It provides additional funding for First Steps programs so more services can be offered to our preschool children. It creates safe and healthy middle schools and provides needed funds for impaired school districts and SAT improvement. For higher education, additional funding to hold down tuition increases and for scholarships is provided. This budget also meets critical health care needs by funding our seniors prescription program to provide relief from rising medical costs to vulnerable seniors. It also provides new funds for newborn hearing screenings and programs to reduce teen smoking.
Economic development is strengthened as well.
With additional funding for water and wastewater projects, many of our communities will now be able to compete for new jobs and investment. Finally, our taxpayers will reap benefits as well. I am very concerned, however, that the annualization situation has not improved. It is apparent that this budget will force me and the General Assembly to make some very difficult budgetary decisions in the future. I am vetoing this item because it contains appropriations of other funds that include patient paying revenue which may be used to fund the Georgetown Chopee Clinic referenced in Section 10.3 of Part 1B of this Act.