COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Columbia lawyers have filed a legal challenge in the South Carolina Supreme Court, asking the justices to decide who controls federal stimulus funds that Gov. Mark Sanford has refused to request.
Columbia lawyers Dwight Drake and Dick Harpootlian are representing an 18-year-old Chapin High School student in the petition filed with the court Thursday.
Sanford says he won't request $350 million in federal stimulus cash unless it is used to reduce state debt.
The Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough law firm says its action asks the high court to decide the issues without a lower court hearing arguments first. It's an attempt to get the court to declare that the state Legislature has the responsibility for deciding how the money is spent.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
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