House Budget: How Does It Cut the Deficit?

House Budget: How Does It Cut the Deficit?

House Finance chairman Helio Melo, D-East Providence, yesterday outlined exactly how the proposed House budget eliminates the state’s deficit without resorting to the massive sales tax expansion that Governor Lincoln Chafee backed.

The House budget makes up for the estimated $302.1 million deficit through the following, according to Larry Berman, spokesman for Speaker Gordon Fox:

■ $57.6 million—from a surplus in the current year
■ $66.6 million—from revenues that are higher than expected next year
■ $29.6 million—from some new taxes and fees
■ $26.1 million—saved from changes in local aid, mostly by freezing school construction funds
■ $78.1 million—from cuts to the Human Services budgets
■ $44.1 million—from consolidating various departments and agencies, as well as miscellaneous cuts to individual department and agency budgets

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The House is scheduled to hold a vote on the budget Friday. The session starts at 1 p.m.

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