Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council

• RIPEC released a new report analyzing Rhode Island’s fiscal year (FY) 2026 enacted budget, revealing continued spending growth despite slowing revenues and uncertainty about future federal funding. Coming on the heels of a period of extraordinary growth in state revenues and expenditures, the report highlighted the General Assembly’s use of new taxes and fees as well as the use of $230.2 million in one-time surplus funds to support $14.38 billion in expenditures. These decisions result in a projected structural deficit of $304.3 million in FY 2027, rising to $462.1 million by FY 2030.  
  • WPRI 12, “RI State budget up 10% in 2 years as Medicaid spending grows, report finds”
  • Providence Journal, “RI spending increases are ‘not sustainable,’ says budget watchdog. What they recommend”
  • Rhode Island Current, “It’s fiscal 2026. Do you know where your tax dollars are? Probably not.”
  • The Public’s Radio, “Fiscal watchdog raises concerns about growth in Rhode Island state spending”
  • Providence Business News, “RIPEC: State budget has increased 10.9% over last 2 years”
  • WPRO, “Increase in Size of State Budget”

• RIPEC President & CEO Michael DiBiase discussed RIPEC’s budget report findings in a feature on WPRI 12’s Newsmakers.  Describing the continued increase in spending as “concerning,” he urged policymakers to scrutinize the effectiveness of state-funded programs. “The budget … has been an additive exercise,” he said. “The hard choices have been, ‘Where do we add money, and who do we tax?’ And not so much, ‘Is this program working? Should we cut it back?’”

• RIPEC’s Director of Policy & Research Justine Oliva spoke to the Providence Journal about the important role charter schools play in Rhode Island’s public education system. Citing findings from RIPEC’s 2021 analysis on charter schools, she highlighted that, on the whole, charters disproportionately serve historically disadvantaged students, post improved student outcomes over district schools, and are in high demand—with 5.4 unique applicants for every charter seat available that year.

• Join us in congratulating Jeffrey S. Hamill who was promoted to Senior Policy Analyst at RIPEC. He has played an essential role in establishing RIPEC as an important voice on housing policy, and, for over two years, has made valuable contributions to RIPEC’s research and policy work on state budgeting, education finance, and transportation funding.

Inside Insights

• The Rhode Island Department of Education released new absenteeism data, reporting that last year 22 percent of students statewide were chronically absent—missing at least 10 percent of the school year. A 2.6 percentage point improvement over the previous year, chronic absenteeism remains elevated above pre-pandemic levels (19 percent) and is much higher in some districts. RIPEC’s comprehensive 2023 analysis of absenteeism in Rhode Island found that some districts had developed effective strategies for mitigating chronic absenteeism, but that these practices were not consistently implemented across the state.

• The Tax Foundation published a report detailing the tax treatment of electric vehicles by state. Rhode Island’s FY 2026 enacted budget introduced new annual registration fees for hybrid and electric vehicles, making it one of eleven states that both offer a tax credit to incentivize electric vehicle purchases and impose higher registration fees for the same vehicles.

• The intelligence firm Labrynth released a report ranking the 50 states based on their construction permit red tape. The index—which measures how efficiently states process building permits and zoning changes—identified Rhode Island as the worst state in the country.

• A new study from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and Minnesota Center for Fiscal Excellence found that, compared to the largest city in every U.S. state and Washington D.C., Providence had the third highest commercial property tax rate, after only Detroit and Chicago, but the 13th lowest resident homeowner property tax rate. RIPEC’s own property tax report found that Providence had Rhode Island’s highest business property taxes, with other communities like West Warwick and Johnston also ranking high compared to the region and nation.

• A report from MetroSight analyzed the impact that rental housing regulations had on the costs of providing multifamily housing. The study found that source-of-income laws, eviction regulations, resident screening laws, and state preemption laws all led, on average, to higher rents, especially for lower-income renters and residents of small multifamily properties.

What to Look for in September

• Your chance to submit a nomination for RIPEC’s 49th Annual Public Service Awards ends on September 15th. The awards honor outstanding state and local employees who make a real difference, going above and beyond to serve Rhode Islanders. Recipients will be recognized at RIPEC’s Annual Meeting on November 3rd.