State & Regional Interest	Monday, June 2, 2003
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Lawmakers have mixed reaction to budget plan (Published May 29‚ 2003) COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - The state budget moved closer to Gov. Mark Sanford's desk Thursday - bringing relief for some, concerns for others. At the last minute, the state's Medicaid programs were spared deep cuts in the $5.3 billion spending plan with the help of what the House's top budget writer called "manna from Washington." House Ways and Means Chairman Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, said President Bush's tax plan came at the right time. But not everyone was happy with the way the budget turned out. "The good thing is that, at least for this year, we've fully funded Medicaid," said John Ruoff, research director the advocacy group South Carolina Fair Share. That means the state's low-income residents, disabled and elderly will still have access to health care and medicine. However, school budgets are left battered. State spending on a per-pupil basis falls to $1,701 - the lowest level since the 1995-1996 school year. That's $500 less than the Board of Economic Advisors says schools need and $300 less than the Legislature approved last year. "Schools are shell-shocked right now because they understand what these cuts mean," said Jim Foster, spokesman for the state Education Department. In preparing budgets for the new school year, administrators have cut costs and programs, increased the number of students in classrooms and raised fees, Foster said. Schools already have cut 2,000 teaching and 300 administrative jobs for the new budget year, he said. Even with the good news about Medicaid this year, many are worried about the future funding for the program. The federal money is not permanent source for Medicaid programs, Ruoff said. There are concerns "we are going to be back in the same posture of having very large health care (budget) hole that needs to be fixed next year," Ruoff said. "They didn't fix anything." Advocates for a cigarette tax increase lost in repeated attempts. They wanted to increase the tax to 53 cents from the current 7 cents-a-pack to give Medicaid programs a stable funding source. State agencies also will lose money in the budget, but some got breaks through higher fees. For instance, criminal justice agencies and the judiciary should get $24.5 million by adding a $25 surcharge to tickets. "We feel good and very appreciative for how it came out of the conference committee," said State Law Enforcement Division Chief Robert Stewart. The Department of Juvenile Justice gets enough money in its budget to upgrade facilities and should be able to emerge from a federal judges' oversight, said Bill Byars, the agency's director.

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