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April 30, 2008

RIC poll: Voters weigh in on ways to close deficit

To close a projected budget deficit, majorities of Rhode Islanders support getting rid of the lieutenant governor's office, cuts to welfare and merging Rhode Island College and CCRI, according to a poll out today.

A news release on the poll, conducted from April 17 to 28 by the Bureau of Government Research and Services, at Rhode Island College, also notes that people opposed cutting state money to Rhode Island College, the University of Rhode Island and the Community College of Rhode Island.

The poll took in 400 randomly selected registered voters and has a 4.5 percentage-point error margin.

Voters surveyed favored Governor Carcieri's proposal to reduce the maximum amount of time a family can stay on welfare.

Majorities also supported eliminating the office of lieutenant governor and merging Rhode Island College and CCRI into one school to reduce expenses.

But they were closely divided on the following proposals:

* About one in two supported round-the-clock gambling in Newport and Lincoln, while an almost identical number opposed it.

* Almost half of poll takers opposed large state employee layoffs, while a similar number supported them.

* Slightly more than half disagreed with the proposal to release early well behaved, non-sex-offender prisoners from the ACI, while four in 10 supported the proposal

* A little more than half opposed privatization to reduce the state workforce about 40 percent were in support.

* About half were against RIte Care cuts, while one-third support them.

State aid cuts to CCRI, RIC,and URI or to cities/towns did not win majority support, according to the release summarizing the poll:

* More than eight in 10 surveyed disagreed with cutting $17.1 million from the budget of CCRI, RIC, and URI; about one in 10 supported it.

* Two in three opposed cuts in state aid to cities and towns for non-school purposes.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney  at 12:11 PM | Permalink

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