COLUMBIA, S.C. - In the six months that Republican Gov. Mark Sanford has been in office, few of his major legislative priorities have taken effect.

Political observers say it's all been part of the learning curve for Sanford, a former congressman and businessman who had no previous experience in state government.

Communication problems could be the reason why Sanford's agenda moved slowly this session, said Winthrop University political scientist Scott Huffmon.

"I think in the beginning, there was not as much communication between the governor and the Legislature as there should have been," Huffmon said.

Sanford said he and his staffers are learning how to better communicate with lawmakers.

"Did we get it perfect? No. But I'd say our legislative team is coming along," Sanford said.

The complaints about lack of communication came after Sanford's first vetoes.

In February, Sanford vetoed a bill affecting Charleston County election offices, saying it was illegal local legislation. The veto upset a number of lawmakers who said Sanford did not contact members of the delegation to tell them the veto was coming.

It's not unheard of for a governor to veto local legislation, but previous governors had told legislators that they planned to do so, Huffmon said.

Lawmakers also griped when Sanford vetoed a bill that would spend $500,000 to create a memorial for law enforcement officers on Statehouse grounds. Sanford said the money could be spent elsewhere in this tight budget year.

Rep. Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, said if the governor would have talked early on with House leaders about his disapproval, two days of floor debate on the issue could have been avoided. But Harrell said the situation is improving.

"As the session progressed, we began to have more and more contact," Harrell said. "I expect that to continue. He's a little different as a governor and he's not used to dealing with the Legislature."

A real estate developer, Sanford served as congressman in the coastal 1st District from 1995 to 2001.

"I'm the first governor in 50 years who isn't a product of the Legislature," Sanford said. "I think that if you're new to a system, and given the number of different moving parts in this system, frankly, it is impossible to communicate every single part."

Lawmakers seem to be giving Sanford some slack during the learning process.

The first session has been "more of an adjustment period," said Rep. Jerry Govan, D-Orangeburg.

"He's new at this," agreed Sen. Robert Ford, D-Charleston. "He's done a great job as far as being new at the process. But he's got some growing pains."

Perhaps because of those growing pains, Sanford's agenda has not moved far this session.

Early on, Sanford, who defeated incumbent Democratic Gov. Jim Hodges in November 2002, pushed education reform, government restructuring and tax reform.

He supported bills that would add conduct grades to student report cards and give school districts flexibility to spend funds.

A key piece of Sanford's agenda has been restructuring. He said state government costs too much to run and isn't as efficient as it should be.

Sanford has acknowledged that the bill involves major reform and would not be resolved in the first half of the General Assembly's two-year session. But he said he has received positive feedback from lawmakers and is encouraged about the legislation's prospects for next year.

The biggest defeat this year has been a proposal to cut income taxes and raise the state's cigarette tax by 53 cents a pack. Sanford thinks he has the votes to get the bill passed next year.

Any legislation not completed when the session ends June 5 can be revived next year, as the General Assembly is in the first year of a two-year session.

"I have all summer and all fall to spend a lot of time in certain districts in our state to make sure that certain voters are able to tell certain representatives why this may be a benefit to them," Sanford said.

Sanford said he remains hopeful. His legislative priorities are very complex issues, he said. "It makes it harder in political terms," he said. "The bigger the issue, the more legislative challenges it faces."

To overcome those challenges in the next session, Sanford needs to do more than simply announce his agenda - he needs to shepherd the legislation through the General Assembly, Huffmon said.

"He's a Republican governor struggling with a Republican Legislature," Huffmon said. "He's still got some hurdles to overcome."