GOVERNOR'S VETO EXPLANATION

Pursuant to Article V, Section 6 of the Constitution of Virginia, I am vetoing House Bill 304.

In my April 10, 1996, message to the House of Delegates, I indicated that I would sign this bill only if the amendment I proposed were approved by the General Assembly. As I stated in that message, I support the creation of an Export Loan Guarantee Program. However, such a program is clearly of lesser priority than the Commonwealth's core export promotion programs. These programs, which support our trade offices overseas and our presence at international trade shows, are vital to promoting Virginia products and services, job creation, and investment in the Commonwealth.

Despite my administration's proven track record in economic development, the General Assembly in House Bill 30 reduced and redirected funding that I proposed for various critical job creation and economic development activities, including the Commonwealth's export promotion program.

It is vital that our Commonwealth have an adequately funded and effective export promotion program to lay the foundation for all Virginia products in markets overseas. This program must be in place and fully funded before we direct resources to programs geared to specific segments of the export market.

As a result of my disapproval of this bill, the additional funds provided for the Export Loan Guarantee Program in Item 97, line 5 of House Bill 30 will be used for other high-priority programs within the Virginia Economic Development Partnership and the Department of Business Assistance, including export promotion, the workforce services program, and other small business development initiatives.

I remain hopeful that our highly effective economic development initiatives will receive bipartisan support in both houses of the General Assembly, and that we can work together cooperatively and effectively before and during the next session of the General Assembly to achieve a consensus on economic development priorities and appropriate levels of funding. Under such an approach, I believe it is likely that we will be able to agree on an export loan guarantee component as part of our overall economic development strategy for the Commonwealth.