State budget coming before House Committee on Finance

(Updated 3:16 p.m., 7:16 p.m.)
PROVIDENCE – A legislative version of Gov. Gina M. Raimondo’s proposed $8.6 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year is expected to be introduced Tuesday and potentially approved by the House Committee on Finance.
The budget changes would then move to the full House next week for consideration and a vote.
The governor, who introduced her budget in March, emphasized initiatives in economic development and job creation and proposed steep cuts in state Medicaid expenses to help resolve a deficit then expected to reach $200 million.
Revenue has since been projected to increase more than anticipated, by as much as $50 million in 2016, and $123.7 million more in the current fiscal year.
The House finance committee version of the budget is expected to include the governor’s requested restructuring of Medicaid systems, but will not reach the $91 million in cuts proposed under her spending plan, according to a spokesman for House Speaker Nicholas A. Mattiello.
Among other likely differences: a reduced assessment on health care premiums for individuals and small businesses both inside and out of the HealthSource RI state exchange, and the absence of highway tolls proposed for tractor-trailer trucks.
Rep. Raymond E Gallison Jr., D-Bristol, and the chair of the House finance committee, told reporters that language regarding the just-approved pension lawsuit settlement will be in the budget but there will be no fiscal impact until next fiscal year.
The governor, who introduced her budget in March, in May proposed a digital tolling systems on selected highways and state roads that would pay for up to a $900 million bond issue, to fund bridge and transportation system repairs under a 10-year program.
The speaker supports the program, but is not inclined to include it as a regular budget item, according to his spokesman, Larry Berman. There is a possibility it could be considered at a later date, or as a supplemental item. “He wants to pass it, but he wants it to be right,” Berman said.
The governor’s staff said this week they still were trying to get the program approved. “We’ve been working collaboratively with the Speaker and other legislative leaders for weeks, and we’re determined to get this done quickly,” said spokesman Marie Aberger. “We’ve lost 1,200 construction jobs over the past three months, and this crucial infrastructure work will only become more expensive the longer we wait.”
The governor’s original proposal to ensure funding for HealthSource RI would have enacted new assessments on individuals and businesses to generate $11.2 million annually for its operating budget post-federal assistance, including about $6 million in fiscal 2016.
The governor last week submitted a new proposal, which would allow lowered assessments for individuals and businesses, but provide the remainder of the funds through a direct appropriation, according to HealthSource RI Director Anya Rader Wallack.
The most recent proposal would lower the monthly premium assessments for individuals from 3.76 percent to 2.86 percent. For small businesses, the proposed assessments would be reduced from 1 percent to .059 percent.
On Tuesday morning, Rader Wallack said it was difficult to predict what would happen. “We’ve gotten positive signals, but until they take action we can’t really speak to what they’re going to do.”

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