Welcome to Budget Season



Tuesday's editorial offers some thoughts on the governor's budget proposal:

Poring through the 379 pages of Gov. Nikki Haley’s executive budget would take a while even when there isn’t a local presidential debate and state primary going on. But now that things have quieted down a bit, we’ve had time to pick out some of the best and worst of the governor’s budget proposal, released Jan. 13.

Lawmakers in the state House will be working on their own budget in the coming weeks, and they have no requirement to take any direction from the governor’s proposal. Nevertheless, it does offer both a good starting point for budget discussions and a window into some of our governor’s priorities and philosophy. The budget offered by Haley, her first as governor, certainly includes some bold ideas, such as her debatable proposal to phase out corporate income tax and her plan to bribe counties and municipalities to take over maintenance of what are now state roads. Whether those ideas will get much traction in an election year for the legislature is dubious, however.

Here’s a few more highs and lows of the $22.8 billion budget:

High: More funding for law enforcement | After a series of cuts, the governor’s budget would provide some welcome new funding for public safety officers throughout the state, including 30 new SLED officers, 40 new state troopers, 10 officers with the State Transport Police, and six with the Bureau of Protective Services. Many state agencies would no doubt love to be able to move back toward the worker levels they enjoyed before the recession. But some of those restored jobs are more necessary than others, and public safety jobs are rightly among the top priorities.

Low: No raises for state workers | While Haley’s budget would add some state jobs, it does not provide any raises for state employees, who have already gone three years without a raise. On top of that, as the legislature picks up state retirement reform this year, it looks likely to require a larger contribution from employees. State workers could face a pay cut even as they endure their fourth year without a raise. They deserve better.

High: An effort to clean up the proviso mess | After it finishes its trip through the legislature each year, the state budget resembles a mighty live oak, drenched in Spanish moss. Legislators hang hundreds of provisos each year on the budget’s branches, directing how money is to be spent or instituting new rules. Often, these provisos offer just as an easier, shortcut way to get a law passed without the same scrutiny and debate of a full-fledged bill. Some readers will remember Sen. Jack Lindsay, who managed to legalize video gambling through a deceptively worded proviso.

While some of these directions to state agencies are useful, many are outdated, just taking up space, and many others would be better served to become part of codified law. The governor’s budget does a commendable job of identifying specific provisos that should be either scrapped or codified, starting what should be a process of cleaning up and weeding out this annual proviso mess.

Low: Defunding the Arts Commission | Haley has placed a target on the Arts Commission since taking office, singling it out in her first State of the State address as a waste of money, then vetoing all funding for the agency in the current year’s budget. Thankfully, the legislature overrode that veto. In her budget, she unsurprisingly removed all funding for the agency once again. The move is short-sighted and frustrating.

Haley has cast herself thus far as the jobs governor and indeed has managed to exceed expectations in drawing new employers to South Carolina. But life is more than work, and our citizens – all of our citizens – deserve a chance to enjoy the arts. After Haley’s 2011 State of the State, Arts Commission Executive Director Kenneth May issued a statement that’s still true:

“The reason to have a state arts agency is so there’s someone working to make sure every citizen has the arts in their lives, not just the people who are wealthy, not just the people living in the cities.”

Last year, the state Arts Commission took up about four-tenths of 1 percent of the state budget. To put it in perspective, Haley’s plan to reduce corporate income tax would cost the state in its first year more than 25 times ($62.1 million) what it spent last year on the Arts Commission ($2.4 million). The state can and should support the arts.

High: More funding for Department of Mental Health | Ending on a high note, the governor’s budget includes a welcome boost for the Department of Mental Health, buttressing an agency that has been cut more than any other state-run mental health department in the country, according to the National Alliance of Mental Health. It’s a good move and a good investment. Treatment and help is cheaper and more effective in the long term than jail or emergency rooms.

 

Here’s a few more highs and lows of the $22.8 billion budget:

High: More funding for law enforcement | After a series of cuts, the governor’s budget would provide some welcome new funding for public safety officers throughout the state, including 30 new SLED officers, 40 new state troopers, 10 officers with the State Transport Police, and six with the Bureau of Protective Services. Many state agencies would no doubt love to be able to move back toward the worker levels they enjoyed before the recession. But some of those restored jobs are more necessary than others, and public safety jobs are rightly among the top priorities.

Low: No raises for state workers | While Haley’s budget would add some state jobs, it does not provide any raises for state employees, who have already gone three years without a raise. On top of that, as the legislature picks up state retirement reform this year, it looks likely to require a larger contribution from employees. State workers could face a pay cut even as they endure their fourth year without a raise. They deserve better.

High: An effort to clean up the proviso mess | After it finishes its trip through the legislature each year, the state budget resembles a mighty live oak, drenched in Spanish moss. Legislators hang hundreds of provisos each year on the budget’s branches, directing how money is to be spent or instituting new rules. Often, these provisos offer just as an easier, shortcut way to get a law passed without the same scrutiny and debate of a full-fledged bill. Some readers will remember Sen. Jack Lindsay, who managed to legalize video gambling through a deceptively worded proviso.

While some of these directions to state agencies are useful, many are outdated, just taking up space, and many others would be better served to become part of codified law. The governor’s budget does a commendable job of identifying specific provisos that should be either scrapped or codified, starting what should be a process of cleaning up and weeding out this annual proviso mess.

Low: Defunding the Arts Commission | Haley has placed a target on the Arts Commission since taking office, singling it out in her first State of the State address as a waste of money, then vetoing all funding for the agency in the current year’s budget. Thankfully, the legislature overrode that veto. In her budget, she unsurprisingly removed all funding for the agency once again. The move is short-sighted and frustrating.

Haley has cast herself thus far as the jobs governor and indeed has managed to exceed expectations in drawing new employers to South Carolina. But life is more than work, and our citizens – all of our citizens – deserve a chance to enjoy the arts. After Haley’s 2011 State of the State, Arts Commission Executive Director Kenneth May issued a statement that’s still true:

“The reason to have a state arts agency is so there’s someone working to make sure every citizen has the arts in their lives, not just the people who are wealthy, not just the people living in the cities.”

Last year, the state Arts Commission took up about four-tenths of 1 percent of the state budget. To put it in perspective, Haley’s plan to reduce corporate income tax would cost the state in its first year more than 25 times ($62.1 million) what it spent last year on the Arts Commission ($2.4 million). The state can and should support the arts.

High: More funding for Department of Mental Health | Ending on a high note, the governor’s budget includes a welcome boost for the Department of Mental Health, buttressing an agency that has been cut more than any other state-run mental health department in the country, according to the National Alliance of Mental Health. It’s a good move and a good investment. Treatment and help is cheaper and more effective in the long term than jail or emergency rooms.