(Columbia-AP) -- Governor Mark Sanford addressed lawmakers and the people of South Carolina in his annual State of the State message Wednesday night.

He harkened back to his first such message last year. Sanford reminded people that because the state was strapped for cash, he couldn't focus on more money for programs but on five root causes.

Those included whether people had a voice in state government and was the government accountable; the economy and need for wealth creation; government's structure; education; and quality of life.

Sanford says he plans to focus on that every year he's in office. He says money again won't be forthcoming for programs. So Sanford says the best shot at raising income levels in our state lies in government using new tools and new approaches.

He says his number one priority is jobs, and one way to create more of them is to lower the state income tax. That would improve the business climate for small businesses, he says, pointing to national studies that show states that lowered income taxes saw job growth.

He would lower income taxes by raising the cigarette tax, so the two would balance each other out. Sen. Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence, represents a tobacco growing area and says the governor may have trouble getting that passed.

"It's going to be tough sailing. What he's saying is no net tax increase. He said this is not the only way to do it. He said there may be other ways. We'll evaluate those ways and see what we can come up with."

But Speaker of the House David Wilkins, R-Greenville, says he likes the governor's focus. "The key is to lay out the priorities. I think he clearly did that--job creation, job improvement and restructuring. And we're working on those very things right now," Wilkins says.

Restructuring is the governor's other main priority. He says changing the structure of state government will improve its efficiency and save money, but also give taxpayers better service.

Sen. Glenn McConnell of Charleston has already introduced a restructuring bill that follows the governor's plan. The bill is 1,900 pages long.

Its size could make it difficult to get through the legislature. Spartanburg Democratic Sen. Glenn Reese says, "I would have felt much better if it had been broken down into 8 or 10 different bills. Because I'm afraid a fight on 2 or 3 sections, that would've been 2 or 3 bills, could kill the other 7 or 8 things that could be very good."

The governor is also proposing a universal tax credit for education to improve school choice options. He says he'll announce more details about that plan next month.

Rep. Karl Allen, D-Greenville, says he needs to hear those details before he can assess the plan. "I'm leery of the governor when he starts talking about school choice and funding at the same time, and then looking at the fact we're talking about public education."

As many challenges as Gov. Sanford had for state lawmakers, he also issued a challenge to everyone at home. He says we can have the best health care system in the world, but our personal choices still have a big impact on our health.

So he's asking everyone to be just a bit more active. He and his family are planning a 300-mile bike ride across the state in the spring. He's inviting anyone to join him. If you can't make the ride, he's urging you to walk, run or canoe that same 300 miles over the course of the year.