RI House, Senate To Reconvene Next Week

PROVIDENCE, RI — Rhode Island's lawmakers are set to return to the State House next week. The House of Representatives and Senate will reconvene to discuss certain bills, while finance committees continue to discuss the state's budget for the 2021 fiscal year.

Lawmakers have delayed making final decisions about the budget, awaiting a possible second round of stimulus money from the federal government. Gov. Gina Raimondo has repeatedly said she is hopeful for the additional funding, saying it would be devastating to the state to make up the deficit left by the coronavirus pandemic.

The full House is scheduled to reconvene July 16. Prior to this, several committees, Judiciary, Labor and Municipal Government, will meet this week.

The House Finance Committee is scheduled to take up the budget on Wednesday at 4 p.m. Lawmakers are expected to consider the budget in August.

The State House remains closed to the public until further notice. All committee meetings and sessions will be livestreamed and can be watched live on Capitol Television: Cox on Channels 15 and 61, in high definition on Cox Channel 1061, on Full Channel on Channel 15 and on Channel 34 by Verizon subscribers.