Gov. Mark Sanford offered thanks Thursday to members of the General Assembly who supported his failed initiative to rebate state revenue to taxpayers.

Later, Sanford's campaign staff and that of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tommy Moore, a state senator, squabbled over the budget issue.

The state Senate on Wednesday approved a 2006-07 budget that "grew state government by nearly $1 billion without sending any new dollars back to the state's citizens, despite a recent report showing that over the past three years the state's revenues have grown the fifth-fastest in the country," according to a Governor's Office press.

A $6.5 billion budget that won final Senate approval during a late-night session would provide new school buses, more Highway Patrol personnel and increase public school funding by almost $250 million.

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Sanford singled out 10 senators as "Taxpayer Heroes" for supporting his plan for $400 per family tax rebates.

"These senators really put their money where their mouths are when it comes to keeping an eye on the taxpayers of this state," Sanford said.

Included were Sens. Kevin Bryant, R-Anderson, who pushed for $250 million for rebates; Harvey Peeler, R-Cherokee; John Hawkins, R-Spartanburg; and Danny Verdin, R-Laurens.

As the final voice vote neared late Wednesday night, Sen. Chip Campsen III, R-Charleston, told his colleagues that the budget's 10 percent-plus spending increase is "an unsustainable rate of growth."

Defenders in the bipartisan coalition that supported the budget said it was a matter of meeting constituents' needs.

Sen. Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence, the Finance Committee chairman, said funding the proposed rebates would have crippled essential programs.

Sanford's campaign weighed in later Thursday, blaming Moore, D-Clearwater, one of three Democratic candidates for governor, for helping to scuttle tax relief and blocking a move to prevent "the state from spending money it doesn't even have."

Jason Miller, Sanford's re-election campaign manager, said Moore's proposal last week for a cigarette tax hike to fund a health insurance program that would have imposed costs on participating small businesses "wasn't enough. This week it seems he's setting his sights directly on the wallets of South Carolina taxpayers."