Charleston, W.Va. (AP) -- West Virginia's new state budget is more than $18 million lighter after some line-item vetoes by acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin.
Tomblin on Wednesday signed the spending plan that starts July 1 after making nearly three dozen cuts and other changes.
Nearly $13 million of the vetoed spending came from general revenue. Those cuts included $5.8 million for education instructional improvements and $4.3 million from development office programs.
Tomblin also vetoed $5 million in onetime surplus spending for relocating the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. He also gutted most of the funding for a new occupational safety and health fund.
Wednesday's veto message cited the still-fragile national economy, budget deficit threats facing other states, and declining West Virginia lottery revenues. The spending plan now totals $11.3 billion.
(Copyright 2011 by the Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
