COLUMBIA--A proposed $5.8 billion state spending plan unveiled by House budget writers Wednesday increases education funding by more than half a billion dollars and raises pay for law enforcement and correctional officers by as much as 10 percent.

It also includes a provision that could keep local school districts from raising property taxes for the next year.

The 2005-06 budget proposal from the House Ways and Means Committee suggests the state's economy is improving, and lawmakers are using the increased revenue to pay off their debts and raise per-pupil spending in primary education to meet state formulas.

In recent years, the Legislature -- facing lean budgets and a distaste for raising taxes -- has not met Education Finance Act requirements for base student costs.

The House's chief budget writer said his committee began work on the bill with a mind to changing all that.

"Fully funding education is the priority of this budget. State government doesn't do anything more important," said Ways and Means Chairman Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston. "This is a good budget. We're completely back on track."

Democrats and Republicans alike praised the spending plan, which the full House of Representatives will debate before sending it to the Senate.

Before a packed committee room Wednesday, Ways and Means committee members outlined what they call a "fiscally responsible" budget that puts the state back on track after years of painful spending cuts. With $300 million more to work with than they had last year, lawmakers opted not to go on a spending spree but to repay debts, live up to the state's ongoing obligations and rectify past slights.

Among the major proposals, this budget:

-- Restores $122 million to trust funds -- including the Barnwell cleanup fund -- which the General Assembly has raided in recent years to make up for budget shortfalls. Earlier this week, Gov. Mark Sanford urged lawmakers to restore the funds, particularly Barnwell. Committee members say their budget goes further than the governor's proposal.

-- Spends $18 million to replace worn-out school buses across the state. Lottery proceeds will pay for about $3 million of that.

-- Raises the amount each teacher is given for classroom supplies from $200 to $250, a move that costs about $2 million.

-- Gives a 4 percent raise to all state employees and fully funds their health insurance so workers don't lose ground to rising costs.

-- Provides an additional 6 percent raise on top of the across-the-board raises to state troopers and officers with the State Law Enforcement Division and the Departments of Corrections, Juvenile Justice and Natural Resources.

Concerning the trust funds, Sanford and Harrell disagreed on how the committee's track record.

Sanford spokesman Will Folks said the governor was still reviewing the House budget proposal but initially saw some things he liked and others that he didn't. "It's a mixed bag," Folks said. "We certainly are going to be more aggressive in our pursuit to repay trust and reserve funds."

Folks said the governor proposed more repayments to trust and reserve funds than the House, $158 million versus $122 million. "They are a good bit south of the number we feel we need to get to," Folks said.

Harrell said only $112 million of the governor's proposal went to trust funds -- $10 million less than the House proposal -- and the rest of his paybacks were for reserves. Harrell said while the governor's plan completely repays four of the trust funds, the House version restores more than 40.

The state Corrections Department, which has been the punching bag of state government in recent years, got a boost with the pay raises. Corrections officials have had a hard time keeping prison guards, and the Highway Patrol has lost officers to cities and counties that pay better.

"We have been losing a lot of valuable officers, so we were really glad to be able to give them 10 percent pay raises -- they were desperately needed," said state Rep. Chip Limehouse, R-Charleston. "We really held the line on other spending; we didn't do anything big."

Except, that is, fully fund the Education Finance Act. To do that, lawmakers had to put $315 million into base student costs. In all, there was $298 million in new money for K-12. When you add higher-ed costs, the total price tag is $568 million in new money for education. The rest was redirected. In the House budget, the state would spend $2,290 per pupil in 2005-06 year.

State Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, a longtime advocate for increased education spending, praised the Ways and Means Committee -- of which she is a member -- for its "long overdue" emphasis on schools. "I was pleasantly surprised and hope that it is a precedent we are setting for years to come," said Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg.

Ultimately, Harrell offered the budget amendment that may be felt closest to home, eliminating the required matching funds for education increases at the local level. When the base student cost is raised, 70 percent is supposed to come from the state and 30 percent from the local school district.

Harrell said that in past years, local school districts apparently have raised property taxes to make up for state funding shortfalls. So they should be ahead of the game now and won't have to make the 30 percent match for this year's education spending increases.

"Some school districts have grown their budget instead of cutting, like we did, and they blamed the General Assembly for laws that made them raise taxes," Harrell said. "We took that crutch away."

The Ways and Means Committee is expected to vote on the budget bill after the House adjourns today. The budget bill will be waiting for lawmakers, and the hundreds of amendments they offer, when the General Assembly reconvenes next week.