Rhode Island General Assembly Passes $13.6 Billion Budget | National News

Clear. Windy this evening. Low 46F. Winds WSW at 20 to 30 mph, becoming N and decreasing to 5 to 10 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

Clear. Windy this evening. Low 46F. Winds WSW at 20 to 30 mph, becoming N and decreasing to 5 to 10 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.

The Rhode Island capitol building in Providence

(The Center Square) – Taxpayer relief and spending the final American Rescue Plan Act dollars are the focus of Rhode Island’s next budget that headed to the governor.

The General Assembly, with a 33-5 vote in the Senate on Thursday evening, adopted the state’s $13.6 billion fiscal year 2023 budget. The fiscal document, which was approved by the House last week, heads to a 12:30 p.m. Monday signing ceremony led by Gov. Dan McKee.

“Our priorities have been to ensure a budget that takes care of Rhode Islanders today and into the future,” Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ryan W. Pearson, D-Cumberland, said in the release. “The immediate benefits of this budget include targeted economic relief like the child tax credit, the early elimination of the automobile excise tax, property tax relief for seniors and the disabled, income tax breaks for veterans and retirees.”

Pearson said the long-term goals of the budget are strengthening a blue economy for Rhode Island, adjusting reimbursement rates for health care, while also providing for investments in school infrastructure, higher education buildings, and information technology capital.

The budget, according to the release, was fashioned to allow the state to weather another downtown while spending ARPA funds in one-time investments that are designed to address long-standing issues and other recurring costs.

In addition, the budget would phase out the state’s motor vehicle excise tax, which is the highest in the nation, that would give $64 million in relief, according to the release. The budget would also provide for a $250 per child tax credit for up to three children per family for single filers earning less than $100,000 or $200,000 for joint filers and is designed to provide $43.8 million in relief.

According to the release, the budget would also provide a $4 million raise in the “circuit breaker” tax credit that is offered to elderly and disabled residents. The move would raise the maximum credit to $600 from $400 beginning in the 2022 tax year. Residents earning from $30,000 to $35,000 would be eligible.

The budget, according to the release, would allot $100 million for the state’s Unemployment Trust Fund. The move would cut unemployment tax rates for businesses.

Under the proposed budget, the General Assembly agreed to the governor’s plan to spend $61.8 million from general revenues into the state’s pension system. The move would pay off liabilities that remain from deferred pension fund payments in 1991 and 1992.

In addition, the budget plan would call for $250 million in ARPA dollars that would fund housing initiatives in the state, according to the release. Plus, the budget would fully fund a formula for state education spending by using $17 million over the current funding to double the size of pre-kindergarten classes over the next five years.

An additional $30 million in ARPA funding, according to the release, would be spent on community behavioral health care clinics, and another $42 million would be used to increase rate paid by the state for child-care services while expanding eligibility.

Plus, another $190 million in ARPA funds, according to the release, were set aside for future COVID-19 response efforts.

Originally published on thecentersquare.com, part of the TownNews Content Exchange.

Idaho State Police is investigating a vehicle collision that occurred at approximately 8:23 p.m., on June 23, 2022 at the intersection of S 1050 W and SH39 in Bingham County. Read more