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
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.

Airport spokesperson Bill Fischer: ‘We are working with every airline that services PVD to understand local impacts’
Dr. Rasha Alawieh remains in Lebanon with five-year ban on her return
Superintendent Dawn Bartz is on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of a legal review that the Smithfield school district hired to investigate the incident of senior football players hazing a Jewish freshman
An independent monitor says the district and RIDE have met the terms of a 2023 settlement that required faster evaluations and placement for 3- to 5-year-olds with disabilities, effectively closing the federal class action case
Food insecurity is getting worse in Rhode Island, and the recent disruption of SNAP benefits is only partly to blame
Public health leader Amy Nunn talks about the ripple effects of federal policy shifts, the threat of SNAP cuts and rising insurance costs, and what Rhode Island can do to protect community health in the months ahead