PROVIDENCE – In her annual address to the General Assembly, and Rhode Islanders in general, Gov. Gina M. Raimondo emphasized the economic and job gains made over her first three years in office.
But her 2018 State of the State Address characterized the progress as “the third inning of our economic comeback.”
Among the hints of her upcoming budget, Raimondo said she would seek a $1 billion investment in a public-school building program, expansion of technical training for state residents without a college degree, and job training for people recovering from addiction.
What didn’t get promoted in an advance copy of the speech she is to deliver at 7 tonight, the “as prepared for delivery” version, was any mention of the Pawtucket Red Sox ballpark project. The $83 million economic development project was scheduled Tuesday for a Senate floor discussion and potential vote.
She also made no mention of the $260 million cumulative budget deficit facing the state in fiscal 2019, or her strategy to close it.
Raimondo is expected to release her budget proposal to the General Assembly on Thursday. Her State of the State, to be delivered to an audience assembled at the Statehouse, will be live-streamed on Capitol TV and broadcast live on several outlets. Raimondo’s Facebook page also will feature a link.
In her address, she notes the accomplishments of her first years as governor. The state’s unemployment rate, once the highest in the U.S., is now in-line with the national average.
The number of people filing for unemployment assistance is the lowest in 50 years, she noted.
T.F. Green Airport is booming. Cranes have appeared over construction sites across the state, she said, citing Providence, Kingston and Johnston.
“Our economy has more jobs than at nearly any other time in our state’s history,” she said.
The state has challenges ahead, she noted, in a speech that was punctuated by repeated use of the phrase “Let’s keep going.”
Among other new initiatives, she said she would introduce the following:
- A request for the General Assembly to approve a ballot initiative in November for a gubernatorial line item veto. Forty-four other states give the governor this power on budget spending.
- Establish the Northern Rhode Island Higher Education Center, which will provide hands-on training for people without a college degree. This is a companion to a center in Westerly that has had 500 job graduates in the past year.
- A commitment to doubling the number of loans awarded to small businesses.
- Establish Supply RI, which will encourage large companies to purchase supplies and materials from smaller local businesses.
- Create a new job training program aimed at employment for people in recovery from addiction.
- Legislation to make health insurers cover addiction and mental health treatments the same as chronic conditions such as diabetes.
- A $1 billion program over five years to reconstruct public school buildings. She described it as a once-in-a-generation investment. “Don’t let anyone tell you we can’t afford to do this,” she said. “We can.”
Mary MacDonald is a staff writer at the PBN. Contact her at macdonald@pbn.com. Follow her on Twitter @MaryF_MacDonald.
