House to vote on $9B budget

STATE REP. PATRICIA L. MORGAN said she was dismayed to see the project limit lifted under the Rebuild Rhode Island program. / COURTESY STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
STATE REP. PATRICIA L. MORGAN said she was dismayed to see the project limit lifted under the Rebuild Rhode Island program. / COURTESY STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

PROVIDENCE – The R.I. House of Representatives will consider a nearly $9 billion budget later today, one that in its current form could dramatically increase the scale of state economic development incentives used for specific projects.
Revisions to the economic development incentives, contained in the fiscal 2017 budget as approved last week by the House Finance Committee, could lift the $15 million cap on projects approved for the former Interstate 195 lands under Rebuild Rhode Island. The incentive program, created last year, is intended to help developers fill financing gaps in renovating historic structures, or creating new development that helps the state’s economy.
The section also has a new provision that allows a developer, as well as a project tenant, to apply for up to $15 million in tax credits each year, for projects on the I-195 corridor. The maximum aggregate amount, or sum, that could be authorized, is set at $150 million.
The House Finance committee recommended another $25 million for the program, $4 million more than what had been requested by Gov. Gina M. Raimondo.
The budget proposal is expected to be reviewed beginning late this afternoon, according to a spokesman for House Speaker Nicholas A. Mattiello, D-Cranston.
In approving the budget package last Wednesday, and forwarding it for full House review, the House Finance Committee incorporated several changes in the budget initially introduced in early February by Raimondo.
In an email, a spokeswoman for the governor said Raimondo was pleased that the House budget includes many of the requests she made aimed at improving the state’s economy. “While much of what we proposed is included, funding for a few important initiatives were left out, such as increasing the minimum wage and further support for senior centers,” said Marie Aberger, a Raimondo spokeswoman.
In business-related measures, the budget as recommended will further reduce the mandatory business tax in Rhode Island, to $400.
It will place before voters in November several economic development related questions, including $50 million for pier rehabilitation at Quonset Point, and $50 million for affordable housing renovation and construction.
The proposed budget also reduces, as Raimondo requested, unemployment taxes paid by employers, for an estimated savings of $30 million statewide. The budget would cut the average cost per employee from $708 to $631, without adjusting eligibility.
House Republicans are expected to challenge several of the provisions in the budget, including those focused on corporate incentives.
Rep. Patricia Morgan, R-Coventry, said she was dismayed to see the project limit lifted under the Rebuild Rhode Island program. Because the budget bill was introduced late last Wednesday, this aspect of the bill received no discussion, she said.
“There’s no limit,” she said. “I thought that money was supposed to be sprinkled around.”

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