The S.C. House of Representatives adopted the final version of the state's $5.5 billion spending plan Tuesday, approving the document passed out of the conference committee just an hour before. The state's total budget is $16.7 billion, with $5.5 billion of that controlled by the state.

The House plan includes $380,000 a year for 15 years for the Palmetto Bowl college football game proposed for The Citadel. The money would go toward expanded seating at Johnson Hagood Stadium.

The state Senate postponed voting on the budget until today, allowing senators to familiarize themselves with the 300-page document. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence, said he expects the budget to pass easily when it's taken up.

If it does, the Legislature will have to wait and see if Sanford makes good on his threat to veto "all or substantial portions of the budget." The governor has five days from receiving the budget, excluding Sunday, to use his veto authority.

On Monday, Sanford sent a letter to lawmakers, urging them to use the $253 million in projected surpluses this year and next to pay back the state's $155 million deficit, address looming shortfalls at the Corrections Department, supplant non-recurring dollars dedicated to programs such as K-12 education and Medicaid and begin the process of restoring money to state trust funds.

The budget passed by conference committee gives state employees an across-the-board 3 percent raise, allocates $119 million more in K-12 spending, provides $39 million in tax relief by doing away with the marriage penalty and pays back the entire $155 million deficit.

"Most of the things the governor talks about in his letter are in the conference report," said House Ways and Means Chairman Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston. "Everything he wants might not be addressed, but there is more than one way to skin a cat."

The argument over the state surplus started during Senate budget deliberations when Sanford first went public with his choice for the direction of surplus spending. The debate grew contentious when Democrats seized upon his proposal as a way to fight for increased cigarette taxes.

While the governor seems displeased with the budget as written, most legislators seem proud of what they were able to accomplish.

"Paying off the debt we incurred from two hard years of economic recession is a priority," said Speaker of the House David Wilkins, R-Greenville. "But government is also responsible for running our schools effectively and efficiently, keeping our prison system as safe as possible, funding healthcare and meeting our obligations to state employees who have had no pay raise in two years."

What some legislators see as necessary funding, Sanford sees as unnecessary growth. His executive budget came in at $150 million less in new spending.

If Sanford does deliver the budget back with a substantial amount of vetoes, it could throw a kink in the last days of the session. The session ends June 3.

While both Leatherman and Harrell said they don't see that happening, it is true that a number of controversial measures are still on the table, including several pieces of the governor's legislative agenda.

If legislators spend significant time arguing over vetoes, there will be little time left to deal with income tax and property tax proposals, tort reform and charter school legislation.

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