Democrat or Republican, it doesn't matter.

When members of the Legislature reconvene Tuesday in Columbia, all 170 members of the South Carolina House of Representatives and Senate will have the same goal in mind: a balanced budget.

Even after all the cuts that have taken place in recent years, Sen. Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence, who serves as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said the state's budget will be about $350 million short when the Legislature goes back into session this week.

"The past couple of years have been difficult, but the budget this year is going to be the worst I've seen in my 23 years in the Senate," Leatherman said.

At the close of last year's budget session, the federal government rescued the state's budget with a $250 million bailout to fund Medicaid/Medicare. That will not happen again this year, Leatherman said.

"I recently met with President Bush in Washington, and he advised me that money was one-time money and would not be coming back again," he said.

As a result, Leatherman said, the Legislature will be forced to look elsewhere for Medicaid/
Medicare funding.

"We will be looking hard to fully fund Medicaid," he said, "because in my opinion, it's the state's responsibility to fund health care for the elderly and the poor."

Sen. Maggie Glover, D-Florence, said she remembers all too well the budget woes of last session and is especially concerned about securing adequate funding for health care and education.

"Last year, we would have had no funding for Medicaid if it had not been for the federal government bailing us out and now, here we are again in the exact same situation," she said. "We've got to come up with that money and we don't want to lose the progress we've made in education, so we've got to maintain adequate funding there.

"That's going to mean cuts in other areas, and nobody wants to hear that."

Cuts might be the likely solution, but Rep. Jackie Hayes, D-Hamer, said he doesn't know that the state can live with many more cuts.

"I'm sure we're going to have to buckle our chin strap," he said, "but I think we've cut all the fat we can cut. Now, we're going to have to create new resources for revenue."

Several tax proposals have been submitted as possible ways to ease the state's budget troubles. One proposes an increase in the sales tax coupled with a decrease in property tax.

Another proposes an increase in the sales tax coupled with a decrease in the state's car tax.

A third proposal, submitted by the governor, calls for an increase in the cigarette tax with a coinciding decrease in personal income tax.

"It seems like we're getting a proposal a day, and I think all of them are basically in response to the bad economic situation we've found ourselves in lately," said Rep. Jay Lucas, R-Hartsville.

"But we need to remember this state has an extremely balanced tax system so before we go in and just pass something as a reaction, we really need to take a hard look at what we're doing."

Rep. Jim McGee, R-Florence, said he expects the budget process will be two-tier in 2004. First, he said, legislators will have to come up with a plan to adequately fund the state's immediate needs.

Once that's done, he said, legislators will have to examine the various tax proposals that have been submitted and determine which will best provide for the state's future.

"I think we do need to make some significant changes to the tax code, but I also think the changes should be about policy, not just about creating more cash flow for our immediate needs," McGee said.

"I think any changes we make in the tax code need to be focused on the long-term needs of this state rather than the short-term."

Despite the immediate budget dilemma the state faces, many area legislators said they are optimistic about the future.

"Money will be highly tight again this year, but we will have a balanced budget," said Sen. Yancey McGill, D-Kingstree.

"This will be another tight budget year, but I expect that in 12 to 14 months, there is the potential for surpluses."

Leatherman agreed and said recent turns in the economy should give South Carolinians a reason to believe better times are ahead.

"I think we're turning a corner," he said. "It won't help us this year, but next year, I think South Carolina will be back on solid financial footing."

-- Staff Writer Libby Wiersema contributed to this report.