This year’s state legislative session starts Monday.

Since the Legislature now does its budgets every two years, this year’s session promises to be short, and hopefully sweet.

On top of the list will be adjustments to the state’s $33 billion operating budget. We like Gov. Chris Gregoire’s demand that the Legislature keep its budget tight this year, setting aside much of the expected budget surplus into a rainy day fund for future potential economic downturns.

That’s just smart public policy. Even more so today. Our state’s economy is in fairly good shape, as is the Whatcom County economy. But the nation’s economy is struggling, with mortgage problems and the housing market eroding consumer confidence and helping drive up the national unemployment rate and dragging down stock values.

If that national trend continues, it is possible that Washington’s economy will slow as well. Now is not the time for major spending projects in the state that eat away at state reserves.

Thankfully, many legislators are up for re-election in 2008. That makes it less likely that they will be tempted to raise taxes to pay for pet projects.

There are some things that must be addressed though. The state’s ferry fleet is in complete disarray since the cutback of the Keystone-Port Townsend ferry run in November because the ferries were deemed unsafe. The state has been running passenger-only ferries on the run but expects to add a car-ferry next month. And the normal ferry from Anacortes through the San Juan Islands is now being pulled out of service for repairs because of corrosion problems. That ferry, which carries 87 vehicles, is being replaced by one that carries fewer than 40.

Legislators have known about this problem for years. Many of the state’s ferries are decades old and in need of replacement. It’s likely that some money will be spent this year to get some new boats built.

We also hope that legislators quickly react to a recent court decision that could significantly damage citizens’ rights to access public documents. The state Supreme Court recently gave governments broad rights to withhold documents citing the potential for “attorney-client privilege.” Under the court’s interpretation, governments could withhold documents from citizens just in case the documents may be part of court proceedings in the future.

The Legislature must undo this horrible move toward secrecy immediately. Our state must not move toward secrecy over public access. If governments no longer have to answer to citizens, our state is in serious danger of ethics violations, malfeasance and mistreatment of citizens by the people who work for them.

Given the nature of this year’s session and lawmakers’ desire to hit the campaign trail early, we don’t expect much more to happen in Olympia this year. And that’s OK. Legislators should deal with the state’s most pressing issues and then head home without breaking the bank.