Projo Politics Blog

PROVIDENCE, RI -- With two hours, the Democrat-controlled House Finance Committee is scheduled to start voting on a version of the budget-repair bill that Republican Gov. Carcieri proposed in January to avert a $357 million deficit this year.

But House spokesman Larry Berman said House Finance Chairman Steven Costantino is not willing to release - or discuss - any portion of the substantially reworked budget plan until the legislative meeting begins at 1 p.m.

While the so-called supplemental bill rarely gets much attention, this year it represents a major rewrite with potentially big implications for state workers, city and town taxpayers and hospitals across the state, among others.

This year, new Senate Finance Chairman Daniel DaPonte broke the traditional code of silence surrounding one of the most important bills that lawmakers consider each year: the state budget. He openly discussed the terms of the agreement that, he said, House and Senate negotiators reached earlier this week.

While relying heavily on $104 million in Medicaid bonus money to close the budget gap, it also calls for at least a $55 million cut in municipal aid to cities and towns, an additional $9 million cut in school aid, a $1 hike in the $2.46 per pack cigarette tax, and a 2-cent hike in the state's 30-cent gasoline tax, while leaving decisions on potential pension-cuts to another day. (Consumers already pay an additional one-cent "environmental protection regulatory fee'' at the pump.)

In an interview Thursday, House Minority Leader Robert Watson, R-East Greenwich, said he could not envision any reason why the Carcieri would not veto the Democrat-fashioned proposal, from which many of the governor's cost-cutting proposals - including his "pension reform'' package - have been stripped.

"In fact, I hope and expect he vetoes the bill because allowing it to pass into law without his signature would be akin to an endorsement," Watson said.

Governor Carcieri, a Republican, has offered his own criticism of the gas-tax plan.

"We don't lay taxes on people right now when they're hurting," he said in a brief interview yesterday. "This is the worst possible time to be increasing taxes. I reluctantly did something on the cigarette tax - we've done that several times - but the gas tax is the most regressive tax we have. It affects everybody. No I'm not supportive of that."

Today's hearing and presumed budget vote will begin at 1 p.m. in room 35 at the State House. It is open to the public.

 Tags  Governor Carcieri House Finance Committee state budget

Comments

C said:

Not telling the public or other legislators what is the bill is an affront. How is the public supposed to go to the state hosue and tell legislator what they think when this is all being done behind closed doors? I am a Democrat, but am constantly outraged at the top-down, anti-democracy way things are runs up there. Someone please run against Costantino and his gang.

Link | March 27, 2009 2:01 PM
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