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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- State agencies in South Carolina are being asked how they'll handle 15 percent in budget cuts.

State Budget Office Director Les Boles said agencies were e-mailed the request Monday so House and Senate budget writers can decide where to cut spending as the write the fiscal 2010 budget beginning in January.

The budget faces big problems on several fronts and starts out around $250 million in the hole.

Legislators used one-time cash in reserves at the state's Medicaid agency to shield health-related agencies from cuts. But that money won't be available in the new budget year. Meanwhile, the state's promise to keep school districts from losing money in a property tax break will siphon more than $70 million from the spending.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)