Legislators made the right decision when they removed a controversial provision to allow hunting on Sunday from the governor’s budget proposal.

Coupled with continuing a $3 increase in hunting fees, the plan was a trade-off between Gov. Baldacci and the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, a major player in state politics. To win support for the higher fees, Baldacci gave his support to allow Sunday hunting except during the deer firearms season.

Opponents were quick to pounce on the prospect of Sunday hunting, whether it was in the budget or not. Moving the proposal out of the budget will likely kill the expansion, but considering the issue on its own is more appropriate.

At the same time, Democrats dropped their support for the $3 hike, which creates a $5.2 million hole in a budget already plagued by more commitments than resources. Republicans on the Appropriations Committee, which made the decision Sunday, voted to keep the fee increases in the budget.

Democrats were right to refer the issue to the committee with jurisdiction over hunting, but Republicans – who have often been critical of fee increases used to balance the budget – showed political courage in supporting the hike, even though the deal with SAM fell apart. It will be difficult to find more than $5 million in the budget, and the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife needs the revenue to do its job. Not supporting the higher fees leaves the Legislature with one more tough question to answer.

Sunday hunting should not have been buried in the budget to begin with. The Appropriations Committee has fixed the mistake.