Judge to rule on insurance dispute

A Superior Court judge will rule in roughly two weeks on whether Gov. Don Carcieri can raise health insurance costs for the state's largest employees union as part of his plan to balance the state budget, lawyers said Wednesday.

Council 94 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees has filed a lawsuit asking Judge Patricia Hurst to block an executive order Carcieri issued last month. It would force many state employees to pay more for health insurance starting Friday.

Carcieri agreed to delay implementing the order until Hurst rules, said Kerry King, Carcieri's executive counsel.

Rhode Island is struggling to live within a $6.9 billion budget lawmakers passed in June to close a massive deficit. The spending plan depended on Carcieri winning more than $60 million in concessions from state employee labor unions.

His administration reached a proposed contract with Council 94 and other unions that would have saved an estimated $33.5 million by forcing union members to forgo a pay raise this year, followed a 2.5 percent raise in the following year and a 3 percent raise in years three and four. The proposal would also require many union members to pay more for their health insurance plans, particularly workers who buy family plans.

Carcieri said he would achieve the additional savings needed to balance the budget by not hiring new employees to replace state workers who retire or quit.

When members of Council 94 voted down the proposal by a margin of nearly 15-to-1, Carcieri issued an executive order imposing the health care plan that union members rejected.

In court filings, Carcieri has argued that since the state's contract with Council 94 expired June 30, the state is no longer bound by its terms. His lawyers say that labor law cannot stop Carcieri from implementing the budget passed by lawmakers.

Lawyers for Council 94 argue that the State Labor Relations Board should decide whether the terms of the old contract still apply until a new deal is approved. They also say that Carcieri is abusing his executive power and cannot ignore state law.