VETO MESSAGE ON HB 1776-S

                   April 25, 1997

To the Honorable Speaker and Members,

  The House of Representatives of the State of Washington

Ladies and Gentlemen:

     I am returning herewith, without my approval, Substitute House Bill No. 1776 entitled:

"AN ACT Relating to school audits;"

     I fully support SHB 1776 which would improve the process for resolving school district audits involving state funding.  However, SHB 1776 is identical to SSB 5394, which I signed into law on April 23, 1997.

     For this reason, I have vetoed Substitute House Bill No. 1776 in its entirety.

                   Respectfully submitted,

                   Gary Locke

                   Governor