Unfortunately, this great idea just got its feet nailed to the floor by the House of Representatives. The House has robbed the bank before it even opened for business. That mistake, led in part by state Rep. Catherine Ceips, R-Beaufort, needs to be corrected by the Senate or Gov. Mark Sanford.
The bank would award grants and loans on a competitive basis to state agencies, cities, counties and nonprofit conservation organizations to help them buy property and conservation easements (agreements not to develop property) from willing sellers.
Following the governor's lead, the House budgeted $10 million to get the bank started. Its ongoing funding will come from a small portion of the state land deed recording fee.
But in the budget passed by the House last week, $7.5 million of that had been yanked for other things: $5 million for beach nourishment at the Hunting Island State Park near Beaufort and $2.5 million for Medicaid.
Both those causes are worthy, but this is the wrong way to pay for them. The conservation bank also is a worthy cause. Money allocated to the bank, and all state trust funds, should be off limits to raids.
Hunting Island State Park is a public jewel that needs greater financial support. Right now, it is washing into the sea. The state already has allocated some $4 million for a future beach nourishment, and the $5 million raid on the conservation bank would not be used if a federal allocation comes through.
But South Carolina must decide if it wants to keep Hunting Island State Park. It certainly should, and to do that it must find a dependable, long-term means to pay for beach nourishment. That cannot be done with a Band-Aid approach that leads to such desperate acts as raiding a trust fund. Everyone using the park could pay a premium for a beach nourishment fund.
Some say that the beach nourishment falls within the guidelines of the conservation bank's goals. That's a stretch, and even if it did, the allocation decision does not belong to the legislature, but to a 12-person conservation bank board.
The legislature should not be allowed to stomp on the wishes of others to achieve its own ends.
The conservation bank act enjoyed unprecedented bipartisan support under the leadership of former Rep. Chip Campsen. The legislation was endorsed by more than 30 organizations statewide, including the S.C. Association of Realtors, the S.C. Realtors Land Institute, Palmetto Agribusiness Council, the S.C. Chamber of Commerce, the S.C. Municipal Association, the S.C. Tourism Council, the S.C. Small Business Chamber of Commerce, the S.C. Farm Bureau, the S.C. Poultry Association, the S.C. Forestry Association, The Nature Conservancy and the Coastal Conservation League.
It is an affront to all those organizations and their thousands of members for the conservation bank they endorsed to be held hostage by the House of Representatives. It is unethical for the House to use this bait-and-switch tactic.
As Campsen said in support of the bank two years ago: "If future generations are to partake of the bountiful natural heritage that makes South Carolina unique, we must establish the Conservation Bank now. God's not creating any more real estate, and it's not getting any cheaper. We will cheapen our quality of life, however, if we falter."
The House of Representatives cannot be allowed to make it falter.