COLUMBIA - State-owned Santee Cooper plans to cut about $758,000 in donations to groups, events and economic development under pressure from Gov. Mark Sanford.

Santee Cooper is state-owned but generates money for its operations from sales to customers. It will generate enough extra money to give the state's general fund $10.9 million this year.

Some legislators and Sanford say Santee Cooper should give more to the state and take a dim view of the utility's money supplementing golf tournaments and Girl Scouts.

In budget hearings last month, Sanford called the donations "a slush fund" and "a third window by which people are being taxed."

The Moncks Corner company now is spending $2.73 million on contributions, sponsorships and economic-development efforts. On Monday, the board reviewed a plan to reduce that by 28 percent to $1.98 million in its 2005 budget, which will be ratified by the end of the year.

The bulk of the long list of reductions involves small contributions such as $150 for the Sumter High School football program, $300 to the Berkeley County YMCA, $500 to the Girl Scout Council of the Lowcountry and $1,500 to the Susan G. Komen Charleston Race for the Cure.

Larger donations are cut, too. For instance, the utility will no longer provide funding to the MCI Heritage golf tournament on Hilton Head Island. It gave $33,844 to the tournament this year.

The utility also is eliminating its $12,035 donation to the S.C. World Trade Center.

After Sanford's comments last month, some board members wanted to freeze donations.

The board voted 6-5 Oct. 29 to keep the utility's giving policy intact and to address donations on a case-by-case basis.