After a long campaign and months of research, Gov. Gina M. Raimondo this week will share a specific plan for how she proposes to get Rhode Island back to work. Raimondo, who took office in January, will present her inaugural budget to the General Assembly at 7 p.m. on March 12, in a live, televised address. The budget is for fiscal 2016, which begins in July.
It is expected to feature new investments in areas focused on economic development, including strategies that will help the state attract new employers. Raimondo will not give a State of the State address.
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In a recent report, Raimondo outlined some of the alarming statistics that characterize the economy of Rhode Island. Among them: that almost 20 percent of Rhode Islanders’ income is derived from public assistance or aid; that the state has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation; that even among those who are working, per capita income lags behind surrounding states.
As Raimondo prepared her budget, she revealed the state faced a nearly $200 million general-revenue budget deficit. Raimondo said her goal is to reduce spending in areas that aren’t producing results, while directing those savings to investment targets.
On March 12, Rhode Islanders will learn specifically what that means.
