PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- House Minority Leader Robert A. Watson ended the standoff this afternoon, officially sponsoring Governor Carcieri's budget bill a day after House Republicans refused to attach their name to the Republican governor's 2009-10 tax-and-spend plan.

The protest was largely symbolic. Carcieri earlier in the day signaled that it was simply a matter of time before someone introduced the budget as formal legislation. Further delay could have prevented the General Assembly from scheduling hearings on the $7.6-billion budget proposal, which includes more than 40 sections.

Watson, the House minority leader, acknowledged that the Republican caucus (the other five representatives also signed on to the legislation) succeeded in proving a point.

"We made our case and I don't think anybody listening in the last several days is unaware that Republicans are absolutely opposed to the fee and tax increases that are being utilized to balance this budget. We continue to maintain that," Watson said after this evening's House session. "The governor made a terrible mistake in putting the tax issue on the table and I do believe we're all going to live to regret it."

Watson said there was no formal discussion with the governor's office about whether to sponsor the budget bill. Nor was he aware of rumors that the Democratic leadership was considering sponsoring it -- a symbolic move that may have been a further embarassment to the tiny Republican minority on Smith Hill.

"We don't indulge in sparring with the governor lightly. We do so on principled issues, such as tax philosophy and the fact that we say no to taxes," Watson said. "So we were very deliberative in how we presented our position over the last several days when we would not put that bill forward. We wanted people to know why. And I think we got sufficient attention drawn to the matter. I think our concerns now resonate."