6 Months Into The Fiscal Year, RI On Its Way To A State Budget

PROVIDENCE, RI — About six months after the start of the new fiscal year, Rhode Island is finally on its way to a state budget for 2021. On Wednesday, the House Finance Committee approved a pared-down budget bill that, if approved, would restore funding to cities and towns and use the state's federal coronavirus aid to help struggling residents.

The budget totals $12.75 billion, which includes the state's federal coronavirus aid. The full House is set to consider the bill in a session at Veterans Memorial Auditorium Dec. 16.

"With this budget in place, we will be able to turn our focus to the future, to economic recovery as the vaccine rolls out, and to helping provide resources as well as hope to the people of Rhode Island in 2021," said Rep. Joseph Shekarchi, speaker-elect of the House.

Gov. Gina Raimondo and state leadership have held off on approving a state budget in previous months, waiting for some signal from the federal government that an additional round of funding was — or wasn't — on its way. In October, Raimondo announced that budget talks would be put on hold until after the general election in November.

The bill, approved 11-2 in committee Wednesday, does not include increases to taxes or fees, according to the state house. It also includes seven bond questions that Rhode Island voters would approve or reject in a special election, though the intention is not to "initiate any new programs ... only to formally establish state spending for the fiscal year that began July 1, memorialize the planned use of $1.25 billion in federal coronavirus relief funds which are coming up on a Dec. 30 deadline for use, stay current on obligations and prevent current programs from expiring," the statement explained.

"This budget is about making sure we take full advantage of the federal funding available to help take care of Rhode Islanders and get us through this pandemic," Shekarchi said. "We are just a few weeks away from the start of a new session in January, and at that time we look forward to a full discussion of new policies and ideas. For now, we need to hold the line and fully support our schools, our cities and towns, and our existing efforts to help the people of Rhode Island, and I’m proud of the way we have come together to do exactly that within the resources we have."

The proposed budget restores cuts proposed by the governor to help balance the budget, including car tax reimbursements, social programs and more, as well as fully funding schools using the state education formula. It also avoids increasing fees at the Veterans Home. In total, the bill provides an additional $25 million in relief to cities and towns and an additional $40 million to schools.

The $275 million budget deficit, originally estimated to be as high as $900 million, was bridged through "full and creative" use of the state's federal coronavirus relief package, the statement from the state house said, along with higher revenues than initially expected and lower caseload costs.

The CARES Act funding will be distributed to a variety of organizations and programs, including a threefold increase to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank; extra payments to families in the RIWorks program; housing, rental and eviction relief assistance; and additional payments to those impacted by the current two-week "pause."

The Community College of Rhode Island, the University of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College will all receive payments to help with pandemic-related expenses, as well.

Under the proposed budgets, no layoffs of state employees would be required, though this does not include state colleges and universities.

The seven ballot questions, totaling $400 million in bonds, are set to go before voters March 2. As was the case for June's primary election, mail voting will be encouraged to allow for a safe election amid the pandemic. The questions are outlined below.

Question One: $107.3 million for higher education, including $57.3 million for a fine arts center at URI, $38 million for the Clarke Science Building at RIC and $12 million to renovate CCRI’s campuses.

Question Two: $74 million for environment and recreational projects, a total of $10 million over the governor’s original proposal.

• $4 million for local recreation projects
• $3 million for natural and working lands
• $15 million for clean and drinking water
• $7 million for municipal resiliency projects
• $33 million for state beaches, parks and campgrounds
• $4 million for the proposed park on the former I-195 land in Providence
• $6 million for Providence River dredging (included in the 2018 green bond, but funding proved insufficient)
• $2 million for the Woonasquatucket Greenway

Question Three: $65 million for affordable housing, an increase of $40 million over the original proposal, included in the amendment offered by the governor in July.

Question Four: $71.7 million for transportation initiatives

Question Five: $15 million for early childhood care and the educational capital fund

Question Six: $7 million for arts and cultural infrastructure, including $6 million for the cultural arts and economy grant program, and $1 million for the state preservation grants program.

Question Seven: $60 million for commerce infrastructure, including $20 million for the Port of Davisville at Quonset and $40 million for industrial site development.