PROVIDENCE –– A day after Democratic lawmakers in the House endorsed a $7.76-billion budget plan that preserves most human service programs but outlines cuts in other areas, there was little sign Thursday of the outrage many had expected over what one official called “the most difficult budget in the history of Rhode Island.”

“Maybe we’re getting numb to it,” said House Minority Whip John J. Loughlin II. “We’ve been outraged so many times that it’s hard to get outraged again.”

Faced with the largest budget hole of their political careers, the General Assembly’s Democratic leaders suggested hiking Rhode Island’s gas tax by 2 cents per gallon, reversing a tax break on capital gains and wiping out a two-decade-old program that funneled $55 million to cities and towns.

Despite the moves, there was a common mantra Thursday across the political spectrum: It could have been worse.

But there were still complaints.

Most criticized the proposed 2-cents-per-gallon gas tax increase. Fiscal watchdog groups complained of a “dangerous reliance” on federal stimulus dollars. Education officials warned that cuts may jeopardize hundreds of millions of dollars in new federal funds.

And organized labor continued to threaten a lawsuit to block pension changes.

“The unions will have to review it with their attorneys, but I think there are some things there that might certainly merit a lawsuit,” George Nee, secretary treasurer of the state AFL-CIO, said of pension changes that, among other things, would make 62 the new “target” age for retirement on a sliding scale depending on years of service.

Specifically, organized labor insists that state officials cannot force changes upon any “vested employee,” a worker with at least 10 years of state service.

But even Nee acknowledged that the budget proposal is “clearly a much better alternative than what was at least initially out there.”

House Speaker William J. Murphy defended the budget plan endorsed by the House Finance Committee as “fair and equitable” and offered particular praise for the committee’s plan for pensions.

“It’s balanced, it’s fair to state workers who have 20, 22, 24 years in state service, it accomplishes the goal by saving substantial amounts of money,” Murphy said, adding, “We probably put a huge dent in what was a pension crisis.”

Governor Carcieri, however, said the pension changes don’t go far enough.

“I’ve got meetings set up with the speaker to see what can be done here,” Carcieri said during an unrelated news conference. “This is not a good budget as it’s structured as far as I’m concerned. It’s not cohesive in terms of any kind of strategy to move the state forward.”

Further, he blasted a legislative proposal that cuts $57.6 million from state departments with no direction for how to absorb the loss.

House Finance Committee Chairman Steven M. Costantino said departments probably could meet budget targets by leaving open unfilled positions, although he acknowledged it would be challenging for already-struggling departments. He promised to hold special hearings in the fall to monitor the situation.

The budget also cuts consultant spending by 10 percent to save another projected $5.1 million.

“It looks to me like it’s lobbing a $60- or $70-million placeholder to say just cut state work force when they’ve already been cut,” Carcieri said. “I think this is lobbing a whole budget on the backs of state employees when what it ought to be focused on is a plan, and I tried to articulate a plan and a strategy.”

Social service advocates fear that the timing couldn’t be worse for cuts across state departments.

The state’s struggling economy has already pushed tens of thousands of Rhode Islanders toward government services such as unemployment insurance, subsidized health care, food stamps, and cash assistance payments.

Several programs have struggled to meet increased demand in recent months.

“They’re cut beyond the bone in terms of delivering services. It’s not fair to the people who rely on those services and it’s not fair to the staff,” said Linda Katz, policy director for the Poverty Institute, based at Rhode Island College. “It could be your neighbor that needs medical coverage tomorrow, who’s going to be shocked to find out there’s a significant delay in accessing that service.”

Meanwhile, education officials had concerns of their own.

The Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education slammed the plan to eliminate $1.5 million for more charter schools as potentially jeopardizing Rhode Island’s chances of qualifying for a piece of the “Race to the Top Fund,” a $4.3-billion pot of federal education stimulus dollars that will be distributed to states that have demonstrated educational innovation.

“It is important to note that the current budget [proposal] is balanced largely as a result of education stimulus funding,” Regent Angus Davis said Thursday, urging the General Assembly to restore that money for charters.

Asked about funding for charter schools, House Speaker William J. Murphy chose his words carefully: “There will be things that will be worked on prior to the budget passing the House floor next Wednesday,” he said.

The legislative budget plan won’t become final without approval from the House and Senate. Carcieri could veto the measure, although the Assembly is expected to have enough votes to override any potential veto.

The full House of Representatives will debate the budget on Wednesday.

speoples@projo.com