Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal signed an $18.3 billion budget on Tuesday that increases health insurance premiums for state employees, slashes funding for Georgia's college system and cobbles together money to go after tax cheats.

Deal signed the budget before departing Saturday on a trade mission to Europe. His office announced on Tuesday that the governor used his line item veto power to strike funding for 11 bond projects in the university system worth more than $40 million.

The spending plan covers the fiscal year that begins July 1. Georgia is absorbing the loss of $1 billion in federal stimulus dollars in the budget.

Deal vetoed items because he said design costs for university and technical college construction projects were being funded by 20-year bonds.

Filed Under : Employee Benefits, Higher Education