Governor and Legislative Democratic Leaders Delay Budget, House GOP Call Decision Irresponsible
Saturday, September 12, 2020
Speaker of the House Nick Mattiello and Senate President Dominick Ruggerio in a joint with Governor Gina Raimondo announced that they are delaying consideration of the budget until an undetermined date in November.
The unprecedented move drew criticism from House Republicans.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe 2021 Fiscal Year budget should have been enacted before the start of July, 2020.
In a joint statement Raimondo, Mattiello and Ruggerio stated:
“As we await direction from Washington regarding additional relief for states, Rhode Island’s FY21 budget picture remains uncertain. COVID-19 has caused significant damage to our national and local economies, and it is critical we have a full understanding of the funding available to the State. Likewise, the placement of bond issues on the ballot is directly linked to the overall budget plan. Given these considerations, we look forward to holding a special session in November to consider the FY21 budget, as well as a special election shortly thereafter to vote on this year’s bond initiatives.”
The House Republican Caucus issues a response criticizing the delay and questioning their leadership:
Today’s decision to delay tackling our gaping budget hole, rather than doing the hard work now, is an abdication by the Governor, the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate of their basic responsibilities to the citizens of Rhode Island. That they are kicking the can down the road until after the November election is a cynical effort to avoid electoral responsibility for the unsustainable state finances they have created over the years.
Since April, Republicans have called on the General Assembly to convene and come up with solutions to address the projected $900 million budget gap, and to provide fiscal oversight during the pandemic. Instead, the extent of our leaders’ action has been to wish upon a federal bailout, and to hold onto federal CARES Act monies that should have been used to upgrade our schools to enable in-person learning, and to help struggling small businesses forced to close. Waiting an additional two months to address this budget hole will only increase the pain Rhode Islanders will face.
Republicans have called for spending reforms for years to address our unsustainable government spending-spree. Unfortunately, our prediction that we would not be prepared for a recession has come home to roost, and our leaders still fail to recognize it.
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