Gov. Mike Beebe has vetoed a line in an appropriation bill transferring $60,000 from the Arkansas Crime Information Center to the Arkansas Economic Development Commission. His statement:

Governor Mike Beebe has line-item vetoed Section 9 of House Bill 1188, the appropriation bill for the Arkansas Crime Information Center.

Section 9 directs the transfer of $60,000 from ACIC to the Arkansas Economic Development Commission to be used for community grants.

That $60,000 amount reflected anticipated savings at ACIC to be generated by updates to the agency’s sex offender notification system. However, that savings will not be fully realized during the upcoming fiscal year. Therefore, Governor Beebe decided to keep that money at ACIC to ensure that proper funding is available for sex-offender notifications.

AEDC officials did not request the transfer, and its removal from the bill does not create any complications for their grant programs.

The governor didn’t say who put that transfer in the bill and whether it had an ulterior motive. Call me cynical. (Bill history indicates the amendment came from Sen. Stephanie Flowers for non-profit grants to city, counties and planning and development districts. And if this money had miraculously wound up benefitting an agency in Flowers’ district, would such an amazing coincidence run afoul of the court ruling aimed at stopping local pork projects? I suspect there are some other transfers worth following on which to raise the point.)

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