NO ONE WHO CARES about our state could possibly be happy with the way lawmakers have "resolved" our state's budget crisis. But with two days left in session, and maybe a few days in a wrap-up session, there's still time to salvage some good out of this otherwise dismal year.

Several important bills have nearly made their way through the legislative process, but need some determined work in order to become law this year. Rather than wringing their hands, and refighting battles that have already been fought, legislators should spend their time taking those final few steps necessary to pass important laws that would:

???????_Reform our campaign finance system. The House and Senate both have passed bills to give the public more information about who is paying to influence our votes. Either version would be a huge improvement over current law, which lets anonymous donors spend unlimited sums, so we never know to whom candidates indebt themselves. The Senate bill has a few flaws, but it also has several smart provisions lacking from the House bill; more significantly, it is written in such a way that it is more likely to do what both bodies promise. Lawmakers should agree to most of it.

???????_Make our highways safer -- and prevent our losing $6 million this year in federal highway funds. Both the House and Senate have passed a bill to reduce the legal standard for drunken driving from 0.10 to 0.08 percent, which will save lives and, because of a federal law, save money the state needs. (The amount of money we'll lose for not passing the law will increase every year, starting this fall.) In order to appease pro-drunken driver senators, Senate supporters had to agree in exchange to do away with a law that allows the state to revoke licenses before trial of anyone whose blood alcohol content is at least 0.15 percent. That's a bad change; much better to lower that threshold to 0.08 percent, as the House did. But the Senate trade-off is better than the status quo.

???????_Overhaul the Public Service Commission, so that the public's interests have a chance of being considered in rate-making. The Senate has proposed to overhaul the PSC, with new rules that should lead to more capable commissioners and provide some independence for the staff that is supposed to represent the public interest. The House bill lets unqualified cronies keep making the decisions. There is little in the House bill that should become law.

???????_Open the Commerce Department to public scrutiny. The House and Senate passed separate bills to require that more of this historically secretive agency's work, and spending, on the public's behalf be open to public scrutiny, but then the matter stalled. Last week, the House moved to force the issue, by taking up the Senate-passed bill. House leaders want to add to it a bill that uses federal money to set up a single, unified voting system for the entire state. It doesn't make much sense to put the two matters together, but both are good bills. The Senate should sign off on this package.

???????_Return calendar control to local school boards. Last year, the State Board of Education mandated that schools start late, in order to accommodate Myrtle Beach businesses. This was uncalled-for meddling and bad policy to boot. The House and Senate both passed legislation to revoke this move, but negotiators are hung up over details. They need to work it out.

This isn't all the Legislature needs to do. Far from it. But these are all things it is reasonable to expect lawmakers to get done in the time that remains.