$829 million is not the winnings for the latest Powerball jackpot; it's how much money the state of South Carolina doesn't have.

"It's the most difficult budget we've faced in this state since the Great Depression," says State Senator Dick Elliott, Democrat from Horry County.

As lawmakers get to work one week into the new legislative session, the issue now becomes what part of the budget they're going to cut. One member of the state's budget office called this year's nearly 830 million dollar deficit the worst budget gap he's ever seen.

The state budget office says they have about $1.2 billion dollars in costs and only about $428 million in the bank.

Whose to blame? According to newly elected Governor Nikki Haley, it's diminished federal aid. About $350 million of that is running dry this year.

"Nearly two years ago, the federal government in Washington decided to transfer its irresponsible fiscal practices to the states. And our state, just like every other, accepted it," Haley said in her inaugural address. "When we produce this year's budget, we will see the heavy price for having done so."

The state is also losing federal money on Medicaid and Medicare payments. Typically the state pays 30 cents for every dollar of Medicaid and Medicare payments with the federal government picking up the rest of the tab. The past two years, South Carolina has only paid 20 cents for every dollar. Now that number is going back up. So where to cut?

"Think about it on a personal level. If you're making $70,000 one year and the next year you're making $40,000, a lot of things have to be cut," says State Representative George Hearn - Republican from Horry County.

"We're going to have to go to agencies with the most money to make cuts," says State Representative Phillip Lowe - Republican from Florence County. "That includes education, higher education, K-12, medicaid services, {because} so far they've been almost exempt from budget cuts."

The 2011 fiscal budget is $1.3 billion more than last year. That's a six percent increase. The state budget office is also predicting a 1.4 billion dollar budget hole by 2013.