Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

Taking the news pulse of Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts, by Providence Journal and projo.com staff, from 7 to 7, every business day

Get the 7 to 7 on your mobile at www.projo.com. Twitter: projo | RSS | Email alerts

House restores most of EDC budget cut

2:38 PM Thu, Jun 25, 2009 |
Peter Phipps    Email

PROVIDENCE -- The House of Representatives has restored most of a proposed 50 percent cut in funding to the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation.

As part of its vote early this morning in favor of a $7.76-billion state budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1, the House approved $4.65 million in funding for the EDC, $2 million more than a powerful House committee proposed last week.

The funding, though higher than the House Finance Committee initially planned, is still 12 percent less than the EDC's current $5.3 million budget, according to the agency.

EDC interim executive director J. Michael Saul expressed gratitude today to the legislature for restoring the funds and to the Governor's office for lobbying on behalf of his agency.

"Now, more than ever, we need to invest in economic development for the state of Rhode Island," Saul said in a statement released this afternoon. "This restoration will ensure that RIEDC can continue to focus on its mission to create jobs, help companies expand and develop Rhode Island¹s workforce."

social bookmarking

Comments

nuke said:

Taxpayer funded Foxes raiding the henhouse. Disband it




Leave a comment

Please be civil. Vicious comments, personal attacks and profanity won't be published. Name and email are required; email address will not publish.




Type the characters you see in the picture above.