Senate passes state budget proposal

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - The Senate passed the state budget proposal Thursday without making any changes.  The bill now heads to Governor Carcieri's office.

The House of Representatives passed the budget Wednesday after debating for several hours.  House lawmakers rejected a gas tax hike but voted to increase the cigarette tax to $3.46 per pack, making that tax the highest in the country.

If passed, cities and towns would receive about half of the $55 million in state funding they originally lost under the new $7.2 billion budget proposal. 

The Governor's Officer released the following statement regarding the state budget:

The Governor is currently reviewing the budget. The Governor still has concerns on the budget that has now been passed out of the House and the Senate.

Most notably, while the budget restores some aid to local communities, it fails to address the underlying issue of unfunded mandates. The cities and towns need to be given the tools to manage their budgets and control costs.

In addition, by not passing pension reform, the General Assembly is not taking up one of the most important issues facing this state. The General Assembly needs to pass real pension reform now.

Further, the Governor is concerned with the article that taxes the first $2400 on unemployment benefits. This directly hurts the Rhode Islanders that are struggling and flies in the face of one of the goals of the Recovery Act.