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SACRAMENTO (AP) — The Assembly overwhelmingly approved a bill Monday night to restore $98 million for community colleges that was vetoed in the state budget by Gov. Gray Davis. 

The Democratic governor has agreed to put back some of the money, but has not yet determined an amount he can support. 

The cuts for the state’s 1.5-million student junior college system were among budget vetoes Davis said were necessary to balance the state’s $103 billion state budget for the 2001-2002 fiscal year, given the state’s slowing economy. 

The cuts, which hit community colleges more than the state’s other two higher-education systems, caused an outcry around the state. Lawmakers of both parties support the restoration. 

“The community colleges and the people that attend the community colleges are the sleeping giants of education,” said Assemblyman Robert Pacheco, R-Walnut. “They have awakened to what is rightfully theirs.” 

The bill was approved by a 77-0 vote and sent to the Senate.