SC governor sues to block stimulus money

Facing South has been covering the ongoing saga of Southern Republican governors vs. the federal stimulus. A handful of GOP rising star governors -- including those in Texas, Louisiana, South Carolina and Alabama -- have been making headlines in recent months for rejecting unemployment benefits from the $787 billion federal stimulus package.

The fight between South Carolina's Gov. Mark Sanford and the state legislature over stimulus funds has been one of the most heated and charged standoffs. South Carolina stands to see $2.8 billion from the stimulus law during the next two years, but Sanford, who has been very vocal in his opposition to the stimulus plan, has for months blocked the receipt of $700 million in federal bailout money intended to stop education cuts. South Carolina legislators predicted dire consequences if they had to write a budget without the money, including laying off as many as 3,000 teachers.

This week the fight escalated. Sanford now plans on taking the South Carolina General Assembly to court. Lawmakers on Wednesday overrode Sanford's budget vetoes and required him to seek $700 million in federal stimulus cash. In a lawsuit posted Thursday, Sanford asks a federal court to declare that the state legislature violated the state constitution by trying to require him to take the money.

Education advocates throughout the state have been baffled by Sanford's ongoing actions to reject the much-needed federal funds.

As ABC News reported:

The state's top educator said Sanford was obstructing government's fundamental job of educating children. "This isn't an economics class. It's real life, and real people are hurting," said Education Superintendent Jim Rex. "Governor Sanford is basically standing in the doorways of our schools while teachers are losing jobs and districts are cutting effective programs."

In April, the battle over the funds went as far as the South Carolina Supreme Court. Casey Edwards, an 18-year-old senior at Chapin High School in Columbia, S.C., asked the court to allow the legislature to bypass the governor and take the $700 million in budget aid (most of this aid is set to help public schools survive the recession). But the Court ruled that it could not hear the lawsuit, stating that the legislature has to first act to spend the stimulus cash. This left open the possibility of a second court case if lawmakers include the money in the budget. With lawmakers having met this requirement, both governor and legislature will now turn to the Court for the final decision.