to give parents and students more educational choices.    » read more »

South Carolina Gov. Sanford Welcomes Hundreds of New Jobs to Edgefield

Trenton, S.C. - June 1, 2005 - In welcoming 400 new jobs to the Aiken-Edgefield area, Gov. Mark Sanford today pledged to continue his administration's efforts to build a better business climate in South Carolina by cutting taxes and putting more money into our state's economy, not the growth of government. At a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Urban Outfitters, Inc., in Trenton, S.C., Gov. Sanford renewed his call for expanded income tax relief to stimulate economic growth so that job announcements like this one are more commonplace in South Carolina.    » read more »

CVS/pharmacy Charitable Trust Awards $25,000 Dollars to Three Non-Profit Organizations in South Carolina

-- Local donations are part of 1.7 million dollars in grant funds provided by CVS/pharmacy's charitable foundation to 76 organizations across the country --

Woonsocket, R.I., March 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The CVS/pharmacy Charitable Trust, the private foundation managed by CVS Corporation (NYSE:CVS) , announced today that it has awarded $25,000 in grants to three non-profit organizations in South Carolina.    » read more »

South Carolina Man to Serve Three Years in Prison for Tax Crimes

Defendant Filed Bogus Documents To Retaliate Against Judge, Prosecutor And Others
March 11, 2005

WASHINGTON D.C. - Eileen J. O’Connor, Assistant Attorney General for the Tax Division and Nancy Jardini, Chief, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, announced today that at the federal courthouse in Charleston, South Carolina, U.S. District Judge David C. Norton sentenced Nathaniel Green to 36 months imprisonment, to be followed by three years supervised release. Green also must pay $91,027 as restitution to the IRS. On October 14, 2004, following a three-day jury trial, Mr. Green was convicted of obstruction of justice, three counts of filing fraudulent tax documents, and five counts of assisting others in the preparation and filing of fraudulent documents.    » read more »

South Carolina Governor Sanford Urges Trust Fund Repayment on Barnwell Visit

Barnwell, S.C. - February 22, 2005 - Gov. Mark Sanford today urged the General Assembly to follow the lead of his Executive Budget in repaying hundreds of millions of dollars borrowed from trust and reserve funds - including $90 million borrowed from the Barnwell cleanup fund since 2001.    » read more »

Campaign for Economic Literacy Addresses Soiuth Carolina Students’ Lack of Economic Knowledge

February 15, 2005 -- Columbia, S.C. - South Carolina’s high school students scored an average of 53% on the recent 2004 Survey of Economic Literacy. The survey was designed to examine student familiarity with basic economic principles, knowledge about the U.S. economy, and understanding of some key economic terms embodied in the South Carolina academic standards. The survey was sponsored by the South Carolina Office of the Attorney General, the South Carolina Council on Economic Education (SCCEE) and Merrill Lynch.    » read more »

Nine Plead Guilty In Bamberg Insurance Fraud Ring

January 28, 2005 -- Columbia, S.C. – Attorney General Henry McMaster announced today that nine (9) individuals have pleaded guilty between October 21, 2004 and January 13, 2005 to a total of sixteen (16) counts of Presenting False Claims for Payment, a felony violation of §38-55-170 of the Code of Laws, and punishable to five (5) years imprisonment and/or a fine in the discretion of the court.    » read more »