South Carolina: Governor Ordered to Request Stimulus

[dweller]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/05/us/05brfs-GOVERNORORDE_BRF.html

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: June 4, 2009

The South Carolina Supreme Court ordered Gov. Mark Sanford to request $700 million in federal stimulus money intended primarily for struggling schools, ending months of wrangling with legislators who accused him of playing politics with people’s lives. Mr. Sanford, the nation’s most vocal governor opposing the bailouts, had refused to take the money designated for the state over the next two years. But he said he would not appeal the Supreme Court ruling and planned to sign paperwork to request the money on Monday. Mr. Sanford objected to the stimulus money, saying it would devalue the dollar and increase debt. When fellow Republicans who control the Legislature pushed for the cash, he said they were overstepping their reach into his executive powers. The unanimous court ruling said the governor had no say in the matter. “At this stage in the process,” it said, “the governor certainly has no discretion to make a contradictory decision on behalf of the state.”

x-posted in SC forum

dp

[Are_grits_groceries]

1. They also took another step and

issued a 'writ of mandamus' ordering him to take the money. I wish they would put him in shackles in the ruins of Fort Sumter.