COLUMBIA--After largely winning a fight to pay off a two-year-old state deficit, Gov. Mark Sanford has turned his attention to other budget priorities, including restoring money raided from a variety of trust and reserve accounts during the past three years.

In a letter sent to legislators Friday, Sanford said he is considering vetoes on "all or substantial portions of the budget" if his concerns aren't addressed. But legislators said the governor's concerns in the letter are either addressed or are coming too late in the process.

A Senate and House conference committee met Monday to work out the final differences on the state's $5.4 billion spending plan. Legislators expect to adopt the compromise budget this week and send it to Sanford.

Sanford said that $123 million in higher budget forecasts for the fiscal year that begins July 1 and a $130 million expected surplus from the current budget year should be applied to:

-- Eliminating any of the $155 million deficit from the 2002 fiscal year.

-- Covering projected agency budget deficits from this fiscal year.

-- Making sure education and Medicaid programs are covered with reliable sources of money.

-- Restoring money raided from reserve and trust fund accounts during the past three years.

-- Reducing estimated collections from tougher enforcement of the state's tax laws to $50 million, down from the $90 million the House and Senate expect. Sanford also is worried the money won't materialize and hurt funding for the Department of Social Services and other cabinet agencies.

Sanford's letter said he had "very serious concerns about any budget that fails to address these issues. If I am presented with a budget that fails to address these basic concerns, then I may have no other alternative than to veto all or substantial portions of the budget."

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence, and House Ways and Committee Chairman Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, said portions of Sanford's appeal come too late to address and others have been dealt with.

"I agree with the spirit of what he's trying to say," Harrell said. The House and Senate "were trying to get as close to that as we can anyway, but we have to operate within the rules of the House and the Senate," Harrell said.

"We did deal with the deficit as he talks about in his letter," Harrell said. "We have paid off 100 percent of it."

Budget writers also addressed expected shortfalls in state spending this year, notably at the Corrections Department, one of Sanford's cabinet agencies.