A Georgia Republican is pushing a measure that would require employers to perform background checks on staffers who work inside other people’s homes. The measure sponsored by state Rep. Allen Peake of Macon would also ban some criminals from jobs that would send them into homes.

Georgia’s top judges have volunteered to take three furlough days as the state struggles with a funding crisis. Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Carol Hunstein said Wednesday the effort is another sign that leaders of the judicial branch “remain faithful stewards of taxpayers’ dollars.“

The president of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce says lawmakers should move quickly on the possible impeachment of Gov. Mark Sanford. The Post and Courier of Charleston reported that about 70 business leaders met in Charleston Tuesday to talk about the coming legislative session.

South Carolina’s financial leaders have delayed a possible cut of $200 million from the state’s budget. The Budget and Control Board voted Thursday to delay action on chopping all agencies by 4 percent, or $200 million.

South Carolina’s attorney general wants state ethics commissioners to review Governor Mark Sanford’s travels. The letter Thursday from Attorney General Henry McMaster to the chairman of the Ethics Commission follows Associated Press investigations of Sanford’s use of state aircraft for personal and political trips, and his flights on commercial airlines.

(Washington, D.C.) Productivity surges at fastest rate in almost 6 years while labor costs decline sharply.

South Carolina Education Superintendent Jim Rex is exploring a bid for governor and has filed the paperwork needed to raise money for a campaign.

A newly released letter shows that South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford predicted the “public humiliation” that would follow revelations of the shattered marriage he’s now trying to repair.

As Gov. Mark Sanford is in Europe for two weeks with his family, he’s being criticized at home for spending so little time working lately. Beginning June 18th with his trip to Argentina to see his mistress, until this current trip, Gov. Sanford has worked ten days. Taking into account the July 4th holiday, that means he’s worked 10 days out of 25 business days during that time. WJBF News Channel 6’s SC Capitol reporter Robert Kittle has more.

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and his family have arrived in London for a two-week European vacation. Television station WBTV in Charlotte reports that Sanford, his wife and four sons boarded a U.S. Airways flight bound for London’s Gatwick Airport on Wednesday evening. The governor initially had said they were leaving Thursday.

South Carolina legislators are planning a closer look at Gov. Mark Sanford’s travel spending, saying it doesn’t square with state law requiring flying in cheap seats.

Gov. Mark Sanford says it’s time for him to put aside discussions of his extramarital affair and get back to work governing the people of South Carolina.

According to Joel Sawyer, Governor Mark Sanford’s Communications Director, in light of ongoing revisions to the federal REAL ID law (now renamed PASS ID), Gov. Sanford, on Tuesday, outlined three main concerns as policymakers in Washington, D.C. continue modifying what is now widely regarded as an impractical, intrusive federal mandate.

Twenty-six projects total $43.1 million for infrustructure inprovements in Georgia.

In an e-mail to WJBF News Channel 6, Governor Mark Sanford and his Communications Director Joel Sawyer Friday announced that Sawyer will be departing the Governor’s Office to pursue other opportunities in the private sector, effective Wednesday, August 5.

Georgia lawmakers are beginning furloughs next month to cut costs amid the economic crisis. The House and Senate lawmakers will take one furlough day each month. They will go on through the end of the year, when legislative leaders will decide whether they should continue.

South Carolina’s Department of Health and Environmental Control announced recently that it’s getting $3.3 million of federal stimulus money to clean up abandoned underground gasoline storage tanks that are leaking. The money should be able to clean up 66 sites around the state, mostly old gas stations. WJBF News Channel 6’s SC Capitol reporter, Robert Kittle, has more.

South Carolina Democrats are firing back at the GOP, for censuring Governor Mark Sanford. They say, without asking him to resign, it was a meaningless move. If Governor Sanford were to step down, Lieutenant Governor Andre Bauer would take over. Greg Suskin talked with Bauer about the scandal.

South Carolina Democratic leaders are criticizing a state GOP vote to publicly reprimand Gov. Mark Sanford, rather than ask him to resign, as a meaningless move that provides him cover to stay in office.

In an e-mail to WJBF News Channel 6, on Monday, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford issued a statement on the recent string of homicides in the Gaffney, SC area.

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford is returning to work, attending a closed briefing on port security in North Charleston. Both Sanford and the first lady and their children returned from Florida on Sunday. The governor’s office would not comment on their living arrangements.

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford has left his official residence in the state capital and appears to be heading to spend the weekend with his wife and children.

SC State Senator Glenn McConnell released a statement Wednesday that suggested Gov. Mark Sanford should resign.

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford has backed out of a promise to release personal financial records proving he did not use state money for trips to see his mistress.

According to Governor Mark Sanford’s spokesman Joel Sawyer, late Tuesday afternoon, Governor Sanford had reimbursed the state treasurer’s office for the Argentina portion of the economic development trip last year, when the meetings with his mistress occurred.

The majority of South Carolina’s state Senate Republicans are calling on Gov. Mark Sanford to leave office. The growing chorus of lawmakers who’ve publicly announced or told The Associated Press they want the philandering governor gone reached 14 Wednesday. There are 27 Republicans in the Senate - a 46-member chamber the party controls.

Carol Hunstein is set to become Georgia’s new top judge. The former DeKalb County Superior Court judge will be sworn in Wednesday by former Gov. Zell Miller, who tapped her in 1992 to become the second woman to serve on Georgia’s Supreme Court. Current Gov. Sonny Perdue also plans to attend.

He’s staying in office! South Carolina’s Governor Sanford explains why he won’t step down. Governor Sanford admits that he did think about resigning… after announcing he had cheated on his wife. Monday, Gov. Sanford said he spent the weekend soul-searching…praying…and talking to friends and lawmakers…and has decided he will not resign. WJBF News Channel 6’s SC Capitol reporter, Robert Kittle, is in Columbia…with the latest in the “Sanford scandal.“

We’re learning more about the future of troubled SC Governor Mark Sanford. The Governor says he considered resigning as head of the state after admitting to an affair. The Governor returned to work on Friday, where he met with his cabinet. Sanford may be trying to get back to the affairs of state…but the focus is still on his South American affair as new information about his Argentine mistress comes to light. John Hendren has more…

One of the main goals of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was to save or create 3.5 million jobs nationwide. But, after $332 million in stimulus money has made it to South Carolina so far, it isn’t creating any jobs, says Richard Eckstrom, SC Comptroller General and chairman of the state Stimulus Oversight Task Force. WJBF News Channel 6’s SC Capitol reporter, Robert Kittle, has more.