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Virginia's Public Media Funding In Governor's Hands

By: Anne Marie Morgan, Virginia Public Radio // March 9, 2011
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Delegates agreed to McDonnell's proposal to slice state funding in half, but senators did not. House Appropriations Staff Director Robert Vaughn said the resulting compromise reduced Public TV grants from $1.4 million to $486,000 -- but increased other funds:

"What the budget conferees agreed to, relative to the governor's budget amendments, is to restore funding to the education component and that was to provide $2.6 million. The original budget, when adopted last session, was $2.1 million, so that's an increase over the actual budget they would have received," Vaughn says.

Vaughn said lawmakers approved the governor's plan to preserve funds for Radio Reading Services for the print-disabled and re-direct dollars that had been earmarked for state tourism promotion.

"Public radio, then, was untouched," he says.

The governor could agree, propose changes, or exercise a line-item veto before April's Reconvened Session.

WAMU does not receive funding from the Commonwealth.

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