COLUMBIA, S.C. - With a filibuster looming in the Senate to block a plan to reduce the state's income tax, Gov. Mark Sanford is worried a key piece of his legislative agenda will be scuttled before the General Assembly adjourns next week.

"There's a difference between debate and obstruction," said Sanford, who added that people are aware time is running out.

"It deserves as much debate as people want to put into it on the Senate side," he said. "What we would hate to see would be for people to filibuster and people never have the chance to go thumbs up or thumbs down."

Sanford jetted to Florence, North Charleston and Aiken on Monday to visit with small business owners, who the governor said would benefit from the plan, and urged them to contact their senators.

"I'd encourage anyone who cares about creating new jobs, attracting capital investment, growing small businesses and stimulating economic growth here in South Carolina to call their senators today and ask them to bring this important proposal to a vote," Sanford said.

The proposal moves the state's top income tax rate to 4.75 percent from 7 percent over several years. No break would be implemented in years when the state's revenues don't grow by 4 percent or more.

Critics have said the plan only benefits the top half of the state's income ladder.

Sen. Tommy Moore, D-Aiken, said he wants more explanation of the plan's economic impact.

"In a time when we can't or have chosen not to fund public education and Medicaid, then what does that mean as far as the general fund?" Moore asked. "But I'm certainly interested in listening."

The proposal won key support from Republican senators last week. Most of the Senate's 27 GOP members endorsed placing the Senate's version of the income tax reduction measure onto a bill that cleared the House.

The House heavily amended the bill with a variety of tax measures, but the Senate will take everything out and insert just the Senate's income tax plan.

Moore said it was interesting that Sanford has allowed his bill to take that the same course he adamantly opposed earlier this year. The governor threatened to sue the General Assembly over the issue of adding unrelated items to a bill called bobtailing,

"I guess bobtailing occurs only when you get to name the cat that has been bobtailed," Moore said.

Senators also have been upset the governor uses voters as pawns instead of talking with the lawmakers directly.

"It's the strongest of the available avenues to me," Sanford said.

The governor said he didn't view the bill's opposition as a personal attack.

"If people want to oppose it that's their business," Sanford said.

Moore said he was concerned the bill was a political hot potato and doesn't want debate or a filibuster to block other bills in the Senate.

"Is this issue to the demise of everything else?" he asked.