Good news for state Auditor Brian Sonntag – and the rest of us, too.

Gov. Chris Gregoire did the right thing Tuesday and restored $29 million to Sonntag’s budget to pay for performance audits. These are the audits that scrutinize state agencies to see if they are spending money in the most efficient way possible. Studies have shown that such audits save the state $10 for every $1 spend.

Under an agreement with the governor, Sonntag will get $14 million back for performance audits and will set aside $15 million to be transfered to the next legislative session to help fill the budget gap.

Let’s hope the state is on the road to recovery by then and Sonntag gets to keep the money – and keep the performance audits going.