Rhode Island legislature enters final stretch

PROVIDENCE (AP) — Rhode Island state legislators have left their most important decisions of the year for the last two weeks of June.

The state House of Representatives is scheduled to vote Thursday on a $9.2 billion budget that includes tax relief for car owners, a pilot program for tuition-free community college, cuts to government spending and no broad-based tax hikes.

If approved by the House, it must then be considered and approved by the state Senate before it can move to the desk of Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo. The upcoming fiscal year begins July 1.

Along with the budget, hundreds of other bills are still awaiting a vote in one chamber of the General Assembly or both. Only a handful of bills have been enacted into law since lawmakers convened in January.

Several remain in negotiations, such as legislation to disarm domestic abusers and a proposal to require private employers to guarantee paid sick days.