Making sausage

When is $1 billion only $700 million (or less)? When the legislature decides that money ostensibly appropriated to stimulate biotech growth gets parcelled out to projects that are kinda-sorta-almost related to the goal - university buildings, highway interchanges, sewage treatment plants. It's not that these things aren't needed; it's just that they should get their own bill.

Yes, I know that's not how appropriations get passed, but this practice of larding up is one reason it's hard to point to dramatic successes in state government.

In fact, all of these earmarks do have their own bills. Their authors are just getting a second bite at the apple.