After second rejection, Sanford says he'll reject funds

After his second attempt to use stimulus funds to pay down state debt was denied, our Gov. Mark Sanford says he will reject some $700 million stimulus funding.

In a statement from Sanford's office:

[Sanford] will not be seeking certification of that quarter of stimulus funds. Instead, if the General Assembly chooses to seek the funds in his place, he is asking the legislature to use other money for debt repayment so that the state does not dig itself further into a budget hole.

That's a reality that the state's mayors and its Legislature have been bracing for.

We can likely expect the state to try and circumvent Sanford. But Sanford may counter and say that the Legislature does not have that right to circumvent him in this case.

The New York Times does a pretty good job carrying the story from here.

And you can get background on our stimulus package topic page.

Update March 21: The Post and Courier offers an updated story, which tackles most points in greater detail.