COLUMBIA --- News of South Carolina's sputtering economy led the state's top budget writers Friday to begin planning for targeted cuts in state agencies' spending, with no promises to exempt public schools or health care for the poor.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Hugh Leatherman and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dan Cooper told Gov. Mark Sanford in a letter that they are willing to work with him on plans to put the state's finances back in order after weeks of arguments about whether the Legislature needed to do anything.

All agencies face the likelihood of cuts deeper than the 3 percent across-the-board slice they took last month.

Mr. Leatherman noted that public schools and Medicaid account for 70 percent of state spending, and sparing them completely isn't an option.

"Taking $250 million out of the last 30 percent of the budget would be more than devastating," said Mr. Leatherman, R-Florence.

The state won't look to taxpayers for more money, either.

"I don't think we're going to do a tax increase," said Mr. Cooper, R-Piedmont.

The Board of Economic Advisors met Friday and warned that state revenue forecasts would be adjusted a second time since July to reflect slowing sales tax collections and rising job loss. It also cited economic pressures in areas ranging from weak home sales to surging food stamp applications.

Board Chairman John Rainey said he will recommend Oct. 8 that revenue estimates be cut by at least 4 percent on top of the 2 percent whacked from projections in July.

Mr. Rainey said everyone should be on notice that without some unforeseen dramatic change in the economy, "we're looking at some substantial cut in our revenue forecast for this year in October, and it would be hard for me to see where it would be less than 4 percent and could certainly be higher than that."

It also means the state budget that's only now being written for the fiscal year that begins next in July will be marked by deeper cuts because current spending can't be sustained, Mr. Rainey said.