Although a number of people have worked very hard on the S.C. House and S.C. Senate versions of the [state] budget, what I have seen so far suggests substantial room for improvement on the big issue remaining: trust funds. With the full Senate taking up the budget starting this week, South Carolinians have their last chance to make their voices heard on this year's budget. So if you care about the amount of taxes you just paid April 15 or if you care about limiting the spout on new spending in our state, make your view known.

Here are a few important details on this year's budget that might be helpful as you weigh whether or not to get involved in this debate. As a backdrop to the trust fund issue, it's worth knowing how much money is budgeted for new tax relief given the new money that's coming into Columbia. Projections show $619 million of new money coming into Columbia this year, and by mid-May that number could be around $800 million.

I have long thought you ought to give people a refund of their own money, a tax cut, if they are sending that kind of additional money into government. We pushed very hard to do that this year, and although we lost on the idea of a bigger tax cut, I'd give credit to House Speaker David Wilkins, R-Greenville, members of the House and a handful of Republican senators for the way they supported us in our efforts to enact a larger income tax cut over a smaller one.

Unfortunately, there was a big push by some key senators, including Senate Finance Committee Chairman Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence, to limit the tax cut to small-business owners, and that position ultimately prevailed. So, sadly, this year, the budget calls for growth in spending but only $2.5 million of income tax cuts on the $600 million to $800 million of new money taxpayers are sending to Columbia.

This brings us to trust funds. If we are not going to return more money in the form of tax cuts to the citizens of South Carolina, the first order of business is to repay trust funds before we begin substantial commitments to new and additional spending. A little history on our trust fund balances lies in the fact that just before I came to Columbia, our state budget, like so many others across the country, suffered very serious revenue shortfalls. S.C. policy-makers borrowed from a wide array of trust funds in dealing with these budget shortfalls. In addition to an unconstitutional deficit that accumulated during this time, roughly half a billion dollars was also borrowed from these trust and reserve accounts.

Last year, we were able to completely extinguish the $155 million unconstitutional deficit. Given $600 million to

$800 million of new money coming into Columbia, we ought to pay the [debt to the] trust funds while we have the opportunity.

Unfortunately, House and Senate budget writers allocated about $117 million of the new money coming into Columbia to repaying the half-billion dollars owed to S.C. trust funds. We proposed repaying $362 million. The difference shows up clearly when you look at new spending, wherein I allocated $250 million to new spending while House and Senate budget writers allocated more than $500 million.

If you think our government budget shouldn't grow at a faster rate than people's incomes here in South Carolina, I'd ask you contact your representative or senator about repaying trust and reserve funds. These funds are there to help us in rainy days, and there are plenty of storm clouds currently on the horizon. Gas has never been above $2 a gallon in my life, interest rates are rising, and I don't know what's next for the economy. I do know that on the coast, you get ready for a hurricane before it starts raining, and in that same vein we've been granted a golden opportunity to get our financial affairs in better order. I hope we take it.