Sen. Glenn McConnell, who ferreted out the House plan to use interest from the trust fund, correctly observed that those who donate to the Laffey fund are concerned about keeping the destroyer shipshape, not balancing the state budget.

The Laffey money amounts to about $7,000 in interest payments, small potatoes for the state budget, but a substantial amount to the donors, many of whom are veterans who served on the vessel during World War II. As Tom Peltin, president of the Tin Can Sailors Association said, "That $7,000 can buy a lot of paint and welding rods, the kind of unglamorous things that keep these ships up." The association coordinates fund raising for the Laffey and other historic destroyers.

The House budget takes $83,000 in interest from other Patriot's Point funds, similarly used to maintain the museum's attractions, according to reporter Brian Hicks' account.

The state's budget difficulties don't justify taking money from accounts serving Patriot's Point, which has to depend on what it can raise through ticket sales, gift store profits and donations.

"We are going to bankrupt the state doing this kind of thing," Sen. McConnell, R-Charleston, said. "I don't know if there's a law against us doing this, but it's not going to fly. That's not why these people gave this money, for us to use it in the state budget."

The House budget uses $43 million in interest earned from various restricted fund accounts, according to our report. Moreover, the Legislature has raided environmental trust funds of millions in recent years to meet the state's budget needs.

In each case, money from trust fund accounts should be used for the reasons they were created. Raiding them for general operating purposes may be expedient, but in the long run, it will erode confidence in the budget process and the legislators who direct it.