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At an unrelated event this afternoon, Governor Carcieri suggested that he wasn't concerned about the refusal of House Republicans to sponsor his budget bill.
The massive tax-and-spend plan is actually a piece of legislation, and as such, requires a House member to officially submit it on his behalf. But yesterday, a day after it was officially released to the media, no one was willing to submit the proposal, not even members of the governor's own party.
Without its being formally submitted, the Assembly cannot begin to schedule formal hearings to review the plans, which seek to close deficits exceeding $860 million.
"The budget is going to go in; we don't believe I need a sponsor under the Constitution," Carcieri said this afternoon, suggesting that he would find a sponsor anyway. "Right now, I'm not sure who's going to sponsor it. But it'll be put in place in the General Assembly."
How does he react to members of his own party refusing to sponsor the budget bill?
"That's not necessarily true," he said. "Wait and see who puts it in and who signs it."
"I've said, 'Listen, people can disagree on issues.' I respect differences of opinion. That's what the budget process is about."
Indeed, we're hearing that a sponsor may emerge this afternoon. We'll keep you posted.
Meanwhile, Carcieri continued: "You got to get a budget in. Everyone's entitled to their opinion. There's plenty of issues in there that are going to be hotly debated.
"My job is to put a budget together that balances a lot of competing interests that in my judgment is best for all of our citizens. That's what I've tried to do."
