Review of the 2008 General Session:

The tone for this year’s session was set during a special election in Newport last December. Voters were asked to make a choice between a fiscal conservative who vowed to cut spending and hold the line on taxes versus a seasoned liberal who wanted to raise taxes to support expanded social programs. Republican Steve Coaty was elected by a margin of 63% to 37% in a district that had been held by Democrats for 40 years! Ed Achorn wrote in the ProJo “…by any measure, it was an extraordinary beating. If that landslide down south doesn’t send tremors through the State House, it is hard to fathom what will.”

And send a message it did! With encouragement from a number of corners, the House leadership finally faced up to what you and I have known for years, the state was spending far more than it could afford. No more quick fixes were available, and increasing general taxes was an unacceptable solution. The only way out was through major cuts in spending and restructuring a number of government services. A university professor once wrote that in difficult times “leadership requires being able to disappoint your friends at a rate they can absorb” and that is exactly what had to be done.

After four months of hearings the House Finance Committee released a budget that included many of the Governor’s original recommendations and added several of their own. People were asked to give up things they had become accustomed to. This is never an easy process and extensive effort was devoted to spreading the cuts as evenly as possible. The budget was overwhelmingly approved by both chambers and signed by the Governor.

In sharp contrast to previous years, a level of cooperation developed among the Governor, the House leadership, and our Republican caucus that was unlike anything I had seen before. It was sort of an “adversity makes strange bedfellows” situation. To be sure, there were sharp debates and close votes but that’s what the process is supposed to be. Due to the gravity of the budget issues, relatively few “fluff and vanity” bills made it to the floor and some were actually defeated. Unfortunately several important issues such as separation of powers and a good school aid formula continue to languish in committee. Others such as a renewable energy bill were so corrupted by special interest clauses that they required a veto (see the reverse side). The session concluded on a note of compromise and a glimmer of hope that we were at last on the right track.

Unfortunately, that spirit was shattered in July when the largest state employees’ union refused to ratify the contract agreed to by labor leaders after months of negotiation. The contract was consistent with the sacrifices being made by many others in the state and was an integral part of balancing the budget. Like many other attempts to bring needed change to our government, the matter has been dragged through the courts without satisfactory resolution. The bottom line is that we are well into the fiscal year without having implemented some of the major changes required to balance the budget. We are facing a critical test to see if we will continue with the reforms initiated last spring or yield to the powerful forces that are constantly lobbying to revert to the tax and spend philosophy that drove our state to the brink of ruin. Stay tuned!

revised September 15, 2008