Rhode Island Lawmakers Approve $8.9B Budget

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Rhode Island lawmakers passed an $8.9 billion fiscal 2017 state budget at 1:35 a.m. on Saturday.

The budget package includes plans to ask voters to approve more than $227 million in bonds.

Gov. Gina Raimondo is expected to sign it.

The Senate's 32-3 vote, with Republicans Mark Gee, Nicholas Kettle and Elaine Morgan opposed, followed Wednesday night's 59-13 House approval. Lawmakers then stayed until after sunrise to pass several other bills.

The House added a $20 million bond referendum to enable the state to buy the Port of Providence from the capital city. ProvPort wants to build a new deep-water port marine terminal along the Providence waterfront. It will appear on the November ballot together with a $50 million proposal by Raimondo to expand the ports at Quonset Point in North Kingstown.

Other November bond questions include $45.5 million for higher education projects; up to $50 million for affordable housing including $10 million for blight remediation; $35 million for environmental and health initiatives; and $27 million for the state Veterans' Home.

The higher education bond measure includes $20 million to help develop an innovation center connected with the University of Rhode Island.

The budget also creates the Office of Debt Management, which will be responsible for monitoring public debt.

"These resources will enable us to perform the first comprehensive review of state debt policies and targets since the 1990s, and improve oversight of debt issued by municipalities and quasi-public agencies," said state Treasurer Seth Magaziner.

Raimondo's proposed cigarette tax increase from $3.75 to $4 did not pass.

The spending plan includes no broad-based tax increases, provides tax relief to some retirees, enhances the state's economic development initiatives, fully funds education, significantly scales back a proposal to tax medical marijuana and rolls back parking fees at state beaches to 2011 levels.

Lawmakers did not include Raimondo's proposal to borrow $40 million for additional school construction, instead choosing to include $80 million for new and ongoing construction commitments within the budget without additional borrowing, pending the results of a professional assessment of statewide school construction needs that just began.

Moody's Investors Service rates Rhode Island's general obligation bonds Aa2. S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings rate them AA.

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