Gregoire Signs Budget After $15 Million In Line-Item Cuts

GOVERNMENT 

By Austin Jenkins

Olympia, WA  April 1, 2008 5:42 p.m.

Washington Governor Chris Gregoire has finished signing bills into law after the 2008 legislative session.

The last bill to get the governor’s signature was an update to the state’s two-year budget.

Gregoire made $15 million in line-item cuts from a variety of programs. The cuts mean more money gets left in the bank for next year.

Chris Gregoire: “I’m leaving more than $850 million in a surplus to ensure that we can meet the needs of the future -one of the largest supplemental budget surpluses in our state’s history at a time when about 30 of our fellow states are facing significant deficits.”

Republicans have consistently said majority Democrats aren’t leaving enough in surplus. They predict the state will face a sizeable deficit next year. The governor says if that happens the state will find a way “manage” its way out of the red.

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© 2008 KPLU