State lawmakers should take advantage of some Beaufort County wisdom as it sets about to change policy on naming public roads and buildings.

S.C. House Speaker David Wilkins has introduced a bill to prohibit the naming of state roads for people who are still alive. He called the practice "inappropriate."

This long-standing practice has been criticized for years, but it became particularly embarrassing last year when former S.C. Comptroller General Earle Morris was convicted of 22 counts of securities fraud. Now the folks who travel S.C. 153 (the Earle Morris Highway) through Anderson and Pickens counties must be reminded of the man who helped defraud hundreds of people of their savings in the bankruptcy of Carolina Investors.

Lumping all instances into the same category isn't fair, and the Wilkins legislation, which has been endorsed by many, exempts colleges because they rely on private donations to finance construction of buildings.

Beaufort County isn't immune from the practice of naming roads and buildings after living people, especially politicians. It has long been objectionable.

The Karl S. Bowers Bridge on U.S. 278 over Mackays Creek comes to mind. Bowers, a former state highway commissioner and federal highway administrator, was the key to getting the money for the new bridges linking Hilton Head Island to the mainland. But he was subsequently convicted of conspiracy and fraud.

Other public facilities named for people while they were living include: the Arthur Horne Building at the county government complex on Ribaut Road in Beaufort; the WJWJ-ETV station, named for former Sen. James M. Waddell Jr. while he was still in office, as was the Waddell Mariculture Center near Bluffton.

Beaufort County has even wrestled with the issue of naming things after a deceased public servant. In 1998, some members of County Council wanted to rename the Parris Island boat landing for former councilman Joel Martin, who died in 1997. Then-councilwoman Dot Gnann argued that we should retain the names of existing geographic areas or historical figures to maintain a sense of history. If we go around changing all the names, people soon forget the local connection to history. Previously, Gnann led a charge to clarify the names of Okatie and Cherry Point communities. She also convinced Sun City developers to look to history to name streets.

Legislators should do the same. South Carolina has a tremendous and varied history. Legislators and the state highway commission, which ultimately names roads and bridges for people, should keep that in mind.

In the meantime, they should move quickly to approve Wilkins' bill to ban the practice of naming roads and highways for living individuals.