The budget bill contains some money to restore low-cost bus fare for indigent people – a social service that RIPTA cut earlier this year. The RIPTA Riders Alliance declined comment until more information is available. House Speaker Nick Mattiello told RI Future the funding for this program is temporary and said larger changes with RIPTA are afoot.

The proposed budget also includes new money to pay nursing home caregivers and those who works with the developmentally disabled. The investment would help raise wages for underpaid caregivers, many of whom work full time and still live in poverty. SEIU officials hailed the move as a step toward a $15 an hour minimum wage for front line caregivers.

It also preserves Governor Gina Raimondo’s increase to the Earned Income Tax Credit, and increased the investment in housing for the homeless proposed by Raimondo.

“We find it encouraging that the House Finance Committee showed their commitment and concern for Rhode Islanders experiencing housing insecurity by supporting the Governor’s budget proposal for affordable housing production and adding an additional $10 million for urban revitalization and blight remediation for a total $50 million Housing Opportunity Bond,” said Jim Ryczek, executive director of the RI Coalition for the Homeless. “We appreciate that the House Finance Committee ensured that this year’s budget invests in the long-term solutions to addressing homelessness and the lack of affordable housing in our state.”

But the House budget left out a proposed increase to the minimum wage that Raimondo included in her budget proposal. The current minimum wage in Rhode Island is $9.60 and Raimondo’s budget proposal would have raised it to $10.10. While the minimum wage does not have a fiscal effect on the budget, it is customary in Rhode Island to include policy changes in the state budget.

The House budget also nixed Raimondo’s proposal to increase investment in the school construction bond money. Many urban school buildings in Rhode Island are in dire need of repair.

It reduced Raimondo’s proposed fee on medical marijuana plants from $150 to $25. While the House measure exempts low income people from the fee, it still requires a new state tag for each plant – a move opposed by independent growers of medical marijuana.

While medical marijuana patients will pay more, beach goers will pay less under the proposed House budget. According to a news release from the House of Representatives, “Just in time for beach season, the Finance Committee slashed parking fees at state beaches — mostly in half — to better enable Rhode Islanders and visitors to enjoy one of the state’s greatest treasures. The cuts, effective July 1, eliminate hikes made in 2012, and apply to all types of passes: single-day weekend and weekday as well as season passes for residents, nonresidents and senior citizens. (Admission to state beaches themselves is free.)”

Charter school opponents should be even more pleased with the House budget proposal than with Raimondo’s version. According to the news release, “The [finance] committee moderated the governor’s proposal somewhat, allowing districts to reduce payments by either 7 percent of the per-pupil tuition cost or the average difference between per-pupil unique costs of the sending districts and those of the charter schools, whichever is greater. The committee also provided some temporary relief for districts with particularly high concentrations of students attending charter or vocational schools.”

And the House budget seems to make it easier for Rhode Islanders to generate more renewable energy. The proposal “expanded the state’s net metering program to allow “virtual” or off-site net metering by all customers, opening up access to renewable energy generation to more Rhode Islanders. Net metering is a practice that allows those who install renewable energy systems such as solar panels to connect them to the electric grid and receive credit on their bill for any excess energy they generate,” according to the House news release.

But a reader sent this comment: “The budget article 18 expands net metering, but it has a completely silly cap on it (major concession to Grid), and messes up the rates (another major concession). It will serve as a disincentive to net metering, not an incentive. The PUC is in the middle of considering the right net metering rate, and this is sort of like sticking a monkeywrench into their machinery. This is in no way a win, except superficially.”

The House is expected to vote on the budget bill next Wednesday.

Much like its House counterpart, the Senate Finance Committee passed the FY16 budget bill unanimously with almost no discussion other than to speak on its merits.

“I would certainly characterize this budget as one that is not only ambitious, but one that makes a significant investment in areas that should have been invested in in the past,” Chairman Daniel DaPonte (D- District 14) said to begin the meeting. He added in a press release that the budget helps to put Rhode Island back on the right track economically.

“This is a budget that Rhode Island’s economy needs and through its passage will continue the economic stability and reform that delivers the message that Rhode Island’s economy is back and open for business.”

One of the short discussion points brought up during the meeting was whether or not the budget provided opportunities for youth.

“There have been some pockets that have been filled here, but I suggest that next year we consider providing more job opportunities for youth,” Senator Juan Pichardo (D- District 2) said.

DaPonte agreed with Pichardo, but also reminded the committee that there is no one specific way to keep youth working in the state.

“I think initiatives to focus on keeping young people here and getting them up and running are incorporated in the budget in a variety of different places and a variety of different ways,” he said. “I think the sum of all these parts is a statement to us not only wanting to keep these folks here, but increase the number of opportunities available.”

The night before, the House of Representatives was very kind to the bill as well, passing it through to the Senate after a swift three-hour session. Before its passage, many took the time to thank not only House Finance Committee Chairman Raymond Gallison (D- District 69), and Speaker Nicholas Mattiello, but the House Fiscal Advisory staff as well.

Other groups outside of the State House are also pleased with the budget. Planned Parenthood, which fought against the restrictive abortion insurance coverage in Article 18, said in a press release that they are pleased with the outcome of the bill.

“While we were disappointed the governor unnecessarily chose to widely expand the number of plans that do not cover abortion beyond federal minimum standards, the action by the General Assembly today ensures employers cannot unilaterally limit reproductive health care service coverage for their employers. This amendment will require employers and insurance carriers to clearly indicate when an employer is opting out of covering certain reproductive healthcare services, so that no one will be surprised by a lack of coverage for routine procedures.”

But, while many have championed the budget as a success story, there are still those that are dissatisfied. Common Cause Rhode Island, an advocacy and lobbyist group for transparent government, has expressed discontent with the budget’s provision for Governor Raimondo’s pension settlement.

“This extraordinary legislation, that will affect every Rhode Islander – and every Rhode Island state and municipal budget – for decades, should not be rolled into the annual budget as if it were just another article,” said executive director John Marion. “The budget debate that typically occurs in a single evening and includes debates on amendments concerning dozens of issues is not the place for this important legislation. It deserves special consideration so legislators, as much as they did in the special session in 2011, can take this up on the merits alone.”

In what everyone thought would be a firestorm of debate, the RI House of Representatives unanimously passed the $8.7 billion FY 2016 budget with little to no discussion about many of the articles, including the much contested Medicaid cuts and pension settlement, as well as Governor Raimondo’s so called “job tools.” According to a House spokesperson, this is the fastest that the budget has gone through in nearly three decades.

The only budget articles that were seriously debated on the floor were numbers 11, which concerned taxes and revenues; and 18, which provided the funding to HealthSource RI, Rhode Island’s Affordable Care Act state exchange. There were two article introductions during the debate, one concerning the funding for the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA), and one simply to renumber the articles in the bill after its introduction. Representative Patricia Morgan (R-District 26), was going to introduce an article to fund bridge repairs, but recognized that she did not have the support to pass it.

Although discussion was sparse on the floor, Rep. Morgan was one of the few members who continually sparked debate, particularly over article 11, which had the longest discussion out of all of the sections voted upon. Amendments had already been proposed to the article, but had been struck down. Morgan proposed two amendments herself, the first of which would promote lean government standards for the state, and according to her, dramatically decrease costs for running state government.

“Many states at this point, have already started lean government initiatives, and it has given them a lot of fruit,” she said. “There are incredible efficiencies that have resulted from lean government.

Morgan planned to pay for the new service by taking $500,000 from the Newport Grand Casino and putting it towards creating a lean government initiative, which Governor Raimondo has already stated she supports. Her reasoning? That the casino was not in dire need of the funds.

“Last year, the new owner proposed $40 million for remodeling,” Morgan said. “If he has $40 million for that, I guess he can give up $500,000.”

The amendment saw staunch opposition, especially because, according to several representatives, 60 percent of the casino’s money goes directly back into the state.

“Just because Newport Grand may be part of corporate America, we are here to help businesses thrive in our economy,” Representative Dennis Canario (D-District 71) said.

“To take $500,000 out of Newport Grand would jeopardize the integrity of that business,” House Majority Leader John DeSimone (D-District 5), argued.

Although Morgan’s first amendment failed 71-4, she brought up another amendment immediately after that tried to use the same funds from Newport Grand to pay for a 38 Studios investigation.

“The people of this state deserve to know how it happened, why it happened, who did it, and try to keep it from ever happening again,” Morgan said.

Her second amendment did not even get the chance to go up for debate, as it was ruled not germane to the discussion. The ruling was met with cheers from other representatives.

Article 18 funded HealthSource RI, which has been hotly contested over the past few days due to restrictive abortion coverage language. However, Finance Committee Chairman Representative Raymond Gallison (D- District 69) introduced an amendment that would curb such restrictions, and allow access for those who require abortions even if their insurance plan has cited religious exemptions from covering them.

Surprisingly, the amendment passed with no discussion, but the article itself saw debate due to King V. Burwell, the current Supreme Court case determining whether or not states should receive tax subsidies from having their own healthcare exchanges. While some representatives thought that keeping the exchange would make Rhode Island less business friendly, it was upheld in the vote.

What is more striking than what was debated, though, is what was not. Cornerstone legislation in the bill went by without so much as a peep from representatives. Medicaid cuts, the pension settlement, Raimondo’s jobs initiative, professional licensing, all day kindergarten, school construction, and even appropriations of funds from FY 15 are just some of the examples of what saw next to no discussion. Even Gallison’s surprise article that raised RIPTA fares for the elderly and low income to $1, up from no cost at all, saw little debate.

After only three short hours, the budget was unanimously passed, with daylight still shining down on the State House.

“The House of Representatives is very committed to working together on behalf of the citizens of the state of Rhode Island,” Speaker Mattiello said of the speedy voting process. “That the House has worked very collaboratively with the Governor and the Senate President, and that there’s a focus on jobs and the economy. When we put out a pro-jobs budget, pro-economy budget, the members rallied around it and responded appropriately.”

Mattiello also did not rule out the option of a special fall session to handle Governor Raimondo’s proposed toll tax. It is actually very likely, he said.

As for Rep. Morgan, she believes that she was one of the only members of the House who actively stood up for what they believe in on the floor tonight.

“I’ll fight for the people of Rhode Island all day long. I’ll fight for better government in our state,” she said after the meeting. “But, I can’t do it alone. The people need to send me more support.”

“I don’t know why they didn’t speak up,” Morgan added. “There were things that should have been said. There was debate that should have gone on. There are things that are objectionable. I have no idea why people didn’t stand up and fight for the things that they believe in.”

But, even without the support for her amendments, Morgan still voted in favor of the budget because it was, for the most part, in line with her beliefs.

“I voted for the budget because there were a lot of really good Republican proposals in it, that I think will help Rhode Island, and I didn’t want to see them not get support.”

The bill will go to the Senate floor for hearing on Wednesday, where if approved, will become the official FY 16 budget for Rhode Island.

“When I moved here from Utah, everyone said “Oh, Newport, Providence!” People already know about Newport and Providence and I would say “No, Narragansett,” and nobody would know what Narragansett was. I have a really difficult time turning a portion of our money over from South County to help promote more Providence and more Newport.” she said, citing that the South County tourism board works very hard to market their area of the state.”

In response House Speaker Nick Mattiello said, “Despite that wonderful job, everyone still talks about Providence and Newport. It’s the integrity of the entire system that we’re looking at, and you need a Rhode Island brand. It’s not about localities. The current system doesn’t work, and we cannot go back to a system that doesn’t work.”

Their disagreement stems from Governor Gina Raimondo’s idea to centralize state tourism spending. Currently, Rhode Island has no unified state marketing efforts and instead dives proceeds from hotel tax receipts between 8 regional tourism agencies. The money will now go more towards the state Commerce Corporation, rather than the tourism bureaus themselves. In the House version of the budget, $4.7 million goes straight to the Commerce Corporation, while less than a million goes to the actual tourism district. In Gov. Raimondo’s version, $6.4 million would go to the corporation, leaving the districts with $1.7 million.

After the hearing, Tanzi continued to express her concerns about the funding cuts, and how they will harm her district as a whole.

“I think that the way that the South County tourism board is run is actually very effective. We have been compliant, we turn in our reports when we’re supposed to, our production cost of our marketing materials, everything is done in house. We’re very conscientious about how the money is spent,” she said, especially in comparison to other tourism boards across the state. Tanzi believes that this will only disserve the southern portion of Rhode Island, especially because Newport and Providence, in her opinion, do not need more marketing.

“The beaches are their own unique part of it,” she said. “We need to have our own budget to market that appropriately. We’re competing with the Cape, we’re not competing with Massachusetts.”

As the budget is currently written, Tanzi stated that to “cannibalize” the smaller parts of the state in order to market Rhode Island as a whole is not the best use of money, and it will only show poorly within the coming years.

“My guess is that my businesses in South County, who have five months out of the year at most, to make their living to make it through the entire summer, are going to suffer as a result of this,” she said. Tanzi has spoken to many of the businesses in her district since the budget first came out in March, adding that such funds are always a concern for business owners in the area.

But, the prospect of Tanzi submitting a successful amendment to support her district is slim to none, in her view, calling South County the “small fish,” in comparison to Newport and Providence.

“Just the basic numbers of looking at it, you’re talking about a couple of South County people, versus the city folk and the Newport people, who outnumber us on the floor. So, my chances of an amendment passing are ridiculously infantile. They’re infinitesimal, they’re so small, so, no, I won’t,” she said.

Even without the hope of amending the budget, this year, though, Tanzi still holds out hope for next year, planning to bring forth data showing the exact effects of these cuts on South County tourism, and maybe even get to create a separate brand for her district in the process.

The 2016 RI State Budget, approved by House Finance late Tuesday evening, included language on abortion coverage in its section on HealthSource RI funding that goes far beyond what is required under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This part of the budget, inserted at the request of Governor Gina Raimondo on May 29, replaced article 28 of her original budget which the General Assembly changed to Article 18 in its final version.

The part that pertains to abortion coverage reads:

(3) Any health plan that delivers a benefit plan on the exchange that covers abortion services, as defined in 45 CFR section 156.280(d)(1), shall comply with segregation of funding requirements, as well as an annual assurance statement to the Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner, in accordance with 45 C.F.R. sections 156.280(e)(3) and (5).

(4) At least one plan variation for individual market plan designs offered on the exchange at each level of coverage, as defined by section 1302(d)(1) of the federal act, at which the carrier is offering a plan or plans, shall exclude coverage for abortion services as defined in 45 CFR section 156.280(d)(1). If the health plan proposes different rates for such plan variations, each listed plan design shall include the associated rate.

(5) Health plans that offer a plan variation that excludes coverage for abortion services as defined in 45 CFR section 156.280(d)(1) for a religious exception variation in the small group market shall treat such a plan as a separate plan offering with a corresponding rate.

The ACA requires, by 2017, that a Multi-State Plan not covering most abortions be offered on every state-based health exchange. The language above mandates that every insurer operating on HealthSource RI offer multiple plans that do not cover abortion. The budget in its current form does not require that insurers offer plans to cover abortion, so any insurer not interested in offering nearly identical plans may decide to drop such coverage altogether.

The federal mandate that requires at least one plan that does not cover abortion should more than adequately cover those with a well-founded religious objection to abortion so that they can find a health plan to cover their needs.

I have made two requests to the Governor’s office, asking for clarification of the amendment’s intent and the reasoning behind the language, but these have gone unanswered.

Gina Raimondo has always maintained that she is staunchly pro-choice. That she would be behind some of the most audacious anti-choice legislation in decades, and that the language should be inserted into the budget without any public debate or comment may come as a surprise to her supporters.

After receiving the endorsement from the Planned Parenthood Votes! Rhode Island PAC, Raimondo said, ‘The Catholic Church has a clear position and I have a clear position…I am clearly pro-choice.”

But Raimondo’s Budget Article 28, by mandating that every insurer offer multiple plans that do not cover abortion, undermines the accepted medical and legal standard that abortion is a safe and legal procedure. Just as individuals do not get a choice about whether their health insurance covers blood transfusions, erectile dysfunction, or vaccinations, abortion coverage should be treated as an essential health benefit, not an outlier “variation” for which every insurance plan must make an exception.

After much deliberation, the House Finance Committee gave a unanimous 19-0 vote on the FY 2016 budget late on Tuesday night, which included $37.7 million more than the proposed budget given by Governor Gina Raimondo back in March. The legislative budget proposal is for $8.67 billion dollars, with $3.55 billion from general revenue contributing to that.

“We concur with many of the governor’s initiatives for economic development,” House Finance Chairman Raymond Gallison (D-District 69) said in a press briefing tonight.

According to Gallison, the committee, in large part, accepted Raimondo’s budget, but there were some key provisions that saw change, including Social Security, Medicaid, and sales taxes to businesses.

Those who made between $80,000 and $100,000 will be exempt from paying social security income tax. These tax cuts will give retired Rhode Islanders $9.3 million in tax relief. Businesses are also now exempt from paying the sales tax on corporate utilities. Governor Raimondo had originally proposed phasing it out over five years, but will instead be taken out all at once this year. The earned income tax credit for middle to low income households has also increased from 10 percent to 12.5 percent.

The budget outlines a 2.5 percent Medicaid cut for hospitals, and a 2 percent cut for nursing homes. Gallison said this provides more protection for nursing homes. The House budget cuts Medicaid roughly $67 million, a far cry from the $90 million that the governor had proposed, but the hospital license fee has been increased to 5.862 percent, which would bring in $13 million in additional revenue.

“Funding to maintain HealthSource RI is included in the budget,” Gallison said, outlining the distribution changes to its funding. Now, individuals will pay a surcharge of 2.86 percent on their monthly premiums, and businesses will pay a .59 percent surcharge. The budget allocates $2.6 million for HealthSource RI going into FY 2016. There is also no more additional surcharge for outpatient and imaging services.

Full-day kindergarten is another key provision, with the governor allocating $1.4 million from general revenue to fund programs in the seven communities that don’t offer full-day kindergarten yet. Educational aid was increased by $35.8 million in order to pour money into the educational funding formula. There was also $20 million added for school construction purposes.

Higher education saw an increase of $7 million. The Rhode Island Higher Education Assistance Authority is being downsized, with its responsibilities now being transferred to the Council of Post Secondary Education and the Office of the General Treasurer.

Other major provisions within the bill include cuts to all eight local tourism bureaus, a $2 million increase for RIPTA, and a $0.25 increase in the state sales tax on cigarettes, bringing it up to $3.75 per pack. The tax increase is estimated to bring in $1.7 million in revenue.

What is absent from the budget is just as significant as what is present.

“This budget does not contain anything whatsoever to do with a proposal for a stadium, or any tolls on trucks as proposed by the governor,” Gallison said during the hearing. Also notably absent is the “Taylor Swift tax” on million dollar homes in the state.

Speaker of the House Nicholas Mattiello has gone on the record saying that the proposed budget is business friendly, and will allow for economic development in the state.

“The budget that’s going to be voted on tonight is very pro-business, pro-economy. It’s going to serve as a catalyst for existing businesses as well as working to attract new businesses to the state of Rhode Island,” he told members of the media on Tuesday.

Gallison agreed with that sentiment, giving his own statement at the beginning of the hearing.

“We continue to move Rhode Island onto an economic path to enable businesses to continue to grow,” he said.

The bill is scheduled to go to the House of Representatives floor next Tuesday.

Based on what Speaker of the House Nicholas Mattiello (D-District 15), Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed (D-District 13), and Governor Raimondo have told media in recent weeks, a few things can be expected for the bill.

Raimondo’s tractor-trailer toll proposal will not be part of House budget proposal (at least not initially) but her Medicaid cuts will. Both Mattiello and President Paiva Weed have said that they have too many unanswered questions concerning the tolls for it to be implemented now. But, a special fall session to consider them is not out of the question.

Mattiello’s tax breaks on social security income will also be a key point of the budget. As it stands in Raimondo’s proposed budget, those who file as individuals with an income up to $50,000 are exempt from the income tax on their social security, and those who file jointly are exempt on incomes up to $60,000.

HealthSource RI will remain for another two years, with surcharges on individual’s monthly premiums averaging out at 2.86 percent, and .059 on small business’s monthly premiums.

Plans for economic development have also been interspersed throughout the bill, thanks to Raimondo’s proposed “jobs package.” Parts of this package includes tax breaks for businesses within the state, as well as a reallocation of taxes on hotels for tourism purposes. How the taxes are allocated is dependent on which one of Rhode Island’s 8 tourism districts the hotel is located in.

Money is also being allocated to the state’s environment, thanks to the Bays, Rivers, and Watersheds Fund. The language in the bill states that it will be used to “foster effective management, preservation, restoration, and monitoring of the bays, rivers, and watersheds.”

Higher education is seeing some changes as well. The “Best and Brightest” scholarship fund has been completely axed from the budget; the program gave scholarships to high school students going into college with hopes that they will stay in Rhode Island to teach in the public school system. The legislature also changes how students receive financial aid for college, giving more power to the office of the commissioner of postsecondary education, and creating a general allocation fund for higher education grants.

Near the end of the public commentary period of the Reinventing Medicaid Town Hall Meeting held in Providence, Bonnie Holder observed that, “The measure of a society is based on how we treat our most vulnerable… How did we ever get to the point where we accept it as a society where 1 percent of the population can have enormous wealth and the rest of us here are fighting?”

What the standing room only crowd of nearly 200 people gathered in the foyer of the Providence Community Health Center on Prairie Avenue were fighting for was the funds needed to provide care and sustenance for children, the elderly, the poor and the homeless. Governor Gina Raimondo is seeking to cut $90 million out of Medicaid, an item that takes up about a third of the budget. Because the federal government matches state medicaid spending, the total of lost dollars to medical services in our state could be nearly double that number.

A steady stream of commentators took the microphone to say that our medical system is already straining to meet the needs of our community. Wages are stagnant, demand is only going to grow, and the money needed to get the job done right is already too tight.

Undoubtedly there are savings to be had. Where those savings are to be found is a question of values and priorities. Are we going to force front line caregivers to work longer hours for less pay? Are we going to ask people to give up medical care and prescriptions that will enhance their quality of life? Or are we going to take a serious look at the salaries and compensation packages of some of the best paid CEOs in New England?

The Town Hall in Providence was the second of four meetings. The first was held in Woonsocket on Monday night. The next one is scheduled for March 23 at the Peace Dale Library in Kingstown and the last one will be held on April 1 at the Portsmouth Fee Public Library in Portsmouth.

Stay tuned.

Former Congressman Ed Beard was the first speaker. Now a patient in a nursing home, Beard, now 74,  suffers from Parkinson’s and was confined to a wheelchair. At one point a nurse’s assistant came forward to steady his hand so that he could hold the microphone.  “I know cuts will be damaging,” he said, “Just be very cautious when you talk about the seniors. The seniors are a forgotten lot.”

“I am one of hundreds of CNAs in this state who provide personal, bedside care to elders in our nursing homes. My job is physically and emotionally demanding but highly gratifying… I am really concerned that the nursing homes are going to funding cuts again this year…”

“If we don’t have enough to help these people, to pay our nurses, what are we going to do? In our nursing homes, if we have 2 nurses for 6 patients now, what’s going to happen if we have a bunch of cuts?”

“It’s not pleasant to be poor. To wonder whether or not one will eat today, or have enough heat to heat one’s house or even to have a house to live in…”

 “If my wife went to a nursing home, in three years I would be broke. I would have to go on welfare…”

“The corrections department is actually the largest provider of behavioral healthcare in the state…”

“These are people dependent on others for 24 hour care. They cannot safely remain at home, they’re aged and frail, they may have lost their independence, many of those closest to them have died, they rely on us for everything…”

 “As a person living with mental illness and working in the mental health field, I want to stress the idea of peer support. Peer support is important to people living with mental illness… Medicaid should support peer supporters in the mental health system…”

“Permanent supportive housing is an inexpensive way to really effect some true Medicaid savings.”

“A ton of money is saved by being able to point them to either a health center or to a primary care doctor…”

“When we think about cutting some of the costs in Medicaid, home care only accounts for 5 percent of the money that is being spent…”

“Many executives make over six figures, and other executives make millions. Governor Raimondo has set an excellent example with taking a 5 percent pay cut to her salary. Perhaps our hospital and nursing home executives should do the same…”

“We have many patient cases where they cannot afford their medication, they stretch out their medication or split their pills or take their medication every other day. We then see that when these same patients become eligible for Medicaid, their compliance increases, and they become advocates in their own health care.”

“The nurses… throughout the state providing home healthcare, reimbursement rates have been frozen for eight years now…”

“I specifically want to talk about the significance of non emergency medical transportation…”

“Here’s what Medicaid pays for nursing home care: $6.30 an hour…”

“It’s just not what one does that matters, it’s how one does it. And how we choose to reform Medicare will have an impact for generations to come…”

“It’s established that the single greatest that reduces mortality among seniors is isolation…”

“More than 28,000 children in providence receive RICARE benefits…”

“I was distressed to hear about the Medicaid fund reductions. I know the federal government is making cuts…”

“I take care of children who, if there’s no nurse in the home, those parents don’t go to bed. And if there’s no nurse in the home for a couple of days, those parents cannot take care of that child…”

“If you have to increase what you provide in a healthcare setting and your dollars are being cut, there’s only a few places that money is going to come from. Labor and staff, food and medication. So if that’s what we’re looking at cutting, labor, food, staff and medication, shame on everybody in this state…”

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Most significantly, Raimondo seeks to cut about $91 million from Medicaid, socialized health programs for poor people, and has already appointed a high profile task force to “reinvent” the program. It costs $2.3 billion a year, but about half of that is paid for through the federal government. Raimondo has already identified about $45 million in cuts and her budget executive summary says the task force is expected to find another $46 million.

But the poor aren’t the only ones who will pay to balance the budget. So will the state’s beach culture, as she’s proposing a new tax on million dollar second homes and AirBnB-style rentals.

The proposal calls for what has quickly been dubbed the “Taylor Swift tax”- a property tax levied on second homes worth more than $1 million. It will raise $11.8 million in new revenue, according to this briefing.

She’s also proposing an “AirBnB tax” that would raise $7.1 million in new revenue. From the executive summary: “The budget also closes an existing loophole that exempts vacation houses and small bed and breakfasts from paying the sales and lodging taxes. Finally, the budget would apply sales and local lodging taxes to unlicensed rentals, which have increasingly become an alternative to hotels, bed and breakfasts and other licensed lodging.”

Both these taxes will disproportionately affect the touristy areas of Rhode Island – the islands and South County. But Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed, of Newport, where untaxed vacation rentals and million dollar second homes are commonplace, didn’t seem to mind.

“I think it’s a bold and brave look across the spectrum,” Paiva Weed said. “Just as she is asking for $90 million in Medicaid savings she is also reaching out to our wealthiest citizens to also assist us in moving forward.”

Even House Speaker Nick Mattiello, who never met a tax he didn’t want to cut, gave some early – though conditional – support to the Taylor Swift tax. “It’s an interesting initiative,” he said. “It seems like something I’d be inclined to support but right now I want to look at the details of it.”

As did her predecessor, she is fully funding the state education aid formula – for an overall increase of $34 million from the previous year.

Raimondo also called for statewide all-day kindergarten, and an end to the school construction moratorium. Through refinancing debt, she proposes a $20 million “to create a capital fund to help address school facility needs.”

According to the executive summary, “Lifting the moratorium and setting the annual construction aid appropriation at $80.0 million starting in FY 2017 will create fiscal stability with predictable funding and allows for projects to be prioritized.”

Raimondo would like to see the Earned Income Tax Credit increased from 10 to 15 percent in one or two years, depending on the early summer revenue predictions. Massachusetts Earned Income Tax Credit is 15 percent and Connecticut’s is 27.5 percent.

Her proposed budget would raise an additional $7.1 million by increase by 25 cents the tax on a pack of cigarettes.

To promote construction, Raimondo proposes, “a package of real estate tax incentives will encourage construction of job-producing projects, with a focus on development near transit hubs and historic structures. The package includes Rebuild Rhode Island tax credits, tax increment financing, and partial assistance for local tax stabilization agreements that will make investing in construction and development in Rhode Island a compelling proposition,” according to the executive summary.

She’s also proposing what she calls the Anchor Tax Credit. “This tax credit incentivizes our largest employers —the anchors of our economy — to attract their suppliers and affiliates to Rhode Island. These employers will benefit from proximity to their suppliers, while the state gains new jobs and develops industry clusters,” said the executive summary.