As Rhode Island confronts a tougher fiscal climate, Gov. Dan McKee used his State of the State speech Tuesday night to sound an optimistic message while targeting a goal of raising per capita incomes across the state by at least $20,000 by 2030.
McKee said a strategy toward that goal will be unveiled within 100 days, with help from Ernie Almonte, director of the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns, which lobbies for municipalities, and Ed Tibaldi, an economist and professor at Bryant University.
Rhode Islanders earn tens of thousands of dollars less on a per capita basis than residents of Connecticut and Massachusetts, underscoring how efforts to reinvent the Ocean State’s economy have had limited success for decades.
McKee cited some new efforts to bolster the economy, including a proposed new life science school at URI, and a bond to strengthen the cybersecurity program at Rhode Island College. The governor said his budget will cut the corporate minimum tax from $400 to $350 and raise the threshold for taxable retirement income.
The Democratic governor, whose third State of the State address comes at the midpoint to the next statewide election in 2026, asserted that Rhode Island has improved since he assumed the state’s top job from Gina Raimondo in 2021.
“I have never been more confident that the State of our State is strong and getting stronger every single day because of the team that’s doing the work in all 39 cities and towns,” the governor said, per prepared remarks, while speaking to lawmakers, state officials and dignitaries in the House of Representatives’ chamber at the Statehouse.
In contrast to the sunny message shared by McKee, House GOP Leader Mike Chippendale of Foster struck a much more somber tone in his response to the State of the State address.
Chippendale said the state suffers from a flawed energy policy, a healthcare system that is falling apart, crumbling infrastructure, under-performing schools and a struggle to create more jobs and a better economy.
“Our own Department of Labor and Training cites that since 2010, our population has decreased in every age group under 45, while at the same time we’ve seen a 69% increase in folks between the ages of 65 and 84,” Chippendale said. “The US Bureau of Labor & Statistics also reports that Rhode Island is the ONLY state to have a net loss in salaries in 2023. These demographic and salary trends do not bode well for a prosperous Rhode Island and we must turn that around.”
McKee, 72, noted this was his first State of the State address he has delivered since becoming a grandfather with the arrival of his son’s daughter Mabel. “And although I don’t have as much time to be on the basketball court these days,” said the former youth basketball coach from Cumberland, “I’m enjoying my new role as coach of Team Rhode Island.”
McKee, who was elected in 2022 to a full term pointed to a handful of indicators to bolster his positive view: the lowest unemployment rate in state history, improved attendance at virtually every school this year, a record number of jobs at Quonset, and so on.
The governor made shout-outs to some of those attending his speech, including students who have improved their attendance and Ryan Clark, the president/CEO of Town Dock in Galilee, one of the leading calamari supplies in the U.S.
The end of federal COVID aid means that the budget outlook in Rhode Island has become more difficult, with less money to fulfill various needs and demands.
In a nod to that, McKee vowed to make key investments and shun broad-based tax increases while including in his budget a proposed $100 million housing bond that would be decided by voters in November. Another bond question would steer $60 million for a new state archive and museum.
The governor celebrated how the state has allocated almost a half-billion dollars toward housing, although little tangible progress has been made so far in addressing a housing crisis long in the making.
On healthcare — a topic often cited by a potential 2026 rival, Attorney General Peter Neronha — McKee said his budget being unveiled Thursday includes $135 million to improve rates paid to healthcare providers. The governor said he also plans to sign an executive order to improve healthcare systems.
The governor’s prepared remarks made a passing reference to a panel led by General Treasurer James Diossa is reviewing how some retirees are seeking more money after the pension overhaul championed by Raimondo in 2011 changed cost of living payments. There was no mention of the judiciary’s wish for a new district court building or a possible effort to attract a professional baseball team to Rhode Island College.
But McKee said he looks forward to working with the General Assembly to update the Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights, make it easier to build housing, and outlaw military-style semi-automatic rifles. An obstacle on the latter issue is Senate President Dominick Ruggerio, who has said the issue should be addressed federally, not by states.
McKee touted efforts to expand wind power in Rhode Island, with construction set to begin this year on Revolution Wind, the second wind project in the state. He said public safety was preserved through the emergency closing of the Washington Bridge last month.
The governor also said his administration is being a good shepherd of key parts of the state’s past.
“We made a little history this year when we moved the Independent Man from the top of the State House to undergo an historic repair and preservation effort,” he said. “This was the first time in nearly 50 years – and only the second time in state history — that Rhode Islanders could come see the man up close.”
Ian Donnis can be reached at idonnis@ripr.org.
