By Alabama Public Radio
Tuscaloosa AL – Governor Bob Riley has signed a $1.8 billion Fiscal Year 2008 General Fund budget, but not without exercising his line-item veto power. The veto deleted language that would have given $1 million to Tuscaloosa County road projects from budget of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. The money remains in ADECA's budget. Riley says road projects should not be funded through the General Fund, but through an existing constitutional transportation fund that is matched with federal dollars. Riley also says the earmark was an attempt to use General Fund money for political purposes. Democratic state Senator Phil Poole of Moundville has said the ADECA earmark was an effort to improve roads to three Tuscaloosa County schools, and that the funding was not for political purposes. Efforts by House Democrats to override the line-item veto failed. The disagreement over the funding comes as Republican Senators in the Wiregrass fought to find funding for public drinking water projects for Dothan and other nearby communities