Belt-Tightening Ahead

South Carolina's budget and control board voted Tuesday to cut the budget by 5%, or about $238 million, the second round of spending cuts this fiscal year.

The board, comprised of the governor, the treasurer, the comptroller, the Senate Finance Committee chairman, and the House Ways and Means chairman, voted in September to reduce spending by 4%, according to Benjamin D. Fox, spokesman for Gov. Mark Sanford.

The more drastic cuts come as tax revenue declined 16.5% in October from a year ago and fell 9% through the first four months of the fiscal year from last year, according to the Board of Economic Advisers, which provides the state's revenue forecasts.

South Carolina's unemployment rate was 12.1% in October, according to the U.S. Labor Department.

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