The $5.1 billion budget proposal represents a $200 million decrease over this year's $5.3 billion spending plan. But Beaufort County's senior state legislator, Sen. Scott Richardson, R-Hilton Head Island, said Sanford's budget still rep-resents a $350 million shortfall.
"That's the anvil," the fifth-year senator said of the looming budget battle. "The big question of the day is are we going to try to bootstrap ourselves through this one more time or are we going to look at this as an opportunity to look at the way we're collecting taxes?"
Several state legislators are pushing for sweeping reforms to the state's tax codes they say will help alleviate the continuous budget crunch.
In recent months, Sanford and House Majority Leader Rick Quinn, R-Rich-land, have been pitching tax plans that reduce the state's income tax and increase its sales tax.
Richardson said he'd like to see those two proposals grouped with plans to raise the state tax on both cigarettes and gas.
"I think all of these things have a better chance in a big package," he said. "On their own they'll fail."
State Sen. Clementa Pinckney, D-Ridgeland, said he's studied the tax proposals and agrees reform needs to happen. But, the Jasper County legislator said, the governor's plan to reduce the income tax would only mean a tax break for the rich.
"I think it's a start," he said of the governor's plan, "but not one in the right direction. If we're going to have tax cuts, the bulk of them should be for working people and middle-class families."
State Rep. JoAnne Gilham, R-Hilton Head Island, said it's too early for anyone to endorse any of the different tax plans.
"It's really a pick-and-choose system," she said. "It's like a smorgasbord. I've seen good things in all of them, but I'm not totally sold on any one of them."
Richardson, who has tried unsuccessfully in the past to raise gas and cigarette taxes, said tax reform is often defeated by the everyday machinations of partisan politics.
"You've got a legislature that over the past eight years has moved from totally controlled by Democrats to totally controlled by the GOP," he said. "Now people feel like they don't want the public to turn on them."
And passing any kind of tax reform could prove especially difficult this session when all 170 legislative seats will be up for grabs.
"It's very political," Richardson said. "But at the end of the day, we should all be about doing what's best for the people of South Carolina."
State Rep. Catherine Ceips, R-Beaufort, said it's critical state legislators deal with the budget and taxes without cutting back money for public education, health care or social services.
State money for public education dropped to 1995 levels this year. And the state Department of Social Services -- which has been cut by $50 million since 2000 -- also took another big hit. In Beaufort County, 10 local positions within the Social Services Department were cut last year.
"I think all of the state agencies are running lean right now," Ceips said. "And I don't know where else (cuts) could come from. I don't think the Department of Social Services can take another hit."
Local legislation
Of the 529 pieces of legislation proposed in the Senate last year only 11 percent, or 60 bills, wound up on the governor's desk.
Meanwhile, the chances of a bill passing through the House last year were even worse, with 7 percent, or 54 of the 801 legislative proposals signed into law.
But those figures won't dissuade local legislators who have high hopes for pushing their pet bill through the Statehouse this year.
Ceips said she'll be focussing her time on two pieces of legislation dealing with the Port of Port Royal and the upcoming round of federal base closures.
The Beaufort legislator said a bill to close the port -- and deal with the future of the 22 state-owned acres along Port Royal's Battery Creek waterfront -- should come this year.
Ceips, who started working on the bill last summer after Sanford suggested closing the money-losing facility, said the final measure will include input from the Town of Port Royal and the South Carolina Ports Authority.
"There are a lot of avenues of this thing," she said. "And we've go to work to make all of these things come together."
On the base-closure front, Ceips has filed legislation creating a $25 million revolving fund communities could borrow from to pay for projects strengthening the standing of area military bases.
Ceips said her legislation would show federal officials South Carolina is serious about maintaining its military presence, which academic studies show contributes more than $5 billion to the state economy. The Department of Defense's list of suggested closings is expected in May 2005.
Second-year Rep. Bill Herbkersman said he'll take a second shot at getting a real estate transfer fee passed through the Statehouse this year.
The Bluffton Republican's bill, which would allow municipalities in Beaufort County to charge a 0.25 percent fee on real estate transactions for the purchase of open space, was thrown out in committee last year.
"We may have to cut some deals, but we're going to have to try to get this done," Herbkersman said.
Richardson said the fee will still be a hard sell for the real estate and home-building lobby, who fear the local legislation would eventually spread statewide.
The Hilton Head senator said legislators could ease those concerns by adding language calling for a local referendum to decide whether the fee is used.
"What should they care in Greenville if we vote that we want it here in Beaufort?" Richardson said.
Calls to state Reps. Thayer Rivers, D-Rigdeland, and Walter Lloyd, D-Walterboro, weren't returned last week.