Daniels Supports Veto Amendment

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(STATEHOUSE) - Governor Daniels says he’d support a constitutional amendment to give future governors the line-item veto.

Indiana is one of just seven states whose governors must accept or veto the entire state budget. Daniels says a governor should be able to delete spending he doesn't like.

The earliest a line-item veto could take effect would be 2011. Although he supports the idea, Daniels says it's well down his priority list. If it did pass, he says it should probably take effect after the 2012 election.

Daniels signed this year's budget and called it a good one overall, but has repeatedly lamented the inclusion of some spending he considers pork.

Last week, Daniels, an avid motorcyclist, criticized a provision increasing motorcycle registration fees by $10 to pay for spinal-injury research, and said he hadn't realized the increase had been tucked into the budget during final negotiations.

That prompted an angry response from representative Carolene Mays (D-Indianapolis), who said if Daniels truly didn't know the fee had been added back in, he and his staff are guilty of either "ignorance or incompetence."

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