Governor moving money

[ScreamingEagle]

What the ?

Governor moving money
Will veto $500 million, give $463 million to health care
August 15, 2007

Unable to get lawmakers to approve his plan to expand Illinois’ health-care coverage, Gov. Rod Blagojevich said Tuesday he will do it himself, offsetting the expense by cutting $500 million from the state budget awaiting his approval.

Legislators from both parties said the announcement took them by surprise, and they questioned whether Blagojevich has the constitutional authority to follow through.

In a brief public appearance outside his Statehouse office, Blagojevich said he will use his “executive authority” to expand existing state health-care programs to cover an additional 717,000 people at a cost of $463 million.

In addition, Blagojevich said he will cut $200 million in what he called pork projects included in the $59 billion spending plan lawmakers sent him Monday, along with $300 million more in “special interest spending.” The itemized list of cuts will not be available until later this week, according to the governor's office.

“In short, I am cutting pork and special-interest spending, and in its place, I'm using the legal authority I have to expand health care to more than 500,000 people,” Blagojevich said.

His spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff said later that the $500 million cut from the budget will not be used to pay for the expanded health-care programs. Instead, she said, fund transfers and “managing programs and costs” will generate the money needed.

That approach apparently is aimed at negating some lawmakers' argument that, constitutionally, Blagojevich will still need their approval to spend money on his health-care plan.

Although the governor can cut spending in a proposed budget, he cannot add to it.

Blagojevich offered no details on how he plans to implement the expanded health-care program or what exactly he will cut from the budget. Ottenhoff could not provide one example of “special interest spending” the governor plans to cut.

Normally, the General Assembly would have a chance to restore cuts made by the governor, but Senate President Emil Jones, D-Chicago, said he will not allow the Senate to do that. Jones, a close Blagojevich ally, appeared with the governor at the Capitol.

“We do not plan to move to override the cuts in spending that will put the governor in a position where he could not do anything for health care,” Jones said. “That’s what we are going to do. Case closed.”

Blagojevich and Jones then returned to Blagojevich’s office without answering questions.

http://www.sj-r.com/News/stories/14252.asp