COLUMBIA, S.C. - Gov. Mark Sanford's casual dress and manner during his summer budget hearings hardly conveys how serious he is about writing his first executive budget, which he says will be "a couple hundred-million bucks in the hole."

Instead, he says, his clothes are comfortable, he can think better and it promotes a relaxing environment to exchange new ideas.

"What I'm about is substance over form. And what these hearings are about has been a whole lot of substance, rather than everybody getting dressed up and sort of mechanical back and forth and no real hard questions get asked," Sanford said after two hearings Monday, where he did most the interrogating.

Sanford said people in government have failed to ask a simple question: Why?

"The question never gets asked in government," he said. "What we've constantly asked in these different hearings is 'Why do you do it that way? Why couldn't we privatize it?"

Sanford asks a lot of direct, candid questions, and the governor routinely invites the public, who sit on chairs surrounding the table, to raise concerns.

If observers shrug their shoulders or mumble something, Sanford is likely to call on them to express a dissatisfaction.

He likes to say it's "probing" instead of being critical, but some agency directors have left the small conference room flustered.

In one heated round, Sanford continually pressed Department of Health and Environmental Control Commissioner Earl Hunter on his agency's divergent missions. After several exchanges, Hunter conceded there were some operations at DHEC that are completely unrelated, such as protecting wetlands and diagnosing tuberculosis.

"You don't want to make anyone feel uncomfortable, but I got a fiduciary responsibility back to the taxpayer who's the guy I ultimately work for," Sanford said.

Some agency heads prepared by sending staff to other meetings.

School for the Deaf and Blind President Sheila Breitweiser called another agency director to see what she should expect. She worked all weekend to prepare, but she said she was still very nervous.

"I came kind of going, 'What's this going to be like?' And it really ended up being a nice session," Breitweiser said, adding that the governor's style was very relaxing.

"He was very aware of who wanted to ask questions, so I think what I really learned from this is this isn't his show. He really sees this as a team effort," she said.

Sanford, who usually sits in a plain wood folding chair with a hard back, will sometimes get up and stretch or walk around the room during a meeting.

He whispers often to his chief of staff Fred Carter, and when conversation begins to drown in numbers or specificity, he brings everything to a halt. Then he gets back to the issues - what can the agency afford to cut and what programs must be funded?

New state Rep. Ken Clark, R-Swansea, said "the whole concept is very enlightening and certainly very educational." He has learned how agencies operate and what the special needs and requirements are.

The retired Navy captain said he hasn't considered wearing a golf shirt and khakis, but Sanford's attire doesn't bother him.

"That's his option, I have no heartburn with it," Clark said. "The main thing is that I think things are getting accomplished. He's learning about the state. He's looking for opportunities to save funds and provide better services."

Agency heads and the governor's staff sit in grandiose, leather chairs that rock and turn. Sanford said he really doesn't think about little things like choosing his chair or what he's going to wear.

"I like simplicity, maybe that's the best way to put it."