Raimondo to establish R.I. Manufacturing Advisory Council

GOV. GINA M. Raimondo announced Thursday she will establish a Rhode Island Manufacturing Advisory Council, as part of a budget year priority to encourage growth in the industry.
 / PBN PHOTO/EMILY GOWDEY-BACKUS
GOV. GINA M. Raimondo announced Thursday she will establish a Rhode Island Manufacturing Advisory Council, as part of a budget year priority to encourage growth in the industry. / PBN PHOTO/EMILY GOWDEY-BACKUS

PROVIDENCE — Gov. Gina M. Raimondo announced Thursday she will establish a Rhode Island Manufacturing Advisory Council, as part of a budget year priority to encourage growth in the industry.

The advisory council will report to the governor, R.I. Commerce Corp., R.I. Department of Education, Department of Labor and Training and other constituencies on structural changes, proposed policies and initiatives. Its members will be appointed by the governor.

In her fiscal 2017 budget, Raimondo proposed what is now being described as the Rhode Island Manufacturing Initiative. It includes economic-development incentives to encourage manufacturers to hire new workers, invest in new equipment and launch new products.

The details include: $3.25 million for a Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit, to provide a refundable tax credit to businesses that purchase new equipment, distributed through a competitive process, and $3.65 million to enhance programs in manufacturing at the Davies Career and Technical High School.

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The proposal also includes $3.2 million in additional incentives for workforce development, training and education, as well as additional incentives for manufacturing.

Raimondo announced the project at a visit to Luca + Danni, a Cranston jewelry manufacturer.

“For too many years, our state’s leaders in government and business missed an opportunity to rebuild Rhode Island’s manufacturing industry,” she said in a statement. “While the jobs may have left and the factories closed, Rhode Islanders’ grit and determination is stronger than ever and we need to tap into it.”

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