State lawmakers from The T&D Region say the economic downturn will transcend every other issue during their coming session.

Virtually all agree that the annual state budget battle will take on even more significance thanks to a soft economy many lawmakers feel will get worse before it gets better.

Sen. John C. Land III, whose district includes Calhoun County, says the current state budget could drop by $1 billion before the fiscal year is concluded.

“This legislative session is probably going to be one of the hardest in which I’ve participated in my 34 years because of the dramatic shortage of money,” the Manning Democrat said. “I predict that the cuts we’ve been forced to make will eat into the real meat and bones of state agencies to the point some will not be able to carry out their mission.

“I get calls daily about the impact of the Medicaid cuts, the school cuts and every state agency that is in dire financial straits. Because of that, it will be difficult to plan the next budget because there is no relief in sight now.”

Sen. Brad Hutto agrees, saying the General Assembly will have to get back to basics regarding state funding priorities when it returns to Columbia on Jan. 13.

“I think we will be dealing with a very restricted budget,” the Orangeburg Democrat said. “I think that we will have to re-organize and re-evaluate how we use the public money in the wisest way possible. Far and away that will be the number one priority during this session.

“I certainly hope the economy would turn around faster but it appears that times will get tougher before they get better. We need to have a planning process in place that will help the state weather good and bad times.”

Rep. Jerry Govan, D-Orangeburg, says that problems with the budget are exacerbated by another problem.

“Not only are we facing an unprecedented financial crisis resulting in severe cutbacks in state agency budgets but this is also occurring during a time of great turnover in the General Assembly,” Govan said. “The combination of leadership change and the fiscal crisis is creating a tremendously challenging environment. Without question the budget will be the top priority.”

Different lawmakers have different ideas on how to improve the budget process.

House Minority Leader Harry L. Ott Jr., D-St. Matthews, believes the Legislature needs to do a better job of creating budget projections.

“We need to create a budget baseline based on previous years so we don’t have it based on the state Budget and Control Board’s projections, which are a guess at best,” Ott said. “This could help us stay away from these large monetary swings and create a better budget.”

Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, feels strongly that legislators need to take a few steps back in order to make progress.

“Two things I would like to see happen: Clean up the mess with exempting property taxes for the purpose of operating schools and take some action on tax restructuring,” Cobb-Hunter said. “It is ludicrous to think that we can continue to give the tax breaks we currently give in this economic climate.

“Some of these tax breaks have been on the books for 50 or more years and the reasons for why they were offered aren’t clear any more. People need to understand that we have to connect the dots, revenue-wise, regarding tax relief especially as it has played out over the last 12 years. That will take courage and even more people coming to the conclusion that we have given more than we can afford. I am not convinced the General Assembly has the fortitude to do what is required, but I hope I’m wrong.”

Cobb-Hunter says the session is not long enough to do a complete restructuring of state taxes but one crucial component can be done.

“The Palmetto Institute suggests a tax study commission should be created comprising of legislators, business people and members of the public,” Cobb-Hunter said. “That’s only one piece of the process but that would be a big piece.”

“Our problem is we don’t have enough money to meet the current fiscal year,” she added. “We are all dealing with that. We will already be in a deficit starting July 1. The revenue picture is dismal and there is no sign of recovery.”

Even with the obvious budget problems, there are other issues that local lawmakers would like to see addressed in 2009.

Land said stimulating the state’s economy should be part of the discussion.

“I believe come January when the new president is sworn in, there will be a new stimulus package,” Land said. “That can help put some people back to work helping out the state’s infrastructure. Another thing we need to address is the shortage of 2,500 nurses in South Carolina plus thousands of other health care-related positions left begging. We won’t give our technical colleges the money to train these people. This was partially addressed last year but it was cut out.”

Rep. Bakari Sellers, D-Denmark, wants to look at education and health care.

“We also need to make children a priority,” Sellers said. “I think we should also bolster need-based scholarship programs and Medicaid programs and studying prevention.”

“We may have to revisit the property tax issue on a statewide basis,” Hutto said. “I think we could create a statewide pool where additional revenue from new industry would be placed. That money would be evenly distributed to school districts all over South Carolina.

“In that way districts near an industry like BMW wouldn’t be the only ones to benefit. Every child deserves a quality education that is not just minimally adequate.”

Ott said, “We need access to affordable health care. We almost got that done with the cigarette tax last year. Two pieces to that puzzle include small business tax relief for those companies providing health care for their employees. For those that don’t, give them an incentive to get their employees affordable health care.”

Govan said, “We need to have a serious debate as to what is important and what state government should be providing. From that we will determine our core values and how to fund these from a stable revenue source. If protecting our elderly is a core value, find the funding. If caring for the health and education of our children is a core value, find a way to fund that.

“Don’t just play a game of quid pro quo. The leadership of the General Assembly controls the agenda and we are trying to force them to bring these issues up. Let everyone participate and let’s make a decision. We may not agree on all of these issues but we need to address them soon.”

T&D Staff Writer Phil Sarata can be reached by e-mail at psarata@timesanddemocrat.com or by telephone at 803-533-5540. Discuss this and other stories online at The TandD.com.

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