Rhode Island lawmakers will face a tougher fiscal climate when a new legislative session begins on Jan. 7 — with a looming deficit of about $300 million for the next fiscal year.
The state has enjoyed a string of consecutive surpluses in recent years, thanks to a gusher of federal COVID aid.
But the cost of government continues to grow more than state revenue, so a return of the annual deficits caused by that long-term imbalance is expected. State law requires the budget to be balanced by the July 1 start of the next fiscal year.
Legislative leaders have been reluctant to support broad-based tax increases, particularly for upper income residents. More discussion on this is expected in the new session due to the changing fiscal outlook.
This story was reported by The Public's Radio. You can read the entire story here.
