It’s no surprise that the budget for the next fiscal year is being voted on by the General Assembly at the last second. That is to be expected in a state where backroom deals still play a strong role in making policy.
But it still doesn’t make the process any more palatable.
Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio wants Hope Point, the Fane Organization tower, built in the I-195 Redevelopment District. The $300 million project promises to bring jobs and tax revenue to the city and the state, something that legislative leaders like to be able to point to at election time.
On the other hand, House Speaker Nicholas A. Mattiello wants keep to his car tax program on schedule, to the tune of a new shortfall of $38 million in state fiscal 2020 revenue. This, too, is designed to please his electoral base.
But the back-scratching going on here comes at the expense of many programs that Gov. Gina M. Raimondo has proposed or asked to expand, based on their success. It is not that trade-offs in the making of a state budget are bad. But the players in this three-card monte should give all the players more time to digest the implications of the choices being made.
In the end, this is not about programs or progress. It is about process. Perhaps the voters need to pass an amendment that mandates a first draft of a budget by May 1 and a vote by June 1, thus giving a month of robust discussion about the issues raised.
We certainly cannot do any worse than how it works now.
