Mattiello not supportive of Ruggerio TSA proposal for city land

HOUSE SPEAKER NICHOLAS A. MATTIELLO is not supportive of Senate Majority Leader Dominick J. Ruggerio's proposed legislation to establish commercial tax guidelines within the Interstate 195 redevelopment corridor in Providence. / COURTESY R.I. GENERAL ASSEMBLY
HOUSE SPEAKER NICHOLAS A. MATTIELLO is not supportive of Senate Majority Leader Dominick J. Ruggerio's proposed legislation to establish commercial tax guidelines within the Interstate 195 redevelopment corridor in Providence. / COURTESY R.I. GENERAL ASSEMBLY

PROVIDENCE – Proposed legislation to establish commercial tax guidelines within the Interstate 195 redevelopment corridor in Providence is unlikely to pass the General Assembly this session.
House Speaker Nicholas A. Mattiello, D-Cranston, has opted to side with Providence leadership, who have denounced the proposed legislation, which is currently in the Senate. The city is in the process of forming its own version of tax treaties – referred to as “tax stabilization agreements” – for the downtown land left open after the relocating of I-195. The legislation Tuesday morning didn’t have a House sponsor and did not hold water with its leadership.
“The Speaker has heard from Providence officials, including the mayor and council president, who are not supportive of this, and he’s taking their viewpoints into mind,” said Larry Berman, Mattiello’s spokesman. “We’ll see what the Senate does, and we’ll take a look at it [if it passes], but at this point he’s not supportive.”
Senate Majority Leader Dominick J. Ruggerio, D-Providence, in May introduced the legislation, S-952, which would create a 20-year tax treaty for for-profit development projects within the I-195 corridor. But he tabled all efforts to push the legislation forward after Mayor Jorge O. Elorza and City Council President Luis A. Aponte subsequently proposed their own version of incentives, which includes a proposal to defer full taxes from projects of at least $10 million for 13 years.
The Senate bill lay dormant until this week when it appeared on the Senate Finance Committee’s agenda and is slated for discussion at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
Providence City Council Finance Committee is scheduled to take up the issue next Tuesday and Aponte told Providence Business News that the council would be moving forward with its plan regardless of what happens on Smith Hill.
“There’s no need for any state involvement when it comes to municipal tax incentives in the city of Providence,” Aponte told Providence Business News on Monday. “We’re going to proceed through this process because we believe the ordinances we propose make the most amount of sense for the city and developers.”
Ruggerio has not responded to several requests for comment.

No posts to display