Georgetown — Gov. Mark Sanford talked restructuring state government during a lunchtime visit Tuesday with the Georgetown Rotary Club.

During a day when a subcommittee worked on impeachment proceedings for Sanford, he  apologized for letting residents of Georgetown down.

Sanford then discussed restructuring the government, giving the governor more power over the Budget and Control Board and allowing the governor and the Lt. governor to run on the same ticket.

At the same time he was in Georgetown, legislators questioned Sanford’s use of the state plane to attend a book signing, birthday party and family vacation on the Georgia coast, according to the Post and Courier.

“I apologize for letting so many of yaw’ll down,’’ Sanford said. “A lot of people say, ‘Let it alone,’’’ but I do apologize.”

Sanford then stressed that the question that should be asked is where the state will go from now on.

He said there are possibilities of restructuring state government to allow the future governor to have more control over the Budget and Control Board.

Sanford said he is a member of the board, but has very little control over what they do.

“The fatal curse in South Carolina is that the buck stops nowhere,’’ Sanford said of the nonaccountability problem he sees in the State House.

Sanford said he also wants a change that would allow the governor and the lieutenant governor to run on the same ticket.

He said it makes no sense for the two to go in different directions.

“It’s something that can happen if you make enough noise,’’ he said.

Sanford said the state is run under a system where the executive branch of government is diffused.

The system was formed during Reconstruction time in South Carolina, to keep black people from having any real authority in government, he said.

“It’s an insane model to run your government,’’ he said.

Sanford also urged spending limits, to avoid the “peak and valley’’ approach to government spending. He said money that comes into the government is always spent, with different districts competing to get dollars.

“If a dollar comes into Columbia...somebody is going to grab it,’’ he said. “It’s just a matter of where it will get spent. Whether it’s sustainable or not is irrelevant.’’

The governor needs to be more involved in the budget process, Sanford said.

“We get fluffy on the way up, then we cut past muscle all the way to the bone,’’ he said. “The governor needs to be more involved in the budget process. We’ve got to get out of the mold of what’s good for your district.’’

Jack Scoville, newly elected mayor of Georgetown, asked Sanford why more hasn’t been done to save the Port of Georgetown.

The port is silted in in some areas, preventing cargo ships from entering the area.

“Your office has written a letter, but what else,’’ Scoville asked. “You have to get more money out of Washington. I don’t feel that we’re getting a lot of support out of the governor’s office.’’

Sanford said he could “call President Obama,’’ about the port, but he didn’t know if that would make a difference.

“The letter was important,’’ Sanford said. “That was a first step.’’

Continuing investigation

Meanwhile, the governor’s personal attorney asked the subcomittee Tuesday to put the flights in context, according to the Post and Courier.

The subcommittee is trying to decide whether the allegations are serious misconduct.

Tuesday’s meeting was the second hearing by the special House subcommittee. In defense, Sanford’s attorneys said his use of state aircraft was for official business.

The State Ethics Commission is questioning nine of 663 flights Sanford took on state aircraft from 2003 to October 2009, according to media reports.

By Kelly Marshall Fuller

Kfuller@gtowntimes.com