Lawmakers To Take Up Minimum Wage Hike, RI Promise Scholarship

PROVIDENCE, RI — The House of Representatives is set to take up a pair of bills Thursday, which, if signed into law, could have major financial implications for Rhode Island residents. The first would make the RI Promise Scholarship permanent, while the second would bring the state's minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025.

General Assembly sessions are still closed to the public due to coronavirus pandemic restrictions, but the public can watch the livestream online.

The Rhode Island Promise Scholarship was introduced by then-Gov. Gina Raimondo in 2017, and has offered eligible residents up to two years of free tuition at the Community College of Rhode Island ever since. The initiative was temporary, however, and is set to expire with the graduating high school class of 2021.

If signed into law, the bill would make the program permanent, offering the tuition assistance to graduating seniors for years to come. To qualify for the program, students must attend school full-time, qualify for in-state tuition, maintain a GPA of 2.5 or higher and stay on track for an on-time graduation. The scholarship is a "last dollar" program, meaning it pays for remaining tuition and fees after Pell Grants and funding sources have been factored in.

Along with the scholarship, representatives are set to vote on a bill that would create a stepped program bringing the state's minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025. Companion legislation was approved by the Senate in February.

Rhode Island's minimum wage is currently $11.50 per hour. Under the bill, the rate would go up by about $1 per hour each year, starting with $12.25 in January 2022. From there, it would go up by $1 each year until it reached $15 in 2025.