My office recently issued the state’s 2008-09 Travel Report, which details travel expenses by state agencies. The annual report shows how much state agencies spent on travel and who their top travelers were.

During the fiscal year that began June 30, 2008, and ended July 1, 2009, state agencies spent $61,901,131 on travel.

State spending on travel has dropped significantly from the previous year, however, due mainly to revenue shortfalls and budget cuts. State agencies’ budgets have been reduced by more than $1 billion over the past year and travel was apparently one of the first expenses cut.

Travel spending during the previous fiscal year, 2007-08, was $80,189,551.

In the report, agencies’ travel spending arranged in order from highest to lowest. The highest of the 110 state agencies was Clemson University, which spent $9.82 million on travel. The nexthighest were the University of South Carolina ($8.9 million), the Medical University of South Carolina ($5.1 million) and the Department of Health and Environmental Control ($4.57 million).

The lowest was the S.C. Conservation Bank, which spent $790.84. My own office was the third-lowest, spending $1,478.

Spending is broken down by in-state and out-of-state travel. The report also shows the top travelers in each state agency, and how much each of those travelers spent.

The Travel Report is an important tool for government transparency, allowing taxpayers to see how public money is used with regard to employee travel. It’s also an important management tool that allows state agency heads to ensure state financial resources are being used efficiently.

The report doesn’t judge the merits of the travel, but simply lets people examine it. During a time of national recession and steep reductions in revenue — in which public dollars are stretched and the demands on them increased — it’s more important than ever that citizens and public officials have the ability to examine how public dollars are used.

Because the Travel Report should be easily available to citizens, it has been posted to my office’s Web site, and copies have been distributed to every media outlet in the state for review. To view the 2008-09 Travel Report, visit www.cg.sc.gov.