Tagged: budget

(PROVIDENCE, RI) Gov. Lincoln Chafee gives his annual state-of-the-state speech Wednesday before a joint meeting of the General Assembly. The governor is expected to discuss the state’s stalled economy in his remarks.

Rhode Island Public Radio is airing the State of the Speech live along with analysis from the political team. Coverage starts at 7 p.m.

Governor Lincoln Chafee is declining to talk specifics about whether his next budget will include revenue increases – a.k.a. tax hikes.

The governor offered this comment during an interview last week (excerpts of which will be broadcast on RIPR Thursday morning):

“The budget will come out in January … we’re still putting it together.”

Does the General Assembly ever cut its budget? On at least one recent occasion, yes.

The legislature’s spending for the fiscal year that ended June 30 (fiscal 2012) was cut by $3 million, according to information presented during a House Finance Committee meeting Wednesday. House spokesman Larry Berman offered this explanation:

A pre-session House Finance Committee meeting this afternoon offered a mix of good news and bad news: a larger than expected current-year surplus of about $47 million will roughly cut in half the deficit for the budget year starting next July 1, from $130 million to $70 million.

But the state’s structural deficit could grow to about $400 million in five years, due in part to overspending in some state departments. In an interview following the meeting, House Finance chairman Helio Melo said the state needs to be more disciplined: