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Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Unions draw striking Butler workers, RIPTA driver in push to pass ‘tax the rich' legislation
Advocates hold signs in support of raising taxes on Rhode Island's highest earners outside the State House on May 29, 2025. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) A countdown clock ticked down in front of the State House on Thursday afternoon — 20 days. That's how many days union workers and activists estimate are left before the Rhode Island General Assembly passes its fiscal 2026 budget. 'TIME IS NOW. TIME IS NOW,' the crowd of around 150 people chanted as they called on lawmakers to pass a bill to increase income taxes on top earners in Rhode Island to raise revenue to prop up hospitals, plug a $32.6 million deficit at the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority and fund programs like Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and Head Start that help the state's poorest residents. At least one RIPTA driver was among the crowd, which included over 30 striking Butler Hospital workers plus members of RI AFL-CIO, Climate Action Rhode Island, National Education Association of Rhode Island, Economic Progress Institute, Revenue for Rhode Islanders Coalition, RI Working Families Party, SEIU-1199, Indivisible RI and Reclaim RI. Companion bills introduced in February by Rep. Karen Alzate, a Pawtucket Democrat, and Sen. Melissa Murray, a Woonsocket Democrat, call for a 3% surtax on the top 1% of earners — those who make more than $625,000 a year, based on 2025, inflation-adjusted numbers. Alzate's bill received its initial hearing before the House Committee on Finance on May 6 where it was held for further study by the panel. Murray's bill was scheduled for a hearing before the Senate Committee on Finance Thursday evening. 'The wealthy have been benefiting from state and federal tax cuts for decades,' Murray told the crowd. 'But at whose expense? Ours.' The proposal would affect about 5,700 state income tax filers and generate an extra $190 million in annual revenue for the state, according to the Economic Progress Institute, which backs the legislation. 'This is not crazy — it's reasonable, it's fair, and it's long overdue,' Nina Harrison, policy director for the Economic Progress Institute, told the crowd. 'It's the end of the session — this is rally time,' AFL-CIO President Patrick Crowley said. 'This is when we make our final argument that this is about building a Rhode Island economy from the worker up and giving the state the resources they need to make sure we have functioning systems that everyday people rely on.' Crowley, who sits on RIPTA's board of directors, said if Rhode Island's wealthiest residents paid more in taxes, then the statewide bus agency could solve its financial woes. Funding could also go toward the state's health care system, he said. 'Which would allow workers like the striking Butler workers to have a living wage,' he said. Butler Hospital unionized workers represented by SEIU 1199E returned to the State House for at least the third time in their now two-week long strike, rallying for better working conditions and wages at the Providence psychiatric hospital. A negotiator from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) — a federal agency that helps smooth out labor disputes — sat down Wednesday and Thursday to revive talks between the striking Butler workers and their employer, Care New England. There were no immediate updates on the status of the talks from union officials as of Thursday evening. Dawn Williams, a Butler registered nurse, union delegate, member of the bargaining committee explained in a statement Wednesday evening while the day's talks failed to find consensus. 'Unfortunately, management gave us a set of proposals with lower wages, higher healthcare costs, less on retirement and no movement on our workplace violence committee,' Williams said. 'We are more than ready to return to work and resume caring for our patients — but we should never have to choose between our safety, our livelihoods, and the profession we love.' Mary E. Marran, Butler's president and COO, issued a statement Thursday. 'While the Hospital remains committed to productive dialogue, we are concerned by the union's apparent lack of advanced preparation for Wednesday's session, and its continued focus on internal union matters such as changes to new hire orientation, rather than on issues central to our employees' core priorities—such as wages, retirement benefits, and healthcare,' Marran wrote. Marran wrote that the hospital presented a 'scaled-back economic proposal' on Wednesday because of conditions established during the last negotiating session on May 7, when it gave its 'Last, Best, and Final Offer,' with any subsequent offers shaped by 'the effects of the strike, which has affected patients, staff, the community, and the Hospital itself.' Marran added that the wages are still higher than those in previous contracts, and pointed to the hospital's negotiation website, Care New England spokesperson Raina C. Smith did not supply an exact dollar amount when asked Thursday how much the hospital has spent on temporary labor thus far. She simply replied, 'Millions.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
RIPTA's efficiency study is a third of the way there
A Rhode Island Public Transit Authority bus is seen parked outside the State House on April 29, 2025. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) The state's legislative leaders don't yet have the efficiency study they asked for from the cash-strapped Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA), but for the past two weeks, they've had a 19-page report. That puts the state's public transit agency a third of the way done with an overdue study lawmakers mandated RIPTA deliver to them by March 1. The efficiency study was requested by Gov. Dan McKee and the General Assembly as a condition in last year's state budget to plug the agency's deficit. RIPTA now faces a $32.6 million shortfall heading into the fiscal year beginning July 1. House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi, who has made clear there is no extra money to fill RIPTA's deficit now that federal pandemic aid has dried up, confirmed Wednesday that he had received the report. 'I received an embargoed synopsis that I have not fully reviewed yet,' Shekarchi said in a statement. 'However, I look forward to hearing from RIPTA on how they plan to change their management practices.' Senate President Valarie Lawson said she too plans to review the memo sent by RIPTA. 'This is an issue that has been a top concern of many members of the Senate,' she said in a statement. 'A robust public transit system is vital to our economy and quality of life.' RIPTA's board of directors commissioned Canadian-headquartered engineering consulting firm WSP to do the efficiency study on March 27 at a cost of $412,346. The scope outlined in RIPTA's request for proposals called on the contractor to deliver a memo within 30 business days detailing best practices among public transit agencies, a performance assessment of transit operations within 45 days, and a review of the state's long-term transit strategy and its implementation within 75 days. 'We're working rapidly to get all reports coming out of the study to the General Assembly as soon as possible to inform the state budget,' agency spokesperson Cristy Raposo Perry said in an email to Rhode Island Current. 'We will update you when the next product is complete.' WSP completed the first phase on May 16, a report that looked at five other similar-sized transit agencies. The peer comparison report confirmed that RIPTA is not alone in facing a post-pandemic deficit. The other agencies were Hampton Roads Transit based out of Norfolk, Virginia; Regional Transit Service, which services Rochester, New York; Capital District Transit Authority, which serves Albany; Delaware Transit Corp.; and the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority. The report found per capita spending ranged from $23 to $145 among the five while administrative cost per service hour ranged from $21 to $48. Other data points included advertising revenue and passenger trips per service hour and fare revenue per trip. But no corresponding figures for RIPTA are provided in WSP's memo. 'Recognizing the timing constraints related to the state budget process concluding in June, we have structured the scope of work to prioritize delivering critical information as quickly as possible,' Raposo Perry said. 'This includes sharing draft deliverables such as this. The final report will include those figures.' A man who answered the phone at a Connecticut number for WSP said he could not answer questions about the report and then hung up. A spokesperson for the firm in Montreal did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment. 'Many agencies are facing a drop in funding due to expiring pandemic funding and rising costs due to inflation,' the WSP report states. WSP pointed to a 'novel approach' of one agency's pursuit of 'universal access agreements,' defined as partnerships where employers pay an annual fee to cover their workers' fares to commute. But the report does not specify which of the five agencies had embraced these initiatives. RIPTA has already been coordinating with area employers to boost revenue. In January, RIPTA extended its 10x and 28 routes to align with shift schedules at the new Amazon Fulfillment Center off Route 6 in Johnston. In return, Amazon agreed to pay $90,000 annually over the next decade to cover employee fares. On Wednesday, RIPTA announced that the Omni Providence Hotel First Hotel Group had agreed to partially subsidize fares for 216 employees who work at Rhode Island's largest hotel. Passes for the general public cost $70 but the pass costs $65 for participants in the 'Wave to Work' program. Raposo Perry said the hotel will pay $45 per monthly pass, while hotel employees pay the remaining $20 balance for unlimited bus rides. Legislators have proposed their own measures to close RIPTA's deficit. That includes legislation that would put a $100 million transit bond on the 2026 ballot, upping the agency's share of the gas tax, and added rideshare fees that would go directly toward funding mass transit. Transit advocates have also pointed to resolutions introduced in the House and Senate in late February that would appropriate the full $32.6 million to keep the agency afloat for another year. But the Rhode Island General Assembly is facing significant challenges with a budget deficit and potentially devastating federal funding cuts with just weeks to go before the end of the 2025 legislative session. Among them, a $17.8 million budget shortfall for the state's homelessness services and an additional $15 million to cover proposed pay raises for state troopers and correctional officers.. The state will also have to make up a $24 million shortfall in education aid to local school districts in its fiscal 2025 and 26 budgets after a correction was made to data on the number of students in poverty. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Should R.I. have more than one app to bet on sports? Study says yes, but only if change is made.
A computer monitor displays betting odds and promotions on FanDuel's website. Wagers are not currently allowed on the website in Rhode Island, though state regulators are now considering letting vendors such as FanDuel operate in the state. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) A new report commissioned by the Rhode Island Lottery recommends the state should add four to six new online sports betting vendors to boost its competitiveness with its neighbors, but only if it makes itself more attractive to popular companies like DraftKings and FanDuel. The report published by Spectrum Gaming Group on May 1 notes that there is no prohibition against increasing the number of authorized service providers beyond the one app currently managed by the gambling company that exclusively supplies the state's lottery equipment and technology. But when Rhode Island Lottery renewed its contract with International Game Technology (IGT) PLC to run the state's digital sportsbook, it was with a clause that the company would have the exclusive rights to handle all digital wagers through November 2026. State lawmakers have sought to end IGT's monopoly of Rhode Island's digital sportsbook, but such proposals were never going to head to the House floor this year. 'There is no need to adopt legislation this year because the state is under contract with the current vendor for another year,' House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi said in a statement to Rhode Island Current. Rhode Island Lottery, however, is now starting to consider upping the number of apps beyond the existing Sportsbook RI. Director Mark Furcolo informed the legislative committee that oversees the state's gambling sector on Monday that the lottery intends to issue a request for information (RFI) on the matter in early 2026. 'The purpose of the RFI is to gauge the level of interest in, and by which companies, providing a sports wagering product here and if not, why not,' Lottery spokesperson Paul Grimaldi said in an email. But companies may not be fully interested in expanding to Rhode Island due to its 51% tax on operators' revenues — which is tied with New York and New Hampshire for the steepest in the country. When the state inked IGT's initial contract in 2018, it was the only bidder to respond to the lottery's request for proposals. Spectrum suggests the state lower the tax rate. The report also recommends that the state allow online betting servers to be hosted outside of the state's two existing casinos in Lincoln and Tiverton — where any company would have to pay a 17% hosting fee to Bally's Corp. Such a change would require a constitutional change approved by Rhode Island voters. Spectrum's recommendations come as legislators have introduced bills this year to open up the market beyond the single app managed by the gambling company that exclusively supplies the state's lottery equipment and technology. The companion bills by Rep. Matthew Dawson and Senate Majority Leader Frank Ciccone would allow at least five sports betting vendors to open by July 1, 2026 — opening the door for companies such as DraftKings and FanDuel to take wagers in a state where they've been barred from doing so since the state first launched sports betting over five ago. Sports bettors have one app in R.I. More may be on the way. Ciccone's bill received its initial hearing before the Senate Committee on Labor and Gaming, which he chairs, on April 30. Dawson's bill was heard by the House Committee on Finance on May 1. Both were held for further study, as is standard for an initial vetting by a legislative panel. 'We need more competition,' Dawson, an East Providence Democrat, said in an interview. 'If you have a monopoly, you have no reason to innovate.' The state was the first New England state to legalize sports wagering in 2018, but neighboring Connecticut and Massachusetts have since entered the market and have only eaten away Rhode Island's revenue. Massachusetts, which launched online sports betting in March 2023, collected nearly $10.4 million in taxable revenue solely from wagers on the seven apps available there in just March of 2025. Connecticut, which has three sports betting vendors, brought in $21.4 million in tax revenue in fiscal year the same time period, Rhode Island saw $19.2 million in sports betting revenue transferred to the state's general fund. 'There's a significant amount of tax revenue we're not getting because we've decided we're going to let one company run the whole thing,' Dawson said. Fiscal notes on what Rhode Island could receive should it expand to five sports betting vendors have not been filed by the House and Senate. But Ciccone and Dawson point to Washington D.C., where wagers increased 172% in the last year after its Council approved expanding sports betting to additional platforms. 'That's significant,' Ciccone, a Providence Democrat, said in an interview. 'And with the problems we're having, why not try to bring in more players and see what we can do?' Ciccone was referring to the state's TK deficit heading into the fiscal year starting July 1, 2026. Along with additional revenue, Ciccone and Dawson argue that many users don't like the existing Sportsbook RI app. Dawson told Rhode Island Current he knows several bettors who go to the McDonalds in Seekonk, Massachusetts to place bets from apps other than IGT's. Lack of promotions and bonuses have made up many negative online reviews users have left on App Store and Google Play. Ciccone said his friend, the late Senate President Ruggerio, also had issues with the limitations of IGT's online sportsbook. 'He hated that app,' Ciccone recalled. Shekarchi said he has never used the app, but that he has heard both positive and negative experiences from others who have used it. IGT spokesperson Mike DeAngelis said the feedback the company receives tends to be positive. 'We work with the Lottery to ensure a great player experience with the Sportsbook RI app,' he said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
20 state AGs sue feds for tying transportation and disaster funding to immigration enforcement
Federal funding for the Washington Bridge demolition and rebuild project faces new uncertainty under new executive directives tying infrastructure grants to states' cooperation with federal immigration policies. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) There's no reason why money for road repairs and flood protections should hinge upon states' cooperation with federal immigration policies, contend 20 Democratic states attorneys general. That's why the AGs, including Rhode Island's Peter Neronha, are asking a federal judge to stop federal agencies from a 'grant funding hostage scheme' that requires detaining undocumented immigrants who don't commit crimes in order to receive key federal grants and aid. Two new federal lawsuits filed in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island Tuesday against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) aim to protect and preserve billions of federal dollars already awarded to states for emergency preparedness, disaster relief and infrastructure projects. Directives issued in April by DHS and DOT secretaries informed states that their federal funding required compliance with federal immigration policies. The AGs — representing Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin, and Vermont — allege this violated constitutional protections for separation of powers. 'By hanging a halt in this critical funding over States like a sword of Damocles, Defendants impose immense harm on States, forcing them to choose between readiness for disasters and emergencies, on the one hand, and their judgment about how best to investigate and prosecute crimes, on the other,' the lawsuit against DHS, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Coast Guard, and their leaders, states. 'Defendants' grant funding hostage scheme violates two key principles that underlie the American system of checks and balances: agencies in the Executive Branch cannot act contrary to the authority conferred on them by Congress, and the federal government cannot use the spending power to coerce States into adopting its preferred policies. Defendants have ignored both principles, claiming undelegated power to place their own conditions on dozens of grant programs that Congress created and bulldozing through the Constitution's boundary between state and federal authority.' The AGs say state and local public safety officials have more important work to do than cater to the whims of a new administration, which stand in contradiction to state-level directives like, for example, authorizing licenses for undocumented immigrants. Rhode Island lawmakers granted driving privileges for undocumented residents in 2022, with a July, 1 2023 effective date, joining 19 other states and D.C. Federal protocols followed by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other agencies could force state and local police to use state license laws as a way to find and detain undocumented immigrants. 'As a former U.S. Attorney and former federal prosecutor, I know how many ICE agents are in Rhode Island and it's under 10,' Neronha said during a virtual press conference Tuesday. 'What they need in order to carry out their agenda is for us to do the work for them, pulling us away from important law enforcement work in Rhode Island.' No state has seen federal funding cut off since directives were issued by U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. Not yet. States' abilities to respond to natural disasters and security threats, and complete key infrastructure projects, including the much-anticipated rebuild of the westbound Washington Bridge in Rhode Island, hinge upon a continued flow of congressionally authorized federal grants and aid. The $221 million Biden-era infrastructure grant awarded to Rhode Island for the Washington Bridge project only became accessible in late March, after weeks of uncertainty in the wake of the administration change. Gov. Dan McKee's office and the Rhode Island Department of Transportation did not immediately respond to inquiries for comment Tuesday regarding continued access to the funds in the wake of Duffy's April 24 directive tying federal infrastructure grants to compliance with federal diversity and immigration policies. The Duffy directive fails to provide any statutory or legal explanation for why transportation funding relates to immigration enforcement. The new requirements jeopardize more than $628 million in federal funding in Rhode Island, and billions of dollars more across the country, the AGs argue in their lawsuit against Duffy and DOT. 'If Plaintiff States reject Defendants' unlawful Immigration Enforcement Condition, they will collectively lose billions in federal funding that is essential to sustain critical public safety and transportation programs, including highway development, airport safety projects, protections against train collisions, and programs to prevent injuries and deaths from traffic accidents. The loss of this funding will cause state and local providers to scale back or even terminate many of these programs and projects,' the complaint states. 'More cars, planes, and trains will crash, and more people will die as a result, if Defendants cut off federal funding to Plaintiff States.' More cars, planes, and trains will crash, and more people will die as a result, if Defendants cut off federal funding to Plaintiff States. – Twenty state Democratic AGs in lawsuit against U.S. Department of Transportation and Secretary Sean Duffy Similarly dire predictions accompany the loss of security and disaster funds, which includes $3 billion in FEMA money to states each year, according to the lawsuit against DHS. Rhode Island received more than $45 million in FEMA grants in 2024 alone, according to the lawsuit. The new complaints reprise language of the 20 state AG lawsuits against the Trump administration that preceded them, calling the executive agencies' actions 'arbitrary and capricious' and in clear violation of constitutional separation of powers and spending clauses. Neronha during the press conference pointed to the success that AGs have had in other lawsuits, temporarily preserving funding and policy protections for education, immigration, research funding, public health, and grants and aid to state governments, among others. Not that he expects the frenzy of legal activity will abate anytime soon. 'As we stack wins against the Trump administration for violation of the Constitution and other federal laws, what we are seeing is a creeping authoritarianism in this country,' Neronha said. 'The president is trying to take power for himself. He's trying to sideline Congress, and now, he's attempting to undermine the judiciary.' Neronha likened the latest federal directives attempting to force states to redirect their own law enforcement to serve federal civil immigration policies to 'holding a gun to states' heads.' Rhode Island, home to four of the 20 federal lawsuits against the Trump administration already, was again picked as the setting for the latest complaints due to the 'strong team' within Neronha's office, he said. Neronha and other AGs bringing the two cases against the administration also stressed the sum of their collaborative parts. 'We've built the best and biggest law firm in the country, and we're fighting for all Americans,' Neronha said. The U.S. Department of Justice did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday. The lawsuit against DOT was assigned to U.S. District Chief Judge John Jr. McConnell Jr., while the case against DHS was assigned to Senior District Judge William E. Smith, according to the public court docket. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Updated state revenue forecast: $80M ray of sunshine
State budget analysts now expect an extra $60.3 million in revenue to flow into state coffers by June 30, with a $19.3 million revenue boost in fiscal year 2026. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) The state's precarious financial situation is looking slightly more sturdy. An extra $60.7 million is now expected to flow into state coffers by June 30 under new estimates adopted by state budget crunchers Friday. The rosy conclusion to the biannual Revenue and Caseload Estimating Conference also projected $19.3 million more revenue for fiscal 2026. The combined $80 million projected revenue increase for this year and next shaves nearly one-third off the expected $250 million budget deficit. Which leaves lawmakers with a $170 million spending gap to close — not insignificant, especially against the backdrop of potentially devastating federal funding cuts and warnings of a 'recession-adjacent' economic slowdown. Indeed, House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi's reaction to the updated revenue numbers Friday was not exactly celebratory. 'The revenue results preview the effects of the weakening US economy linked to turmoil in Washington, DC,' Shekarchi, a Warwick Democrat, said in a statement. 'Any short-term positive news is overshadowed by the magnitude of that uncertainty and the many related or unsolved budget issues.' Senate President Valarie Lawson, an East Providence Democrat, and Senate Finance Chairman Lou DiPalma, a Middletown Democrat, also referenced the uncertainty of federal funding in a joint statement reacting to the updated state revenue estimates. 'We remain committed to passing a balanced, responsible budget in time for the state's new fiscal year, which begins on July 1, and if subsequent developments in Washington necessitate additional action, we will be prepared to address that at the appropriate time,' they said Friday. Yet the latest state forecasts suggest revenue is rising across a wide array of tax sources. Personal income taxes, which account for one-third of the state's $5.6 billion annual revenue forecast, are now expected to come in $37.1 million higher by June 30, with an extra $10.1 million in fiscal 2026. The state is also poised to bring in more money through lottery taxes (up $15.4 million over the next two years combined) along with taxes on public utilities, insurance companies, and cigarettes. These gains will be partially offset by less-than-expected income from sales and use taxes, trimmed by $22 million in fiscal 2025, and down another $37.1 million in fiscal 2026. The state also won't be generating as much revenue from taxes on bank income; the expected $12.3 million fiscal 2025 revenue from financial institutions taxes is one-third of the $39.5 million forecast six months ago. In response to state budget analysts, the Rhode Island Division of Taxation said it initially thought additional taxes paid in 2023 reflected an increased tax liability for 2024, when in fact the elevated 2023 returns were the result of overpayments. How much of the loss in expected bank tax revenue reflects a change to state tax code enacted by lawmakers in June at the request of Citizens Bank was not immediately available. The controversial tax rewrite, which took effect Jan. 1, was expected to reduce fiscal 2025 revenue by $7 million, rising to $15 million for the full fiscal 2026 year, based on the lower tax bill for Citizens. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
