Gov. Mark Sanford sent a message in his budget vetoes about what he likes -- user fees and flexibility within departments, especially his own -- and what he dislikes -- raiding environmental funds and writing wish lists.

Sanford says the vetoes foreshadow what his first budget proposal will look like when he submits it in January. He hopes the General Assembly hears him; if not, he says he'll use his veto power with a heavier hand in the future.

"There were things that frankly I did not like, but we didn't veto them," Sanford said, because it would be "horribly destructive" to veto programs in mid-June, when the new fiscal year starts July 1.

The question now is, will the General Assembly hear that message? And will legislators agree with it enough to change the way they write the state budget?

House Speaker David Wilkins, R-Greenville, praised the vetoes on balance. Sanford did not touch spending on education and health care and changed only about $2 million in the $5.3 billion budget.

Sanford's first veto letter was different from the past four, when the Republican-led House and Senate immediately tried to overturn former Democratic Gov. Jim Hodges' decisions -- even successfully taking him to court once.

But Wilkins said it is still up to legislators to write a budget.

"Taking money out of trust funds is not something anybody likes doing or anything anyone wants to make a habit of," Wilkins said. "That was done this year in order to cobble together enough to meet the needs of South Carolina."

Sanford vetoed $2.15 million that lawmakers wanted to take from dedicated trust funds to spend on other things. To make up for that, Sanford cut other programs. But he said he couldn't find enough offsetting cuts to restore $2.4 million to the fund set aside for monitoring and maintenance of low-level radioactive waste at the Barnwell site near Aiken or $30 million in other nonenvironmental trust funds.

'WHY IN THE WORLD?'

Democrats gave Sanford high marks for trying, but said he should have gone further.

Sanford "stopped pretty shy of really making the kind of impact he should have," said House Minority Leader James Smith, D-Richland. But, he added, "We'll support those vetoes."

Conservationists applauded Sanford and said they hope he'll continue fighting the raids on trust funds.

"You say, 'These are small amounts,' but this is a common practice," said Angela Viney, executive director of the S.C. Wildlife Federation.

Senate Finance Committee chairman Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence, was less of a fan of Sanford's vetoes, saying he found them inconsistent.

The governor axed programs that no one was complaining about, Leatherman said.

For instance, Sanford vetoed the $99,955 appropriation for two employees and operating costs of his own Commission on Women. Instead, Sanford said he would leave the commission intact, having other staffers in the governor's office help the commission part time.

"Why in the world the governor would do away with the women's commission? I don't understand," Leatherman said. "I think it's done a very credible job of trying to push women's issues."

Leatherman said he would vote to overturn that veto when the General Assembly returns in January. Democrats also decried the women's commission veto and said they'd try to override it.

The Rev. Cynthia Brown, a past chairwoman of the commission, said she is confident Sanford will continue to help the commission.

"Being a leader is not easy," said Brown, pastor of Greater Bethel AME Church in Darlington. "All of your decisions will not be applauded, but you do what you have to do."

The Legislature usually holds a short, extended session in June to respond to vetoes before the fiscal year begins July 1. This year, the General Assembly could not agree on when to return, and Sanford declined to call them back.

'SLOWLY, PAINFULLY'

Sanford also decried budget "wish lists," in which legislators say that if more money than expected comes in, they will put it toward a list of certain programs.

Sanford nixed one such wish list, but left intact one based on excess lottery funds, which included money for needs like school buses.

"I'm a little bit puzzled as to why he would veto some but not others," Leatherman said.

Sanford said wish lists give agencies and advocates the impression that their projects will happen, even though there's no money.

"If it's that important," Sanford said, "let's make it a priority and put it in the budget."

Overall, Sanford's vetoes seem likely to stand.

He agrees with the General Assembly's recent trend of letting users of a service pay for that service.

To that end, one of his vetoes will allow the state Department of Public Safety to charge fees when it provides troopers at large events, such as college football games. He also vetoed $118,675 for a motorcycle safety course, saying the course was important but should be supported by user fees.

Sanford also pushed for more flexibility within government offices, particularly the governor's office. He says he would have liked his vetoes to have gone further, but he didn't want to disrupt anything.

"Are we all about change? Yes," Sanford said. "But we want to do it in an orderly fashion."

Sanford will start holding budget hearings this week with major state agencies. He knows writing a budget for next year will be more daunting than it was this year -- the state avoided massive cuts and a tax increase because Congress sent $220 million in aid.

So how will he deal with trying to help the Legislature write a budget next year that's hundreds of millions of dollars short before it even gets started?

"See the gray cropping in?" Sanford said, gesturing at the flecks of salt in his salt-and-pepper hair. "We'll do it slowly and painfully."