R.I. lawmakers meet for first time in 2008

DATELINE: PROVIDENCE R.I.

Rhode Island's lawmakers met Tuesday for the first time in a new and difficult year that will require cutting costs or raising taxes to close an estimated $450 million budget deficit.

The General Assembly reconvened on New Year's Day because the state constitution requires it to meet on the first Tuesday in January. While the session was short, top lawmakers warned about the tough choices ahead.

Since Republican Gov. Don Carcieri and key Democratic leaders in the Legislature have ruled out broad-based tax increases, they must cut state spending in an election year.

"We will be looking at all departments and all facets of state government to make the cuts that are necessary to bring our state budget back into shape," House Speaker William Murphy said during a brief speech.

Senate President Joseph Montalbano said his chamber was looking for "efficiencies," but he sounded reluctant to cut deeply into social welfare spending, in contrast to recent suggestions from the governor.

"We have made a decision as a society to provide a safety net for the most vulnerable Rhode Islanders," Montalbano said. "A budget is more than dollar signs and numerals; it impacts real people: our neighbors, our parents, our children."

The budget debate will probably begin in earnest later this month, when Carcieri delivers his annual State of the State address and releases his spending plan to lawmakers. State law requires Carcieri to submit his budget proposal by Jan. 17, but his administration has missed that deadline before.

In a recent interview, Carcieri said he was considering curtailing spending on health care for the poor, taking the children of illegal immigrants off subsidized health care rolls and restricting welfare benefits.

"This is the worst yet," Carcieri said, referring to the state's financial problems. "We have never looked at a projected deficit as large as we're facing right now."

Murphy, a Democrat, has said that House lawmakers will study whether the state could save money by steering new employees into individual retirement investment accounts instead of guaranteed pensions.

Another round of cuts is certain to rankle people statewide. Facing similar budget problems last year, Carcieri angered state labor unions by eliminating 1,000 government jobs through attrition and layoffs. Democratic lawmakers eventually approved a budget that did not increase state aid for schools and cut back on services for teenagers and young adults in state custody.

In an embarrassing move, Carcieri and lawmakers decided to send 17-year-old offenders to adult courts and prisons to save money, then repealed the provision four months later after they realized it was unlikely to cut costs. State courts are still deciding how to treat teenagers charged with adult crimes during that gap.

Two new lawmakers have joined the General Assembly since it went into recess after a special session in October. Rep. Frank Ferri, a Democrat, won a special election to represent Warwick. He has served as chairman of Marriage Equality Rhode Island, which advocates for same-sex marriage.

Last month, Newport voters elected Republican Steven Coaty to replace Democratic Rep. Paul Crowley, who died of cancer in September.

Democrats hold a veto-proof majority in the House and Senate.