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Cigarette, fuel tax hikes in RI budget plan 

Rhode Island would raise its cigarette tax to the highest in the nation, hike gasoline taxes and cut funding for cities and towns to close a massive shortfall under a $7.2 billion spending plan heading toward a House floor vote.

The revised spending plan attempts to close a deficit estimated at more than $370 million for the year ending in June, a gap equivalent to about 11 percent of expected state spending. The deficit has soared as the state's economy slumps.

Lawmakers on the House Finance Committee voted 14-3 along party lines Friday to send forward the proposal forward for a full vote Wednesday on the House floor.

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