The ability to excise individual tax or spending items within legislation is a power that presidents have wanted for decades. When Bill Clinton crossed out three items in the just-passed budget, it thus marked a historic first for the presidency. It wasn't an entirely new act to him personally, however. He vetoed more than 20 spending items during his years as governor of Arkansas. In terms of frequency, Clinton's use of the state line-item veto was near the median.
Many governors employ it far less, striking only egregious pork-barrel items.
Others use it as a thick billy club of governance. Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson uses it, on average, more than 100 times a year. Frequency of veto use depends partly on extent of veto power. Governor Thompson has broad authority that allows him to strike even single characters off the page. At least one other Midwestern governor agrees that the line-item veto is of great utility.