• A RIPEC initiative to create a statewide $50,000 exemption for the tax on tangible property was signed into law, eliminating an estimated 75 percent of Ocean State businesses from the tax rolls.
  • RIPEC President and CEO Michael DiBiase explained the push to provide tax relief to businesses to Taxnotes, calling the tangible tax “very unfavorable” to businesses and citing that “a number of states are moving away from [it].”
  • The Rhode Island Current covered the bill signing, reporting that RIPEC “championed the legislation,” which would relieve the financial and administrative burden of this tax for small businesses.

• Michael DiBiase spoke with WPRI about alterations to the K-12 education funding formula in the state’s fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget. “After two years of disregarding the formula … the Assembly is making formula changes that are so complicated that it is hard to see a coherent policy,” he said. RIPEC joined with the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns to request that the General Assembly engage in a “comprehensive” review of the funding formula.   

• RIPEC’s Manager of Research Justine Oliva spoke with WPRI about the troubling lack of progress school districts in Rhode Island have made in spending their federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds. With about half of ESSER funds left unspent and the deadline to allocate the money rapidly approaching, she warned that “students require extra learning now.”

• Michael DiBiase discussed Rhode Island’s FY 2024 budget and the state’s economic outlook with A Lively Experiment. The forecasted slowing of general revenue growth compared to the last few years “is going to mean a lot of difficult decisions” and a close look at whether government programs are functioning effectively, he said.     

Inside Insights

• A new report from the Nation’s Report Card provided more troubling news about pandemic learning loss, showing that in 2022-2023 the average scores of 13-year-olds declined four points in reading and nine points in math on long-term trend assessments compared to 2019-2020.

• The National Association of State Budget Officers released its annual Fiscal Survey of States, highlighting trends in state spending as well as tax and revenue changes. After experiencing double-digit general revenue growth nationwide in FY 2021 and FY 2022, states saw growth decline by 0.3 percent in FY 2023, with a decline of 0.7 percent projected for FY 2024. This trend echoes RIPEC’s finding in its recent analysis of the FY 2024 budget that Rhode Island is forecasted to experience significantly constrained revenue growth moving forward.

What to Look for in July

• RIPEC will release a K-12 state education funding policy brief that analyzes the General Assembly’s changes to the funding formula for FY 2024, the inequitable effects of hold harmless policies following the pandemic, and RIPEC’s recommendations for improving Rhode Island’s K-12 education finance system.