SC State of the State address

Wednesday night Governor Mark Sanford delivered his annual State of the State address.
The Governor's speech centered on the theme of change.
In his hour-long address, Sanford talked about how he changed the structure at the Department of Transportation. He also talked about how he cut taxes by passing the largest recurring tax cut in state history and reformed coastal insurance and Medicaid.
Even with all of these changes, Sanford called for more.
"As Benjamin Franklin said, 'When you're finished changing, you're finished.' And we still have miles to go in all that needs to change in our state," Sanford said.
In a bold part of his speech, Sanford argued the state constitution was built on racism. He offered a quote from the 1890's that said the state would never recognize the right of African Americans to govern.
"The 1895 Constitution that set today's government structure was built around the fear that a black man would be elected governor of SC and any structure built on this foundation is an insane model from which to run your government in the 21st century," Sanford said.
He called the current system the "plantation model," and urged South Carolinians start the process of change and restructure state government.
Sanford asked lawmakers for two things within the first 30 days of this session -- DUI reform and immigration.

We passed the largest recurring tax cut in state history * $221 million, eliminating the grocery tax and cutting parts of the income tax. We're slowly but surely giving our students more tools with which to learn by establishing virtual classrooms so young people can draw from experts and resources from across the state. Last year marked the first year this state fully funded the charter school statewide district. We avoided the pitfalls that Florida taxpayers will see with the next storm that hits Florida by passing coastal insurance reform that keeps in mind the reality of market principles. We're defending privacy rights by becoming the fifth state in the country to say no to the heavy-handed Real ID legislation from the federal government, and I thank each one of you who voiced your opinion in that important debate tied to the larger principle of limiting federal power. We took a step toward more sustainable development by passing the Priority Investment Act. In this past year alone, nearly 80,000 acres of land were protected, and in total more land has been protected over the past four years than during any other period in our state's history.

There are 165,082 more people working in South Carolina than there were five years ago. We have seen more investment this last year, $4.1 billion worth, than in any other year in our state's history * and I might add that those jobs and investments have disproportionately gone to rural South Carolina and places that need them most. We have instituted the first Medicaid statewide reform plan of its kind in the nation, which will foster innovation as private companies compete within Medicaid to drive down prices and improve quality. We are also breaking new ground in being the only state in the nation offering Health Savings Accounts for Medicaid patients. We are joining with Georgia and are moving ahead with a state-of-the-art port in Jasper County that will serve the growing shipping needs of businesses across our state.