Gov. Ted Strickland says he opposes tapping the state's $1.1 billion rainy-day fund now as the legislature has proposed, saying the money should be saved in case Ohio's struggling economy gets worse.

"I'm trying to be fiscally responsible, and I would hope that all of those in the legislature of both parties would recognize the situation that our nation is facing economically and that Ohio is facing," Strickland said yesterday.

The governor made the comments after a memorial dedication at the Ohio National Guard state headquarters and the signing of a bill to create the Department of Veterans Services as a cabinet-level agency to coordinate veterans' services.

The governor stopped short of saying he would line-item veto any use of the rainy-day fund, saying he wants to be thoughtful and examine what's proposed. But he said what has been suggested is "unacceptable."

The Senate Finance Committee voted yesterday to tap $200 million in rainy-day money to pay for local bridge and highway projects as part of a proposed $1.57 billion economic-stimulus plan.

The initial plan called for using $20 million a year over time in "excess revenue" from the Ohio Turnpike to back $200 million in bonds for the projects, but critics objected to diverting turnpike funds for use outside northern Ohio.

On Thursday, the House approved a budget bill that would use $18.1 million from the rainy-day fund to reverse some of Strickland's $742 million in proposed budget cuts in the face of an expected deficit next year.

The governor said it's important to preserve the rainy-day fund because it's unclear which direction the economy will go, noting he passed a gas station yesterday where the price for regular unleaded topped $4 a gallon.

"We hope that this stressful economic period will pass quickly, but we don't know that for sure," he said. "And I think in order for me as governor to be responsible, it is important not just to think about the immediate need and how to plug any immediate hole or to carry out some immediate obligation."

The governor is especially concerned about using rainy-day fund money for new expenditures such as highway construction, which could affect the state's credit ratings, spokesman Keith Dailey said.

Strickland also said he would veto a provision in the House version of the stimulus plan that calls for using revenue from advertising on blue highway-exit signs as a way to offset use of turnpike funds for highway projects.

mniquette@dispatch.com