Legislative inaction costly to thousands

Not making a minor change in the way emergency unemployment funds are disbursed may well cost tens of thousands of South Carolinians.

The Legislature could have tapped into millions of dollars for jobless South Carolinians - the ones who have been without work for the longest - if only it had made the change before adjourning in June.

The stimulus bill in Congress includes funds for states with the highest unemployment rates to continue paying benefits for an additional 20 weeks. South Carolina with its 11.5 percent jobless rate is among the states qualifying for the added benefits but is one of only two that did not make the necessary temporary changes to the economic index that determines the emergency benefits.

The millions of dollars that could have come to South Carolina's beleaguered jobless are being left on the table. Unlike other jobless funds that the state has been borrowing from the federal government, this bonus money would not have to be repaid.

Why South Carolina missed out on this opportunity to help its most needy people is a mystery. With the wrangling between Gov. Mark Sanford and the Legislature over accepting $700 million in stimulus money, this part of the federal funding legislation seems to have fallen through the cracks.

South Carolina legislators need to put their heads together to see if there is still time for them to reconvene in Columbia for an emergency session to make the necessary changes that will allow additional weeks of unemployment compensation to come this way. If the deadline has truly passed, legislators have some explaining to do to their constituents as to why they allowed this to happen.