State budget spends more on education
PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island’s $14 billion budget for the next fiscal year includes initiatives such as changing the education funding formula as well as housing support and workforce training.
Gov. Dan McKee signed the budget bills into law on Friday after the Senate passed the bill 32-4 late Thursday night. The House had passed it 68-4 on June 9.
“I’m proud of the budget that I signed into law today,” McKee said in a statement Friday. “This budget makes both short – and long-term investments that will help our state continue to thrive while at the same time maintaining fiscal responsibility.”
This year’s budget includes many of McKee’s priorities for this year, including housing development, new spending on both K-12 and higher education and supporting small businesses and local families.
The bill adds $39 million to McKee’s original proposal to support housing development, $21 million of which is from the state’s federal pandemic aid and will be used for a targeted development program run by the Secretary of Housing. It also establishes a new Low Income Housing Tax Credit program that is intended to incentivize developers to expand subsidized housing for low-income households. The credits will be awarded through a competitive process and capped at $30 million annually.
The Department of Housing, created last year, will receive the funding it requested to add 21 full-time employees to its ranks.
“This budget supports Rhode Islanders’ needs while responsibly preparing for our future,” said House Speaker Joseph
Shekarchi (D-Warwick). “We worked hard, in collaboration with Gov. McKee and our colleagues in the Senate to identify the most effective ways we can direct funding toward solutions that will help create more affordable housing access.”
In wrapping up their legislative session, the
General Assembly also passed 13 of the 14 bills in a legislative packaged spearheaded by Shekarchi to bolster housing development throughout the state. The bills make changes such as streamlining and clarifying the permitting process, banning rental application fees and tweaking some zoning restrictions to encourage development.
Several education priorities made the final
budget as well, including long-sought changes to the state’s education funding formula for public school districts. In addition to increasing McKee’s proposed budget for education by $20 million, the General Assembly voted to change the formula by modifying poverty measures, increasing funding for multi-language learners and phasing in funding decreases for declining enrollment.
The education funding formula has been the subject of debate and numerous studies, including one by a 2015 special commission in the General Assembly, for a decade since it was introduced in 2012. Studies have suggested that the formula should be more favorable to urban districts such as Woonsocket, Pawtucket and Central Falls.
The bill also replaces funding from an expiring federal grant in order to preserve 800 pre-kindergarten seats and spends $1.3 million to prepare 35 new classrooms for the 2024-2025 school year.
Higher education institutions also saw a boost
from this year’s budget, which includes funding for the Institute for Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies and the creation of the Hope Scholarship to cover the tuition for eligible juniors and seniors, both at Rhode Island College. University of Rhode Island will receive over $150 million for capital improvements such as implementing a permanent water filtration solution and renovating the athletic complexes.
“This is a good and responsible budget for Rhode Island and I am extremely proud that it includes many of the Senate’s top priorities,” said Senate President Dominick Ruggerio (D-Providence). “With this budget, we are addressing many critical areas of need, providing meaningful relief for Rhode Islanders, making essential investments in our future and ensuring our state is on firm financial footing.”
A handful of new tax relief proposals were also included. One, proposed by Sen. Melissa Murray (D-Woonsocket), exempts $50,000 of the
tangible tax for all Rhode Island businesses, which is estimated to eliminate the tax for 75% of businesses, especially small businesses. The litter tax is also eliminated under the 2024 budget, replaced instead with funding for a specific anti-litter initiative through the Department of Environmental Management.
General Assembly leaders also touted the addition of $55 million to a supplemental Rainy Day Fund meant to help the state weather any potential economic turmoil in the coming years.
“This budget was carefully crafted so that our residents, particularly our most vulnerable, retain the supports and assistance that they and their families need, so that our businesses have the ability and opportunity to grow, and so that Rhode Island is situated to withstand a very possible financial downturn that will affect both our state and national economies,” said House Finance Committee Chair Marvin Abney (D-Newport).