Perry axes 49 bills July 5, 2007 East Texas Review, July 3, 2007 AUSTIN - Gov. Rick Perry exercised his constitutional duty as governor recently in vetoing dozens of bills adopted by the 80th Legislature. Here's a look at what made the chopping block: Budget Perry signed the $151 billion state budget for fiscal year 2008-09 and used his line item veto power to cut $650 million in what he called "unnecessary spending." Perry targeted special item appropriations within the budget. Line item vetoes included: $2 million - Stark Diabetes Center at UT Medical Branch at Galveston. « Back | The Newsroom »