Republican Budget Amendment Preview

Jim Baron of the Pawtucket Times has a preview of the some of the amendments that House Republicans will offer during today’s floor session on the state budget…

The House Republican Caucus – tiny but feisty, and even pugnacious when they think the need arises – wants to amend the state budget to increase school aid, slice social service programs, scuttle plans for a northern Rhode Island Courthouse, and restore tax reductions for business….
The Republicans’ top priority, Minority Leader Robert Watson said, is to “restore education funding, at the very least to the governor’s level, without tax increases.” Several of their prepared amendments – not all of which will even get introduced during tonight’s debate – aim to do just that.
“I think even the governor agrees that a 3 percent increase is insufficient, but 0 is worse,” Watson said, referring to the $19 million Carcieri recommended in his budget to give an across-the-board increase in state aid to all school districts….
A proposed amendment authored by Warwick Rep. Joseph Trillo would allow school districts to abolish some contracts and force the unions to renegotiate them.
Another amendment would cut 3 percent from the bottom line of the Executive Office of the Department of Health and Human Services, allowing the department to decide how the cut should be distributed.

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Greg
Greg
16 years ago

My predictions:
Republicans will try to introduce measures that will be laughed out of the Assembly.
Democrats will push through a crappy budget.
The Governor will veto.
Democrats will easily override the veto.
I will move out of the state.

SusanD
SusanD
16 years ago

Sorry to be repetitive from another thread.
But how does any representative go home and say to his/her constituents, including members of the NEA, “the Governor wanted to give you more education aid but I voted against it”?

Bobby Oliveira
Bobby Oliveira
16 years ago

Dear SusanD,
Very easily thanks to the current scandal.
Between Commander General Gio and the DOT, we plan to pick up seats regardless of what gets passed. Those on the Left will moan a little, those in the center will be very happy and that small bunch on the Right aren’t going to vote for us anyway.
Wait till we run ads next cycle about the GOP trying to force Amendments through that would raise taxes.

Anthony
Anthony
16 years ago

SusanD,
You’re forgetting that the facts don’t matter to NEA members. The unions have been engaged in an organized campaign to demonize Carcieri from the get go.
Contrary to the opinion of many people on this blog, most Rhode Islanders aren’t happy about seeing people get laid off. Carcieri will take the blame because the Democrats will pin the “look what the corporate CEO did to the Joe Six Pack state worker” tag to him. The fact that Carcieri wants more money for education than the Democrats will get lost in the mudslinging. The Democrats know this and will exploit the DOT issue and the layoff issue to take people’s attention away from their education cutbacks.
And I’m saying this as a Carcieri voter who believes Carcieri is 100% correct to lay off the 1,000 state workers.

Greg
Greg
16 years ago

I gotta get me one of those Bobby Olivera Crystal Balls.
I forget, did he predict that Charlie The Ferengi was going to win the Gov seat?

Joe
Joe
16 years ago

BobbyO –
You know as well as anyone that voters have the attention span of a gnat. Especially the uninformed voters of this state. This DOT scandal will be a distant memory as soon as the Feds start frog-marching Senators out of the Capitol Building. This is just a distraction from the real corruption in this state.

Bobby Oliveira
Bobby Oliveira
16 years ago

Dear Joe,
We can take Corrente down whenever we want. Therefore, there will be no frog marching. It was announced today that Justice is investigating the USAG. We know Corrente is dirty. This just makes it easier.
Dear Greg,
No I did not. I did predict that the reace was too close to call. However, the Carcieri is Bush, Bush is Carcieri message appeared way too late.

Mike
Mike
16 years ago

The Republicans’ top priority, Minority Leader Robert Watson said, is to “restore education funding,
XXX
How pathetic that the main priority of the “opposition” party is to throw more millions at the {inflammatory description deleted} NEA/AFT.

SusanD
SusanD
16 years ago

Can I please get some perspective on something that happened at the House budget debate tonight?
I arrived a little after 8 pm and go to the Gallery; the House is in recess for its supper break. They come back. Speaker Murphy gavels the session to order and proceeds to make half a dozen routine announcements, including congratulations to three or four House members for wedding anniversaries coming up.
He then announces that it is the birthday of Finance Chair Steve Costantino. As everyone applauds, a woman walks into the Chamber with a big bunch of balloons (black, for some reason) and hands them to Steve, as an accordian player appears in the Chamber in front of Steve and plays and everyone sings “happy birthday”. Best wishes from Minority Leader Watson; words of appreciation from Steve himself.
Then Speaker Murphy says, “Well, we haven’t had dessert yet so, Steve, if you want to lead the parade, we’ll all go back and have birthday cake.” And the House, which had just reconvened to debate one of the most important items of the people’s business, ALL TROOP OUT FOR CAKE.
A woman behind me says softly, “I thought they were kidding …” It was a little too surreal for me at that point so I left.
My question is, is this a normal incident for the annual House budget hearing?

Anthony
Anthony
16 years ago

I bet they bought the birthday cake with taxpayer money.

SusanD
SusanD
16 years ago

lol

Bobby Oliveira
Bobby Oliveira
16 years ago

Dear SusanD,
Usually, the budget is not done for another two weeks and as of right now, quickly checking, nobody’s birthday falls around then.
I would suggest that you turn on C-Span II for an entire day and take a look at what the United State Senate might take breaks for.
It’s just not that big a deal. Kind of annoying for staff, I was Ways and Means Staff for the fiscal 91 Mass budget, but not that big a deal otherwise.
Anthony,
Just like birthday cake for Republican Senator Gibbs, that money comes from the JCLS budget. JCLS, as you know, has minority representation.
Andrew,
Just about everyone not on the far left would like to see education funding level funded. Most folks understand that when it comes to social services, it’s pay me now or pay me later.

SusanD
SusanD
16 years ago

“paying more to government to receive less, that has become the Democrats’ stock and trade”
Good point, Andrew. For many years now, that’s been their creed and stock in trade.
“How pathetic that the main priority of the “opposition” party is to throw more millions at the {inflammatory description deleted} NEA/AFT”
Not entirely, Mike. It was to contrast the priorities of the two parties. Democrats made it clear last week that welfare – paying money to irresponsible adults – is more important to them than educating our children.

SusanD
SusanD
16 years ago

“This DOT scandal will be a distant memory as soon as the Feds start frog-marching Senators out of the Capitol Building.
(Great phrasing of the second part of that sentence.)
I take it that the DOT falls under the Exec Branch? Most people are going to think it’s like the rest of state gov’t; controlled by the Dems and loaded up with their overpaid cronies. The only thing that will register about the DOT situation is that Don Carcieri called in the State Police and the feds to investigate.

Bobby Oliveira
Bobby Oliveira
16 years ago

Dear Susan,
When we get done, the terms DOT and Old Stone will be interchangable.

Bobby Oliveira
Bobby Oliveira
16 years ago

Dear Andrew,
1. So in turn they are going to vote for the GOP?? Let’s see, folks are going to vote for the party of a Governor who hates teachers because in one year tough decisions had to be made?? Not very likely.
2. Rep. Kilmartin’s seat is safe for eternity if he wants it to be. Does any District really want to put their seat into the hands of a GOP rookie who not only can’t get grants but also can’t get a bill out of committee??
3. Rep. Rice has Middletown and Portsmouth. There are exceptions to every rule, more so to the Portsmouth side. We’ll see what Senator Felag’s read is in a few days.
Let’s not forget:
Every single one of you on this Blog that made a predicition predicted gains for RIGOP during the last cycle. You also predicted holding on to more than one statewide seat. Things for RIGOP, since the Governor’s shield of “I’m clean” has been fractured, may be worse now then they were then.

SusanD
SusanD
16 years ago

“Most people want education to be level-funded?”
The other reason level funding is particularly difficult on cities and towns this year is because they had been ordered by the state to come up with an increase in their contribution to the public pension fund. So if by some miracle the school budget of a city or town was unchanged from last year, they still needed more money than last year in order to comply with this state mandate – unfunded at this point, thanks to the General Assembly.

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