McKee pledges affordability, infrastructure upgrades in State of the State Address
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) — Governor Dan McKee, in an election year, painted a mostly positive picture Tuesday night of what’s happening in Rhode Island and spent much of the annual State of the State address talking about what he would spend money on in the next year, despite the state having a $100 million deficit.
While delivering what seemed to be more applause lines than in his past addresses, McKee also brought a new mantra.
“We will deliver Affordability for All,” the governor declared in the speech inside a packed House chamber.
McKee’s team will unveil his budget plan Thursday, but the address was a preview.
McKee said he wants to roll back last year's increase in the gas tax and eliminate remaining taxes on Social Security pay.
“We will put more money back in families’ pockets and raise incomes in every home,” the governor declared.
It took him 40 minutes to get to the thorn in his side, the westbound Washington Bridge that closed more than two years ago and is nearly three years from being rebuilt.
“I know how frustrating this situation has been for commuters,” McKee said, as he has in the past.
Facing criticism over how warning signs were missed, McKee says he plans to add money for more oversight at RIDOT to review inspection reports “and ensure an abrupt closure like this never happens again.”
When it comes to the road ahead, McKee wants the state to spend tens of millions of dollars to help lower energy and health costs for the vulnerable, close RIPTA's14 million $ budget hole, and create more low-cost housing.
Advocates for the homeless rallied in the State House rotunda before McKee’s speech, a year after the governor’s office blocked them from the Capitol’s center spot, which led to a lawsuit.
Despite spending tens of millions of dollars in recent years, protestors argued the state needs to do more.
“Money is going to a broken system in which people are staying homeless instead of getting into transitionary housing and most importantly permanent supportive housing,” Harrison Tuttle, with the Rhode Island Council of Churches, told NBC10.
Meanwhile, McKee tried to blame President Donald Trump's policies and federal funding cuts on rising costs.
“Together, we will stand up to President Trump when he tries to take away Rhode Islanders’ health care, food assistance, jobs, or the programs that families rely on,” McKee said.
In response, Republican state Rep. Brian Newberry told NBC10, “I thought the cynicism of his speech in that was a little bit ridiculous and over the top, but it’s what we expect from Democrats these days.”
“We’re running structural deficits and I heard a speech that basically promised a lot of goodies to a lot of people and it sounded to me like he was running a Democratic primary speech,” Newberry said.
The most important decision maker in the budget process may be House Speaker Joseph Shekarchi, who sat next to McKee during the speech while still weighing his own run for governor.
Shekarchi told reporters the governor did seem to have a lot of spending plans.
“We’ll unpack it. As everyone likes to say, the devil is in the details,” Shekarchi said of the months-long budget process that is about to begin.
The McKee administration is expected to detail their budget plans, and how to pay for new proposals, Thursday.
