COLUMBIA, S.C. - The House budget committee approved a draft $5.8 billion spending plan Wednesday that substantially raises spending for public schools and law enforcement.

The spending bill for the fiscal year that begins July 1 is expected to win final approval in that committee Thursday and head to the House floor for debate in mid-March.

The budget raises the state's per-pupil spending to $2,290, the first time in more than four years it has matched the level required by a state formula. That 23 percent increase would cost $315 million.

"Fully funding education was the priority in this budget," House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, said. Not far behind were goals of restoring money raided from trust accounts and putting cash into law enforcement, Harrell said.

In all, the spending plan calls for spending $52 million more on law enforcement and criminal justice agencies.

Nearly a tenth of that goes into 10 percent pay raises for law officers now making less than the Southeastern average.

Police and prison officers make more than the regional average would get a 4 percent raise. That's the same raise earmarked for the rest of the state employees and is better than the 3 percent increase in the current year's budget.

The plan also calls for putting 100 new Highway Patrol troopers on the road with new cars and hiring 40 new prosecutors.

The Corrections Department gets $12 million more dollars, with nearly all of that going to raises and hiring 127 new correctional officers.

Law enforcement and education cross paths at one point in the budget. The $6.8 million that now covers school safety officers would be bundled with per-pupil student funding, forcing schools to decide whether to keep the officers or spend less on students.

The spending increases came because House budget writers had $616 million more to spend this year. Most of the surplus comes from revenues generated as the economy improves. And part of it comes from spending cuts, including $40 million Gov. Mark Sanford targeted in his executive budget. Most of those deal with reducing agency human resources and technology costs.

There was enough extra money to pay for the education and law enforcement programs while replenishing reserves and returning cash to trust funds raided during the past four years to balance the state's budget.

Harrell says more than $120 million goes into the reserve and trust fund repayments. That's a little over a third of what Gov. Mark Sanford has called on legislators to spend restoring those accounts, Sanford spokesman Will Folks said.

"It certainly starts us down the road to fund repayment," Folks said. The governor will continue to push "for more aggressive repayment of trust funds," he said.

Sanford and the House budget writers diverged on other spending issues.

For instance, Sanford wanted the state to cut its $30 million contribution to research university efforts by $10 million. The committee's draft budget keeps that spending at $30 million and taps the South Carolina Research Authority for $3 million to set up a new operation intended to help foster research spinoffs.

There was enough money that legislators spent little time discussing details at the full committee hearings Tuesday or Wednesday.

For instance, no one questioned plans to spend $50,000 on a statue to honor James "Radio" Kennedy, whose devotion to the T.L. Hanna High School football team and friendship with coach Harold Jones became the subject of a movie starring Cuba Gooding Jr.

The item wasn't discussed at the hearings. Harrell said someone on the committee felt strongly enough about it to put it into the budget, "so it's included in the budget."

Folks said Sanford will examine that and other details in the days ahead.