In communities where tobacco once dominated fields and filled wallets, the Golden LEAF Foundation has been an invaluable resource to ease the economic transition. That organization, established in 1999, has funded grants that provide easily identifiable help to cushion the impact of tobacco’s waning influence.

Lawmakers facing a troublesome budget year covet the millions the foundation receives annually and several bills in the General Assembly would redirect that money to the General Fund. That urge should be strongly resisted, recognizing that the foundation’s intent continues to serve the long-term interests of the state.

When North Carolina began receiving funds as its share of the settled lawsuit against tobacco companies, some of that money was directed to Golden LEAF for distribution to tobacco-dependent communities. The lawsuit reaped billions for the states to recoup health care costs associated with smoking, but lawmakers in Raleigh intended to help those places that would be harmed economically by the loss of that cash crop.

About $70 million goes to the foundation each year, and Golden LEAF uses that money to build an endowment from which it awards millions in grants each year. But with a struggling economy, any money directed to an endowment looks attractive to lawmakers. That has fueled an effort to seize that money and direct it to the state’s General Fund, as other states have done.

The foundation is aware of both the state’s rugged economic reality and the threat to its funding, and its leadership has adjusted direction accordingly. Golden LEAF expects to invest $60 million this year, with its primary focus on rural communities hit hard by the recession. It will subsequently reduce the annual investment in its endowment to ensure that more money heads to places that need it.

That directly benefits eastern North Carolina. Pitt County has received millions in Golden LEAF funds, as have surrounding counties. The grants awarded through the foundation directly impact area businesses and initiatives, employing local residents and helping to develop a more diverse, resilient and modern economy. Lawmakers would harm those same communities if funding to Golden LEAF dried up.

Too often, the state’s urban population centers consume resources to the detriment of North Carolina’s rural corners. Longtime residents of this community can name the many slights with ease. They know that every hard-won dollar that flows to the East must be fiercely protected.

But the Legislature should recognize the economic damage it would inflict to rural communities by taking money intended to help those locations. They should look elsewhere to solve the state’s fiscal woes.

— Daily Reflector

of Greenville