Supplemental budget passed by state House

PROVIDENCE – A supplemental budget bill for the fiscal year ending June 30 was expected last week to gain approval from the General Assembly.
Approved by a 60-to-12 margin on April 25 by the House, the tax-and-spending package makes widespread cuts to close a $168 million deficit for the current fiscal year. The supplemental budget avoids tax increases, instead relying on cuts to programs such as RIte Care health care cover and municipal aid.
The measure was also expected to gain Senate approval.
The package eliminates RIte Care health care coverage for more than 2,800 non-citizen children, as well as welfare payments to children whose parents have exceeded the 60-month time period they are allowed to remain on the Family Independence Program rolls, with exceptions for domestic violence victims, the homeless and the disabled.
The package, however, does save several programs threatened under Carcieri’s proposal, including the Neighborhood Opportunities Program. The plan restores $5 million of the $7 million the governor had proposed to eliminate for the program, which supports affordable housing initiatives. &#8226