The civil charges, which carry a maximum $74,000 in fines, stem from a three-month investigation by the state ethics commission and could be pivotal in a push by some lawmakers to remove him from office. The state attorney general is deciding whether the governor would face any criminal charges.
The ethics charges include 18 instances in which Sanford is accused of improperly buying first- and business-class airline tickets, violating state law requiring lowest-cost travel; nine times of improperly using state-owned aircraft for travel to political and personal events, including a stop at a discount hair salon; and 10 times he improperly reimbursed himself with campaign cash.
The travel allegations were first uncovered in a series of Associated Press investigations, while the allegations about his use of campaign funds were revealed by The State newspaper in Columbia.
Sanford's attorneys and spokesman did not immediately respond to messages left seeking comment. His lawyers have said previously that they consider the travel allegations to be minor, technical issues of state law.
Each of the counts claims Sanford used his office for personal financial gain and carries a maximum $2,000 fine if he is found guilty.
Sanford's attorneys have said they look forward to defending against the charges when the ethics panel holds a hearing into them early next year. They also confirmed that Sanford - as the state investigation was being conducted - added disclosures of his private plane flights to his ethics forms.
Among the mistakes the ethics commission says the governor made were his:
- Approval of the purchase of four first- and business-class commercial airline tickets for a June 2008 trip during which he met with his mistress in Argentina.
- Personal use of state-owned aircraft for trips such as the birthday party of a campaign contributor in Aiken, and flying from Myrtle Beach to Columbia for a "personal event," including a haircut.
- Reimbursing himself nearly $3,000 using campaign contributions, including about $900 for expenses to attend a Republican Governors Association meeting in Miami and a hunting trip in Dublin, Ireland, several days later.
For months, Sanford has insisted he did nothing wrong and served as a better steward of the taxpayer dollar than his predecessors. But the former congressman's penchant for riling fellow Republicans who control the Legislature has left him with few allies since the startling June news conference during which he admitted to the affair.
Four GOP lawmakers already have filed a resolution that would force Sanford from office because of "dereliction of duty," and the travel allegations play no part in that move. Their measure deals solely with Sanford's absence from the state, when he led his staff to believe he was hiking the Appalachian Trail while he was in Argentina.
A committee that will consider that measure is scheduled to meet for the first time Tuesday.
Sanford has brushed off repeated calls from his own party to step down and in the past month scored a political victory by helping land a Boeing Co. assembly plant that is expected to bring thousands of jobs to North Charleston.
Meanwhile, the first lady and their four sons moved out of the governor's mansion. While the Sanfords have said they were trying to reconcile, Jenny Sanford more recently has described the two as separated. She is writing a book about the experience.
