TGIF: Ian Donnis’ Rhode Island politics roundup for Jan 23, 2026

The pit of winter is upon us and snow is coming, so hold your bread and milk close and your neighborhood hero with the snowblower closer. Thanks for stopping by for my weekly column. You can follow me through the week on Bluesky, threads and X. Here we go.

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For many years, legislative leaders’ sensitivity about Rhode Island’s soft business climate has served as a third rail blocking a broad-based state income tax hike. In 2010, then-Gov. Don Carcieri drew a metaphorical line in the sand by signing a law lowering the state’s top marginal tax rate. But that seemingly didn’t have a tangible effect. Instead, the state has muddled along since then, as it is wont to do, with many calls over the years for and against imposing higher taxes on the richest Rhode Islanders.

Now with Gov. Dan McKee’s administration deploying President Trump as the fall guy, the chance of a tax boost on the local 1% is higher than it has been in decades. McKee’s proposal would levy an additional 3 percentage points on annual income above $1 million, a move expected to initially bring in $67 million and then $135.5 million for the full year of fiscal 2028. Conservatives and the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce are crying foul, insisting that higher taxes will drive affluent Rhode Islanders out of the state. Progressives contend McKee’s proposal doesn’t go far enough. Supporters say “The Fair Share for Rhode Island” concept, backed by the Working Families Party, would generate more than $650 million a year by lowering the surtax threshold to $640,000 and would introduce two other new taxes. For his part, McKee rejects concerns that his proposal would chase affluent people away from Rhode Island. “This is revenue over a million dollars, so it’s a true millionaires’ tax,” he told me during a Statehouse interview this week. “The people who are pushing back against in the chambers and the business community,” should be a lot more concerned, he said, about efforts to lower the tax threshold a la the Working Families pitch. McKee said his plan (which includes tax relief in other areas) would leave most Rhode Islanders unaffected. When it comes to the state’s richest residents, he said, “I think many, many people who are in that income category, at least what I’m seeing around the country and around the world, they know that this income disparity is an issue that I think they will grow to support as we try to raise incomes in every household in the state.”

Via Politico – “In highly industrialized countries around the globe, there are palpable signs of resentment over rising income inequality – not quite ‘eat the rich’ mobs-in-the-street resentment, but roiling discontent nonetheless. And it’s manifesting in a renewed interest in wealth taxes targeting the super-rich.”

“Don’t tax you, don’t tax me, tax that fellow beyond the tree,” is the time-tested aphorism once uttered by U.S. Sen. Russell B. Long (D-Louisiana), aptly summing up Americans’ distaste for giving part of their income to the government. It’s self-evident, too, that the agency charged with collecting tax revenue is not going to win a popularity contest. Regardless, ahead of the last midterm election in 2022, misleading claims were made about plans to hire an army of 87,000 IRS agents to audit hardworking Americans. In fact, as The New York Times reported, one of many fact checks on the topic, the plan was to keep IRS staffing at the same level it was at in the early 1990s, and while the agency did plan more audits, “wealthy Americans and businesses will bear the brunt of that scrutiny, not, as Republicans have suggested, working families.”

Top Rhode Island officials remain non-committal about the Centurion Foundation’s request for an $18 million reserve fund to enable the foundation to finalize its acquisition of Roger Williams Medical Center and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital. It remains unclear if Centurion will provide the information sought by state officials to bolster their confidence by Jan. 30. At that point, the state could assume control of the hospitals from bankrupt Prospect Medical Holdings or perhaps seek another buyer for the institutions. For now, there are more questions than answers about what happens next, but the endgame of Centurion’s financing quest should shed light on that in the not-too-distant future.

Rhode Island Secretary of State Gregg Amore, a former state rep from East Providence, got the warmest reception among elected officials entering the House chamber ahead of the State of the State last week. He was my guest this week on One on One. Watch below or at 7:30 tonight or 10:30 am Sunday on Ocean State Media TV.

Some highlights from our interview:

***Amore said his legislative priorities this year include passing a state law to backstop the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on a related case this session that could wipe out a lot of Black representation in other states. Another priority is allowing electronic collection of signatures to qualify for the ballot – a process, Amore said, that would help reduce fraud.

***The investigation is continuing after an envelope containing white powder (non-toxic, as it turned out) was returned in an election mailing to his office.

***Amore said President Biden bears significant blame for handing the White House back to President Trump: “President Biden had mentioned that he wanted to be a transitional president, and I think he should have abided by that thought process and left the field to a full primary process where a conversation could have been had around the direction of the Democratic Party, and where they wanted to move.”

As he edges closer to a September primary showdown with Helena Foulkes, Gov. Dan McKee is ramping up his criticism of President Trump and ICE’s hardline tactics. He’s balancing calls for a millionaire’s tax with rate relief for energy customers, and proposed tax relief for parents and Social Security recipients. And it came out of the blue when it was revealed during the budget briefing last week that McKee’s latest spending plan includes a proposed line-item veto. Since lawmakers are loath to yield control over the final budget, such a measure is seemingly DOA on Smith Hill. Perhaps it would have a chance if the governor put a muscular public-pressure campaign behind it, kind of like how Ken Block spearheaded the elimination of the master lever. McKee points to the line-item veto he included in his budget as a measure of his seriousness. “I think this is a very important issue,” the governor told me this week. “We put it into the budget. I don’t think any other governor has done that. And now it has to come out of the budget, otherwise it will go on the ballot.”

Providence City Council President Rachel Miller calls a 4% annual cap on most rent increases part of a broader strategy to curb rising housing prices in the capital city. Mayor Brett Smiley defines the issue as one of supply and demand, and he said he would veto the ordinance as written. For now, with council consideration of the proposal months away, an override of a veto appears likely, although it’s unclear if behind-the-scenes talks may yield a different outcome. More on this from the peripatetic Ben Berke.

Isabella Jibilian reports on the return of students to Brown University after the December shooting attack.

On a related note, City Councilors Jill Davidson and Sue AnderBois this week announced a fundraising effort to honor “Reddit John,” the tipster who provided crucial information resulting in the identification of the gunman at Brown. According to a news release, “The gift will go to OpenDoors, a Rhode Island non-profit doing critical frontline work to house and support people in Providence and beyond. Through their Necessities Fund, 100% of tax-deductible donations fund the essential daily needs of clients and shelter residents.” Mayor Smiley told me on One On One earlier this month that John’s needs are being met and that he wants to remain anonymous.

Barring a reversal in course, a closed meeting this coming Thursday, Jan. 29, will determine whether Allyn Meyers or Ken Naylor Jr. emerges as the next chairman of the Rhode Island Republican Party. Former Republican National Committeeman Steve Frias of Cranston, who is a local historian, told the ProJo’s Kathy Gregg that he was unaware of any previous time when the state GOP closed such an election to reporters. He added, “We’re not a secret society.” We’re actually a political organization that’s trying to influence the public on public matters. So why would it be secret?”

RI Senate GOP Leader Jessica de la Cruz (R-North Smithfield) in an interview with Kim Kalunian this week, ruled out running for governor this year, bringing her full circle with what de la Cruz told me last February …Democrat Suzy Alba of Smithfield has decided to run against state Rep. Paul Santucci (R-Smithfield) …Robert Raimondo formally announced his GOP gov run this week, vowing to eliminate the state income tax …Mike Stenhouse shares word that Dr. Stephen “Doc” Skoly is stepping down as chair of the Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity to run in the GOP primary for the seat held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner. Republican Victor Mellor is also running…State Rep. Joe Solomon, with a vote-rich base in Warwick, this week joined the Democratic primary for attorney general. One of the three other candidates, Kim Ahern, unveiled a digital ad…Via the perspicacious Ray Baccari Jr., who seems to have cracked Dan McGowan’s code for detecting fresh filings to the Board of Elections’ website: LORIB-backed Kevin Hoyle is running as a Democrat for the seat being vacated by state Rep. Robert Craven (D-North Kingstown). Craven’s son, Robert Jr., is also running.

Amy Littlefield was among the talented contributors during my years as news editor of the bygone Providence Phoenix. She’s the author of Killers of Roe: My Investigation into the Mysterious Death of Abortion Rights, due to be published in March by the Hachette Book Group.

Kudos and congrats also to Providence restaurant Oberlin, which is among the latest Rhode Island nominees for the James Beard award. You can catch my recent interview with Oberlin’s Ben Sukle below.

Finally, kudos and congrats to Jeremy Workman, whose wonderful film about the secret apartment at Providence Place, and a bygone era in the city, is hitting Netflix.

Former U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy of Rhode Island, who now resides in New Jersey, is co-founder of Smart Approaches to Marijuana. He recently shared via email this assessment of Everybody Loses, Danny Funt’s new book about sports betting: “As the author of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, I have had the honor of leading an effort to ensure people can gain access to mental health and addiction treatment. But the real challenge for our movement is to reduce the number of people who need treatment by doing more public health prevention. Make no mistake, sports betting is pouring gasoline on the fire of our country’s problems with both mental health and addiction.”

I wish I had a dime for everyone who asked me this week if I’ll be calling Sox games now that Ocean State Media has filed to acquire the 103.7 FM frequency previously used to carry Boston broadcasts into the Ocean State. While daydreaming about teaming up with the likes of Lenny DiNardo and Don Orsillo is appealing, the idea is to carry our radio on one strong signal throughout Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. And from what I hear, WEEI’s signal reaches well into the Ocean State, so fear not, Sox fans who favor radio play-by-play.