Lawmakers to Weigh Veto Override Options
       As Gov. Mitt Romney announced $110 million in budget vetoes on the first floor of the State House, the House and Senate met briefly on the third floor, quickly adjourning until Tuesday and planning to spend at least a portion of the holiday weekend reviewing which spending Romney had cut.
       House and Senate leaders have indicated that veto overrides are a top priority and the roll calls could begin as soon as next week. House and Senate leaders made no public announcements about their session plans when they adjourned Thursday morning, other than announcing that Tuesday’s sessions would be informal ones. A major piece of unfinished business is a bill that supporters say closes corporate tax avoidance loopholes and which business leaders say is just a plain tax hike on employers.
        The Senate Ways and Means Committee continues to review the $105 million House-approved bill. The new state budget signed into law today is predicated on revenues attributed to that bill, which may end up before a House-Senate conference committee and which includes controversial language exempting certain taxpayers from a 2002 capital gains tax increase. There’s a great deal of behind the scenes lobbying occurring on this bill, which corporate leaders complain is the third straight effort to extract more tax revenues from businesses.