Brian on Restructuring Government

Brian talks about Restructuring our state government

SOUTH CAROLINA has one of the longest legislative sessions in the country. Legislators meet 5 ½ months every year. We owe it to the taxpayers to cut back on cost, which is why I will push for capping South Carolina’s legislative session at 40 to 45 days. There is no reason we cannot get the work done in this time frame.
 
We need to consolidate and streamline many of our government services. This would allow us to target our budget cuts and help us to save money by eliminating duplicate services. We need to put some of these programs under the direct leadership of the governor, which would bring more transparency and accountability.

“We need to give the governor the same constitutional powers enjoyed by all other governors. The governor needs to be able to appoint more constitutional officers, so that they work as one team and not independent offices. The only office I do not believe that should be appointed is the Secretary of State. Appointments would strengthen gubernatorial authority and would allow the governor to effectively manage the executive areas of state government. This would increase accountability and transparency in our state.”





“We have a serious problem in Columbia… We have spread out the power to nine constitutional office holders which are independently elected. We have too many people trying to run our state. For us to succeed, the Governor must have the power to consolidate agencies. He must be allowed to appoint constitutional officers. South Carolina cannot continue to operate like this for us to succeed and be successful.”