Rhode Island lawmakers unveil $12.7B budget

Rhode Island House Democrats on Wednesday released a fiscal plan they hope will take them through the end of the COVID-19 era, with a stop-gap budget for the year now almost halfway over.

The $12.7-billion tax and spending plan for the year ending July 1 would plug pandemic-caused shortfalls of around $275 million, mostly by replacing state tax dollars with federal aid.

As expected, it puts off decisions on most of the significant policy proposals Gov. Gina Raimondo pitched in January and largely shelved when the coronavirus swept through the state.

Those ideas — including new state-controlled marijuana stores and a tax on high-end real estate deals to fund affordable housing — will have to wait until at least next year. Raimondo is set to propose a budget for the year beginning July 1, 2021, and Wednesday's proposal would allow her to do so in March instead of January.

Read more: https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/politics/2020/12/09/ri-lawmakers-unveil-12-7-b-budget-voters-asked-ok-400-m-spring/3863019001/