Rhode Island
Lamont won’t say if he’ll ease ‘debt diet’ to make Conn. budget fix work • Rhode Island Current
Since his first weeks on the job, Gov. Ned Lamont has urged his fellow Democrats to embrace a “debt diet” and curb borrowing where possible.
But the administration wouldn’t say this week whether it would back legislative leaders’ plans to borrow to effectively cover operating expenses in the next budget — creating a significant hole to be tackled one year from now.
“Gov. Lamont is committed to an honestly balanced budget in [fiscal year] ’25. Any adjustments that impact any level of funding must ensure the budget remains balanced,” Chris Collibee, the governor’s budget spokesman, told The Connecticut Mirror this week.
At first glance, this answer appears to close off options for Democratic legislators, who want to add $300 million to $400 million to a preliminary $26 billion budget for the next fiscal year that already exceeds the state’s spending cap by $30 million.
But borrowing happens outside of the budget. The same applies to spending federal pandemic relief grants. The majority Democrats’ latest plan to bolster the next state budget beyond what the spending cap allows centers on those two areas. It goes like this:
- Step 1: Identify projects and programs currently paid for with the last vestiges of Connecticut’s $2.8 billion American Rescue Plan Act allocation from Congress.
- Step 2: Replace those ARPA dollars with borrowed funds.
- Step 3: Reassign ARPA dollars to higher education, social services and other core programs.
Emergency federal relief can be spent outside of the spending cap, which tries to keep most expenditure growth in line with changes in household income and inflation.
This approach effectively would circumvent the spending cap and other fiscal principles that Lamont frequently espouses.
But borrowing for ongoing expenses adds an interest cost normally reserved for capital projects.
The administration repeatedly chastised public colleges and university systems this past winter for using ARPA dollars for operating costs rather than for one-time purposes such as paying down debt. Yet this latest Democratic strategy would pump more temporary dollars into ongoing programs.
Lamont recently upgraded his estimate of ARPA dollars available for use next fiscal year from $56 million to $200 million — much closer to the $300 million minimum sought by Democratic legislators.
This week, House Speaker Matt Ritter told the CT Mirror that legislators hoped to replace $75 million in ARPA funds earmarked for municipal school HVAC-system upgrades with $75 million in borrowing.
Does Lamont’s upgraded $200 million ARPA tally reflect this proposed supplanting of pandemic grants with borrowing? Could available ARPA be expanded to $300 million or more by identifying more ARPA-funded projects and instead paying for them by borrowing the money?
“The administration will not comment on what is or is not included [in the ARPA tally] until we have had further conversations with the General Assembly,” Collibee said.
Democrats couldn’t pull off such a swap without the governor’s cooperation, given that any bonding bill would go to Lamont’s desk for a signature.
“I think [Lamont] will be fine,” with Democrats’ plans for the upcoming fiscal year, the speaker said earlier this week. “He may not agree with how we spend it, but I think he’ll agree [with] how we get it.”
When asked if Lamont would sign such a maneuver into law, Collibee wouldn’t say, though he acknowledged it would increase the problems state officials would have to solve next year.
“Minimizing structural holes is always a goal,” Collibee added. “Whatever is agreed to may have to be accounted for in future budgets.”
Lamont has been a vocal advocate for the spending cap and other budget controls that he and other supporters have dubbed the state’s “fiscal guardrails.” These controls have helped state government amass a record-setting $3.3 billion rainy day fund and use an extra $7.7 billion in surpluses to pay down pension debt.
But critics say these controls are forcing the state to save excessively and are dangerously shortchanging core programs.
The University of Connecticut and the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system both have ordered significant tuition and fee hikes for the next academic year and are planning cutbacks to close deficits. Nonprofit agencies that deliver the bulk of state-sponsored social services say they lose $480 million annually because state payments haven’t kept pace with inflation, leaving them unable to meet demand.
When the CT Mirror published a series in late January demonstrating the impact of huge new state savings policies on core programs, Lamont insisted the guardrails were working fine and that legislators had to make tough-but-necessary spending choices.
Leaders of the Republican minorities in the House and Senate said Thursday that Lamont can’t have it both ways. He can’t be the public champion of the guardrails while facilitating a legislative end-run around the system.
Republicans already are frustrated that Democrats have said they won’t address hundreds of millions of dollars in projected holes in the next state budget, involving eroding sales tax receipts, cost overruns in Medicaid and other programs, and insufficient appropriations to cover required pension fund contributions.
If Lamont helps Democrats borrow for operating expenses, even as they ignore budget holes, the GOP said, it’s a big financial mistake.
“Right now, the governor is a bit of a deer in the headlights, and I think they’re trying to cover up that [ARPA] money,” said House Minority Leader Vincent J. Candelora of North Branford, who predicted state finances will be struggling 12 months from now when ARPA funds have been exhausted. “I don’t foresee a soft landing.”
“It’s bad fiscal policy, and it’s counter to what this governor ran for reelection on two years ago,” said Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding of Brookfield.
Staff writer Mark Pazniokas contributed to this story.
Connecticut Mirror is a content partner of States Newsroom. Read the original version here.
The Rhode Island Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at June 5, 2025, results for each game:
Winning Lucky For Life numbers from June 5 drawing
01-14-19-28-41, Lucky Ball: 07
Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Numbers numbers from June 5 drawing
Midday: 6-2-7-1
Evening: 6-5-0-2
Check Numbers payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Wild Money numbers from June 5 drawing
05-10-11-17-37, Extra: 20
Check Wild Money payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize
- Prizes less than $600 can be claimed at any Rhode Island Lottery Retailer. Prizes of $600 and above must be claimed at Lottery Headquarters, 1425 Pontiac Ave., Cranston, Rhode Island 02920.
- Mega Millions and Powerball jackpot winners can decide on cash or annuity payment within 60 days after becoming entitled to the prize. The annuitized prize shall be paid in 30 graduated annual installments.
- Winners of the Lucky for Life top prize of $1,000 a day for life and second prize of $25,000 a year for life can decide to collect the prize for a minimum of 20 years or take a lump sum cash payment.
When are the Rhode Island Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 10:59 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 11:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky for Life: 10:30 p.m. ET daily.
- Numbers (Midday): 1:30 p.m. ET daily.
- Numbers (Evening): 7:29 p.m. ET daily.
- Wild Money: 7:29 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Rhode Island editor. You can send feedback using this form.
Basking sharks, despite their size, pose no threat to humans. They have tiny teeth, no interest in … More
HUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Just in time for the 50th anniversary of “Jaws,” a real-life shark sighting had New Englanders channeling their best “shahk in the pawnd” impressions this week. The moment unfolded at the end of last month near Block Island, Rhode Island; it was here, in the calm waters of the Great Salt Pond, that diners enjoying a seafood meal at Dead Eye Dick’s spotted something unusual slicing through the surface.
A pair of unmistakable dorsal fins.
Phones came out, videos were taken, and soon even the NGO Atlantic Shark Institute was sharing the footage of the sizable animal online. The organization, which monitors shark activity throughout the region, joked about the parallel to the infamous movie and invited the public to guess what kind of shark had found its way into the sheltered saltwater lagoon.
Speculation quickly flooded the comments. Guesses ranged from great whites to sand tigers to makos. But the truth was far less dramatic and dangerous. In the video, the silhouette looked imposing, and anyone unfamiliar with shark species could understandably assume it was something dangerous. The shark, as confirmed later by the institute’s executive director Jon Dodd, was a basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus). Enormous, yes, as they are the second largest fish in the ocean after the whale shark. But dangerous? Not quite. They’re filter-feeders, cruising through the ocean with mouths wide open to scoop up plankton, not people.
A 20-foot basking shark made an unexpected appearance in Rhode Island’s Great Salt Pond, stirring … More
The Atlantic Shark Institute Facebook Page
The one in the Great Salt Pond was around 20 feet long (just over 6 meters), making it relatively modest for its species, which can grow over 40 feet (12 meters) in length. Still, seeing an animal that size in a place where people typically kayak, swim, and anchor boats is enough to give anyone pause. “The size of these sharks, the height of the dorsal fin, and how they move can be a real attention getter!” said Dodd to a local outlet. “They can look quite a bit like a great white shark at a glance, or from distance, and that can put people into a panic and justifiably so based on where you might be at the time (think in the water!)” Basking sharks, despite their size, pose no threat to humans. They have tiny teeth, no interest in large prey, and spend most of their time following plankton blooms. And yes, they can look eerily similar to great white sharks, especially if your only reference is the iconic 1975 Spielberg film. “The good news? They’ve never been implicated in any bite on a human being, as noted in the International Shark Attack File. They are endangered in some parts of the world and considered “vulnerable” here in the U.S.,” ASI explained.
While the scene may have triggered some instinctive unease, experts were quick to clarify there was no cause for concern. “Sharks are arriving in Rhode Island daily,” the Atlantic Shark Institute continued in a Facebook post, “as water temperatures continue to rise and more and more species of shark find them suitable to their liking.” This is part of a larger trend tied to climate change and warming ocean temperatures, which are shifting where marine animals spend their time during the summer months. It’s no surprise then that basking sharks, which are normally seen off the coast in deeper waters, are making occasional detours into shallower inlets like Great Salt Pond. Fortunately for any nervous swimmers, the shark didn’t linger. By the next day, it had likely found its way back out to open water, leaving only ripples (and viral footage) in its wake.
As we mark the anniversary of “Jaws,” it’s worth recognizing how far we have come as a society. Fifty years ago, a scene like this might have ended in alarm and calls for the removal of the individual (likely leading to a grim end for the shark in question). Today, it ends with a Facebook post, a science lesson, and a bit of local pride. After all, not every summer hotspot gets a visit from one of the ocean’s true giants.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — A bill that would offer Rhode Islanders alternatives to burial or cremation is now headed to the senate.
The house passed a bill Tuesday that would provide two alternatives; “human composting” where the body is returned to soil, and “water cremation” where the body is reduced using hot water pressure and chemicals.
Both processes are designed to reduce impact on the earth.
Companion legislation is being considered in the senate.
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