State legislators who have begun eyeing a $99 million capital reserve fund for their pet projects should heed the governor's caution and earmark the money for debts they have incurred in the recent past. If that seems to take much of the fun out of being a legislator, it is nevertheless the responsible thing to do.
The General Assembly heeded Gov. Mark Sanford's recommendation at the end of the last fiscal year, and used a $155 million budget surplus to repay a deficit caused by previous revenue shortfalls. That sent a welcome message of fiscal restraint to the taxpayers.
Lawmakers should send a similar message by using the capital reserve fund, which becomes available in March if unspent, to repay other debts sustained by the Legislature when times were hard.
For example, the Legislature spent an estimated $186 million from trust funds, a number of which were created for environmental purposes, including, for example, the cleanup of a nuclear waste disposal site.
As the term implies, trust funds are held in trust for the specific purposes to which they have been dedicated.
Additionally, the Legislature used the reserve fund for the health plan for state workers during the difficult budget times.
And the state's bonded indebtedness has reached a record level of about $2.5 billion, according to Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom. Mr. Eckstrom believes that extra funds should be used to pay down the debt. If not, he says, the state could face a downgrade of its AAA credit rating, which ensures that the state receives the most favorable interest rates in future borrowings.
Unfortunately, The Associated Press reports that legislators are looking at any number of other ways to spend the reserve fund. School buses, college buildings and health care are some of the suggestions, though that list is by no means complete.
As House Speaker David Wilkins told the AP, "It's wide open as to what the projects might be, what the requests might be and what the priorities might be."
Before legislators gets too much in the Christmas spirit with the reserve fund, they should acknowledge their responsibility to the state and the taxpayers, as they did with the state deficit. Repayment of existing debts should be the first item on the Legislature's list.
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