Don't scrap executive budget

In an apparent effort to make nice with her fellow legislators, Rep. Nikki Haley says she will forego an executive budget if elected governor and instead work directly with lawmakers on their fiscal plan for the state. To do so would abandon an important advance of the Sanford administration.

Gov. Sanford has annually presented the Legislature with an executive budget setting forth his views of what state taxpayers should fund and at what expense. His budgets have been more detailed than those of his predecessors and have served as a policy statement of executive branch priorities.

The executive budget implicitly recommends the notion that the governor, as chief executive of the state, should be setting the agenda for South Carolina.

Too bad the General Assembly has chosen to disregard Gov. Sanford's frugal budget message over the years. If legislative budget writers had paid more attention to his cost-savings ideas, the state probably wouldn't be in quite the dire fiscal circumstances that it now finds itself, the economic downturn notwithstanding.

Rep. Haley's intention of working with her current colleagues on their budget recognizes that Gov. Sanford has gotten the cold shoulder from the legislative branch on the fiscal front.

She described the antagonistic process between the Legislature and Gov. Sanford in comments to a local Realtors group: "They would pass a bill, he would react. They would pass a budget, he would react. In order to lead with the Legislature, you have to be predictable. You have to let them know what you're going to do before you do it."

But better relations between the executive and legislative branches can be accomplished short of abandoning the executive budget process. The state's dire fiscal situation should generally command a more sustainable course.

If the Legislature produces a budget that isn't fiscally responsible, the governor has the option of using his line-item veto. And lawmakers have the option to override.

During Gov. Sanford's tenure, the Legislature has more often than not voted to override his vetoes. It is notable, however, that more of his vetoes were sustained this year -- a recognition of the difficult financial problems facing state government.

The next budget is expected to be even tighter than this year's as state revenues continue to decline. The next governor -- whether Rep. Haley or state Sen. Vincent Sheheen -- should make a clear statement of spending priorities in an executive budget.

It should serve as the chief executive's best case for managing the difficult fiscal situation at hand. It shouldn't preclude a better working relationship between the governor and the Legislature.