Without a quick $1.5 million, NH parks would have lacked the money to remain open during foliage season.
Transportation officials, meanwhile, sought $3 million dollars to pay for road construction projects slated for this fall.
Both requests would mean spending beyond the cash appropriated for the six month temporary budget, which prorates spending at last year's level.
Neal Kurk, chairman of the Legislative Fiscal Committee, says spending now on state parks makes sense.
But the case for moving fast on road projects, says Kurk, is less urgent.
“I think some of it had to do with the fact that we are not really clear that they are absolutely essential to be done in the fall, and some of it has to do with the fact that some of us believe that there are consequences to the Governor’s veto of the budget and one of them is that things that normally would have gotten done, will not get done, or will get delayed.”
In a statement, Governor Hassan thanked lawmakers for keeping parks open. But Hassan said she was concerned that decisions to reject funding for transportation were “motivated by politics.”
Hassan vetoed lawmakers $11.3 billion dollar budget in June.
Efforts by both sides to broker a compromise have so far fallen flat.
Lawmakers are slated return to Concord in three weeks to vote on an override of Hassan’s veto.
