Budget Breakdown: How The New Budget Impacts You
Saturday, June 25, 2011
After a nine-and-a-half hour session Friday evening, the state House of Representatives passed a $7.7 billion budget that includes a slightly expanded sales tax, a freeze in longevity pay for state workers , increased co-share payments for some families on Medicaid, cuts to the state’s Neighborhood Opportunities Program and a casino ballot referendum that will ask voters to decide whether they’d like to have tables games Twin River in 2012.
The budget, which passed by an overwhelming margin (60-9), received praise on both sides of the aisle for not relying on one-time fixes or implementing the wide-ranging sales tax expansion Governor Lincoln Chafee had hoped for.
“Rhode Island is heading in the right direction,” House Finance Committee Chairman Helio Melo said shortly before the budget went for full passage after 1:00am early Saturday morning.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTWhile the budget still has to be voted on by the Senate, it is likely the House’s version will remain intact. So what does it mean for the average Rhode Islander? GoLocalProv picked out the key issues that may impact your life as a result of the new budget.
Full Fledged Casino Gaming Vote
In a surprising turn of events late Friday evening, a new article was submitted for the budget that involved asking voters to choose whether they would like to expand Twin River to include table games like blackjack and poker in 2012.
The House debated the topic for almost an hour, with most Reps agreeing that table games should be implemented, but then veering off track to talk about whether the state should build a “resort” style casino.
“This is a good bill. It’s time to pass it,” Rep. William San Bento said during the debate.
And they did, by a wide margin. Now in addition to being a Presidential election year, you’ll have the opportunity to voice your opinion on casino gambling in Ocean State.
Digital Downloads Tax
Chairman Melo took the time to explain exactly what the plan to institute a seven percent sales tax on digital downloads in the state means. Melo said the plan only calls for prewritten software to be taxed, meaning e-books and iTunes are not included.
Melo said programs like “Norton Anti-Virus and Turbo Tax” are examples of software that will be subject to the new tax. He said the House chose not to include iTunes songs because Massachusetts does not tax those items.
Sightseeing Tour Tax Includes Visits To Santa
Some house members were up in arms when they learned that the new seven percent tax on sightseeing tours does not include trips that go outside of Rhode Island, but will include the "Polar Express" trip that takes children to see Santa Claus around Christmas time.
Representative Karen MacBeth criticized the plan. “Do we really want to be known as the state that is going to do that,” she asked her colleagues on the House Floor.
Apparently, the answer was yes. The article easily won passage.
Longevity Pay Freeze For State Workers
If you or someone you know works for the state, future longevity payments are now on hold. In what was undoubtedly the most passionate discussion of the night, several State Reps claimed the plan to end longevity pay an attack on collective bargaining.
Rep. Roberto DaSilva said he couldn’t believe he needed to defend a proposed amendment that would have put a freeze on the plan for one year. “We are Democrats. We are not Tea Party members. We're not Republicans."
Melo said the plan is not intended to be an attack on public employee unions.
“This is not an attack,” Melo said. “This is trying to work with what we have.”
Medicaid Premiums Going Up
If you happen to receive state aid on health care services, there is a good chance you’re premium may be rising in just a few weeks. The House plan is calls for any family living above the poverty line to pay increased rates.
Moratorium On Building Schools, Libraries
Unless plans have already been agreed to, there will be a three year moratorium on the building of both schools and libraries in Rhode Island. But if the Rhode Island Department of Education has already green lighted a plan to build schools (an example given was a school in Central Falls), the construction will continue as is.
Increased Education Funding
The House budget fully supports the state’s education funding formula, which was created last year. Under the plan, money is said to follow the student, meaning that funding will change as enrollments increase or decrease at certain schools. The plan is largely viewed as a success for many of the urban school districts, including Providence.
The House also agreed to $4 million in additional spending on higher education. It’s not quite as much as the Governor wanted (he asked for $10 million), but considering the amount of funding that has been cut to state schools in recent years, this appears to be a step in the right direction.
Providence Gets The Funding It Needed
City officials said they were cautiously optimistic about the budget last week, but now it appears the city got everything it was expecting from the General Assembly. They key is the $11.5 million in immediate savings expected to come from the state agreeing to shift the health care system for retired city workers.
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