PROVIDENCE – It’s all over but the signing.
By a 32-4 vote, the R.I. Senate on Thursday approved a $14 billion fiscal 2024 budget, a record for the state in part due to the millions in unspent federal relief dollars that legislators dedicated to one-time expenditures.
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The final step is the signature of Gov. Daniel J. McKee, who is set to sign the next spending plan at noon on Friday on the south steps of the Statehouse.
The reconciled budget spreads $195 million in State Fiscal Recovery Funds across 15 programs, including $45 million to increase facility capacity for individuals experiencing homelessness and $55 million to supplement the state reserves.
The budget allocates $1.2 billion for K-12 education. There is funding for additional correctional officer academies, as well as for 15 new attorneys for the office of R.I. Attorney General Peter F. Neronha.
The budget targets $35.6 million to suspend the gross receipts tax on electricity and natural gas billed to consumers next winter, split between $18.3 million for residential customers and $17.3 million for commercial customers.
However, the General Assembly went without the sales tax cut originally proposed by McKee in January.
The budget also adds $39 million toward housing production, including $21 million in federal recovery funds for Secretary of Housing Stefan Pryor’s department; $4 million for “transit-oriented development”; and $4.3 million to be transferred to the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank.
Both leaders of the House and Senate ended the session with legislative wins. The budget institutes a $50,000 exemption to the tangible tax paid on equipment spearheaded by Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio and allocates $45 million to develop the life sciences sector, including a quasi-public development agency that was championed by House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi.
And early childhood advocates successfully lobbied for a last-minute House amendment that added $7 million in unspent federal funds, split between $3 million for Head Start and Early Start Pre-K seats and $4 million for a new pilot program to expand child care eligibility to certain social workers at no additional cost.
Before Thursday’s vote, Sen. Lou DiPalma, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, called the final budget “sound, innovative and compassionate,” noting the investments in education, infrastructure and the boost to the state’s “rainy day fund” reserves.
After the fiscal 2023 revenue estimates were pared down by $64 million, legislators said that future fiscal prudence was wise given the projected economic slump in the coming months.
The final budget is higher than McKee’s proposed $13.7 billion spending plan, which was a 43.7% jump from fiscal 2019, though it does not include McKee’s proposal to reduce the corporate minimum tax or pause the scheduled 3-cent increase in the gas tax.
The House of Representatives, which overwhelmingly approved the new budget on June 9, also took to chambers Thursday to wrap up final legislative business before both chambers take summer recess, approving a bill legalizing so-called “iGaming” operations to be administered by Bally’s Corp. and International Game Technology PLC. The compromise bill will allow digital real-time streaming of table games and slot machines.
While most legislators speaking on the Senate floor characterized the fiscal 2024 budget as a middle-of-the-road compromise, there was still some criticism from progressive and conservative flanks.
While Sen. Samuel Bell, D-Providence, supports some aspects of the plan, such as the additional $14 million for the state’s hospitals, he sees a lack of checks and balances, for example housing subsidies for private developers. A recent real estate advertisement he spotted today for apartments in a development that received $1 million in tax credits was posted for $3,950 a month, he said.
“That’s what we’ve been subsidizing,” he added.
On the Republican side, Senate Minority Leader Jessica De la Cruz said the historically large budget sets a “dangerous precedent,” and argued for additional tax cuts for residents and businesses.
“Rhode Islanders need relief, and they deserve to keep more of the money they earn,” she said, adding that the state budget now spends $12,000 per capita, the highest of all New England states.
The Senate was also scheduled to vote on several pending bills that have already gained House approval, including a bill to allow marijuana dispensaries to advertise in state until final rules are crafted by the newly appointed Cannabis Control Commission, as well as a slew of housing bills introduced by Shekarchi.
Also on the Senate agenda Thursday was legislation requested by Providence Mayor Brett P. Smiley allowing the city to tax nonprofits that are renting space to commercial entities; an amended version of legislation originally proposed by Neronha providing for felony charges for wage theft and employee misclassification; and a bill banning styrofoam take-out containers at restaurants.
The House of Representatives was also scheduled to vote on several bills, including legislation that would double the allowable amount for political donations.
In a Thursday statement, Shekarchi spokesman Larry Berman said the General Assembly hopes to wrap up the legislative session Thursday night “if all goes well.”
(Updates to story throughout, including the Senate’s approval of the $14 billion fiscal 2024 state budget.)
Christopher Allen is a PBN staff writer. You may contact him at Allen@PBN.com.
