COLUMBIA--State Treasurer Grady Patterson visited the top three credit rating agencies in New York earlier this week and came back with optimism.

The trip comes as the state prepares to issue bonds for major building projects. It also comes after months of worries about whether the state would keep top ratings that save money when it borrows.

In February and March, Standard and Poor's and Moody's Investor Services issued reports that had a negative outlook for the state.

In a letter to the state's top legislative and financial officers, Patterson said information he presented on the state's finances was well received and "we were left with a positive impression that the rating services were pleased with the state's progress, particularly with respect to this year's financial performance."

In April, Gov. Mark Sanford and Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom came back from a trip to credit agencies with a warning to legislators that the state's top debt rating could be lost if the state didn't do more to repay money raided from trust accounts.

In his budget veto message in May, Sanford complained that the Legislature needed to do more to repay trust funds. The Legislature put $117 million into that effort, well short of the $210 million Sanford wanted.