In the Union Leader, Ted Siefer reports on Governor John Lynch correcting the wording of his veto message to confirm that the School Choice Scholarship Act is fully means-tested.

Lynch also took issue with the claim that the program would only help families of limited means. In his veto message Monday for SB 372, he said “a substantial portion of scholarships are available with no income restrictions and to students already attending private school.”

Bill backers called this statement false. Charles Arlinghaus, president of the free-market-oriented Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy, which has strongly backed the legislation, called for a retraction.

Arlinghaus said the veto message the governor issued for the House bill on Thursday was close enough.

The veto to HB 1607 states: “Although these bills do limit eligibility to students from families at 300 percent of the federal poverty level, the proportion of funding required to be dedicated to free and reduced lunch-eligible students diminishes to zero over the course of 15 years.”