$16,923,000 and counting..."The Goalie" comes through.

That's the amount of money that Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty saved the taxpayers, and that was just in the Omnibus Health & Human Services bill.

And there's a lot more pork cut where that came from.

Included in the line item vetoes:

$750,000 for a work-study grant for college students who also receive MFIP. According to the Goalie:

"The beneficiaries for these grants are the schools who should already be paying for work performed as part of the work study arrangment. Subsidies to colleges for work study for MFIP recipients are also not a necessity given the Legislature's decision to repeal MFIP's 20-hour work requirement.

Also, shot-and-a-save: $7,291,000 for FY 2009. Says the gov:

"The manner in which this money (for work for MFIP recipients-ed) is used is not optimal and there are more effective ways to accomplish goals in this area. Vetoing second-year funding gives the state an opportunity during the next legislative session to develop more cost-effective alternatives to meeting our federal work requirements.

There was one that got by, however:

Chapter
139

House File
298

Senate File
(184)

Description:
Family planning clinics oral contraceptive
dispensing by registered nurses.

Presented
5/22/2007

Signed
5/25/2007  

Personally, I'm at a loss as to the need for or even more so that the state (READ-TAXPAYERS) should have any involvement whatsoever in funding oral contraception; not to mention to require that it be dispensed by Registered Nurses, when LPN's would do.

I'll have more as events unfold.