McKee Proposes $14.2B Rhode Island State Budget for 2025-26

An ongoing gap between expenditures and revenue spells more red ink

Office of Management and Budget Director Brian Daniels talks about the budget as state Administration Director Jonathan Womer listens.
Office of Management and Budget Director Brian Daniels talks about the budget as state Administration Director Jonathan Womer listens.
Ian Donnis / The Public’s Radio
1 min read
Share
Office of Management and Budget Director Brian Daniels talks about the budget as state Administration Director Jonathan Womer listens.
Office of Management and Budget Director Brian Daniels talks about the budget as state Administration Director Jonathan Womer listens.
Ian Donnis / The Public’s Radio
McKee Proposes $14.2B Rhode Island State Budget for 2025-26
Copy

Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee’s latest $14.2 billion budget proposal adds about a quarter-billion dollars from the current spending plan, reflecting the challenge of fueling the government in a state where expenditures continue to outpace revenue.

McKee said his budget, which he unveiled Thursday, would close an approximately $250 million deficit without any broad-based tax increases.“It will not just protect Rhode Island’s progress, it will protect the taxpayers of our state,” McKee said.

The proposal banks on $10 million in revenue from the eventual restart of the RhodeWorks truck-tolling program, following a recent court decision, and predicts that amount will grow to $40 million in fiscal 2026-27.

The spending plan includes investments meant to spark economic growth, increases in education aid, and a proposed ban on new sales of semiautomatic rifles sometimes called assault weapons.

This story was reported by The Public’s Radio. You can read the entire story here.

The hospital filed a lawsuit in March
The investigation previously covered activities at the Warren Alpert Medical School and is now expanded to the entire university from the period of Oct. 7, 2023 to the present
After years of debate, Rhode Island lawmakers unveil competing bottle bills aiming to boost recycling and cut litter — but retailers remain wary and questions linger over logistics
Mayor Smiley unveils an ambitious roadmap to reclaim Providence schools from state control, but state education officials say the plan lacks clarity and collaboration
Backed by youth advocacy groups, a new bill would mandate ethnic studies in all public RI high schools by 2026, aiming to reflect the diverse histories of the state’s student population
The news comes a few days after the Rhode Island School of Design announced the State Department had revoked one of its international student’s visas
The Rhode Island nonprofit is determined to keep going despite the funding crisis caused by the dismantling of USAID