Gov. Mark Sanford on Monday revealed his proposed budget for 2008, which totals almost $7 billion and calls for $330 million in spending cuts.
Sanford complained that over the past three years government spending in South Carolina has increased by more than 40%. His budget for fiscal 2008 spends $326 million less than last year, a 4.6% reduction, according to his staff.
However, even with the cuts, the recommended spending level still represents a 36% increase in state spending over the past five years, and roughly 7% annual growth — far greater than the average 4.4% growth in population plus inflation over that time. Economists are projecting about $200 million of new revenue coming into the state’s coffers, which is more than $1 billion less than fiscal 2007’s revenue growth.
“We’ve said for the past four years that you can’t grow government faster than the underlying economy, and that’s why we needed to limit spending when times were good,” Sanford said in a news release. “Now we’re seeing the effects of that overspending, and as a result some tough choices are going to have to be made this year with regard to the state budget.”
Specific dates for upcoming bond deals have not been detailed.
