On Thursday, a group of progressive lawmakers joined the Working Families Party in announcing a set of four bills, branded the “Fair Share for Rhode Island Package,” that would go beyond McKee’s proposal to generate $650 million in annual revenue by boosting taxes on the wealthy.

Representative Brandon C. Potter, a Cranston Democrat, called McKee’s proposal “a strong step forward,” but said, “It simply does not do enough to meet the needs of working people in Rhode Island right now.”

Potter emphasized that President Trump’s “One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act” would provide about $1 trillion in federal tax cuts for the richest 1 percent over the next decade while slashing health benefits and food assistance for lower-income Rhode Islanders.

“We need to meet this moment,” Potter said. “In a state controlled by Democrats, we have the opportunity to demonstrate what it means to fight for working people and deliver on our values in the way that this moment calls for.”

The “Fair Share for Rhode Island Package” includes:

● A 1 percent tax “wealth tax” on a Rhode Island tax filers who have worldwide financial assets of more than $25 million. That would generate a projected $300 million per year.

Potter and Senator Tiara T. Mack, a Providence Democrat, are sponsoring that legislation, which would apply to financial intangible assets such as stocks, bonds, options, and annuities, and not to the value of houses or other real estate property, or nonfinancial intangible assets such as patents or brand recognition.

Mack said the tax would affect 1/14th of the state’s richest 1 percent. “And because wealth is so concentrated amongst this very small percentage, this small tax on the richest Rhode Islanders will raise $3 billion over the next 10 years,” she said.

● A 3 percent surtax on taxable income of more than $640,000. That would generate a projected $200 million a year.

Representative Karen Alzate, a Pawtucket Democrat, said this is the seventh year that she and Senator Melissa A. Murray, a Woonsocket Democrat, have sponsored the legislation, and in light of Trump administration cuts, she said it’s more crucial than ever.

Alzate said the Massachusetts millionaires tax has provided that state with billions in revenue to improve health care and schools and lure big business such as Hasbro, which is moving its headquarters from Pawtucket to Boston. ”There is no mass exodus,“ she said. ”Just stronger communities.”

● A 4 percent “wealth proceeds tax” that would generate a projected $144.4 million per year.

Representative Teresa A. Tanzi, a South Kingstown Democrat, and Senator Meghan E. Kallman, a Pawtucket Democrat, are sponsoring the legislation, which aims to equalize the tax treatment of earned and unearned income by taxing “passive income” such as capital gains, dividends, interest and annuities, along with certain kinds of rents, royalties and business income. It would not tax income derived from active participation in a business or a retirement income such as Social Security, pensions, 401(k)s and IRAs.

● A digital ads tax that would generate an undetermined amount of revenue.

Kallman and Representative Terri Cortvriend, a Portsmouth Democrat, are sponsoring legislation that would tax the revenue of major tech companies, such as Meta and X, that make money from digital advertising. Only businesses with $1 million in annual gross revenue from digital ad services in Rhode Island would be required to file the new digital advertising tax return.

Last year, McKee proposed a 10 percent tax on digital advertising revenues in the state, which would only apply to media companies with more than $1 billion in global revenues.

Apple, Meta, TikTok, and Microsoft hired local lobbyists in Rhode Island to try to kill the proposal, and it was not included in the budget passed by the General Assembly. House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi, a Warwick Democrat, said the proposal was too speculative, noting only Maryland had tried such a tax and it was facing lawsuits.

The four tax proposals are facing strong opposition from business groups.

Laurie White, president of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, criticized the proposals, saying increases in the personal income tax would hurt many small businesses.

Most of the state’s small businesses are organized as pass-through entities, meaning their business profits are taxed under the personal income tax, not a separate corporate tax, White said. Potter disputed the extent of the impact of a tax on income of more than $640,000.

But White said, “For thousands of small businesses, it is a direct tax on their operating income, and it ultimately affects employees through fewer opportunities and slower growth.”

White said the Working Families Party is supporting higher taxes while placing less emphasis “on ensuring accountability and measurable results from government.” For example, Rhode Island spends more per pupil on education than most states, and the outcomes are “mixed,” she said.

“Higher taxes alone do not necessarily lead to better public services,” White said. “We support the principle of reform before revenue and believe that Rhode Islanders deserve better accountability and quality government services for their tax dollars.”

She said state general revenue spending for fiscal year 2026 will reach $5.81 billion, marking an 11 percent increase in two years and outpacing inflation. “When spending grows at that rate, no narrowly targeted tax hike can meaningfully address the underlying problem,” she said.

White said the proposed digital advertising tax would hurt small businesses that use digital ads to grow their businesses, and raise prices for consumers. “It is also unclear whether or not it is constitutional,” she said.

On Friday, spokesmen for House and Senate leaders responded to the four tax proposals, saying, “When the legislation is introduced, it will undergo the usual thorough and public committee review process for consideration on its merits.”

Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at edward.fitzpatrick@globe.com. Follow him @FitzProv.

Just two applications were submitted for the Woonsocket, Cumberland, Smithfield area

• 12 of the 19 worker cooperative applications were in the Providence-North Providence-Central Falls-Johnston-Lincoln area
• Only 20 licenses will be issued because too few applied in the northern portion of the state
• The retail applications were centered on the zone that combined Pawtucket and East Providence with Aquidneck Island

PROVIDENCE – A total of 98 entities submitted applications for Rhode Island’s 24 cannabis dispensary licenses, with the northern part of the state only seeing two applications.

The Cannabis Control Commission announced the retail license applications during its meeting on Jan. 16.

Applications opened in mid-September and closed on Dec. 29, 2025. The applications will be vetted before being assigned via a lottery system, but a date for applicants to get zoning approval for their retail establishments has been pushed out to March 2, while some cities and towns, such as Pawtucket, are changing their zoning rules after the application period closed.

While Rhode Island passed a law allowing for the opening of retail dispensaries in 2022, the licenses have yet to be issued, although dispensaries that sold medical marijuana have been selling recreational marijuana as well.

Rhode Island State Police want to install dozens of license plate–reading Flock cameras across the state, but not every community is on board.

State police have pitched the program in over 20 communities after receiving a federal COPS grant that includes $579,000 for 39 cameras.

Flock cameras are automated license plate readers that photograph the license plates of passing vehicles, and record details such as time, location, color and vehicle type.

The information is stored in a searchable database that police can use to look for specific vehicles by plate number or description.

Departments can also set alerts, so officers are notified in real time when a stolen vehicle or a suspect’s car is detected. Data is stored for 30 days before being permanently erased.

Town Council Vice President Keri Cronin spoke with NBC 10’s Tamara Sacharczyk about privacy concerns. (WJAR)

Although the cameras would be installed on state roads, state police must get permission from each community before moving forward.

So far, Warren is the only town to reject the proposal.

During a December meeting, town leaders raised concerns about data use and privacy. Town Council Vice President Keri Cronin said officials worry that as the technology evolves, access could expand in ways that threaten civil liberties.

Councilman Louis Rego said he received emails from residents who were uneasy about how the cameras would be operated and monitored, while Council President Joseph DePasquale questioned the legal implications of potential changes to the system in the future.

Flock cameras have been credited with helping solve hundreds of crimes statewide by alerting police to stolen vehicles and cars connected to criminal investigations.

When asked whether rejecting the program could hinder investigations, Cronin said no.

“I feel very safe and confident in the work of the Warren Police Department,” she said. “We just weren’t confident in how the information would ultimately be used.”

Just weeks after Warren rejected the proposal, Flock cameras were used in the search for the suspect in the Brown University shooting.

Authorities say tips about a gray Nissan rental car, along with data from license plate reader cameras, helped investigators track the suspect from Providence to Massachusetts and then New Hampshire. Manuel Neves Valente was later found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Police said the surveillance system helped link the crimes and end a days-long manhunt.

Despite that track record, Cronin said residents made clear they do not want the technology.

“I think a lot of people are sleeping more soundly knowing they are not living in a surveillance state, that their civil liberties aren’t being violated,” she said. “I have great confidence in our police force.”

Other communities, including Cranston, are embracing the technology.

Cranston already has 29 Flock cameras at a cost of about $81,000 a year and is joining the State Police program for additional cameras at no cost.

“We have seized over 100 stolen vehicles since we started,” Cranston Police Chief Michael Winquist said. “We’ve used it in homicide investigations, drive-by shootings and cases where we didn’t have a lot of leads. It helped expedite the arrest of some pretty dangerous individuals.”

Since 2021, Flock cameras have helped Cranston Police with 17 missing persons, 89 warrant arrests, 104 stolen vehicle arrests and 28 stolen property arrests.

The ACLU has warned that widespread use of license plate readers could allow authorities to track a person’s movements, drawing concerns as more cameras pop up statewide.

“Despite many attempts to get legislation passed to protect our privacy, which would include reasonable limits on how long data can be kept, how the data can be shared, and when police can put in requests to access the data. Flock cameras are still virtually unregulated in Rhode Island,” an ACLU statement said.

But when it comes to questioning the amount of surveillance, Winquist said for him, there’s no limit.

“We have hundreds and hundreds of miles of roadways,” he said. “In a perfect world, we would have a lot more cameras.”

Winquist said Rhode Island police share data with each other and with federal agencies, but not with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Winquist said safeguards are in place.

Cranston Police Chief Michael Winquist spoke with NBC 10 about the cameras. (WJAR)

“It has to be used for official purposes only,” Winquist said. “It leaves a log of anyone who searches plates, and we conduct routine audits.”

Winquist said rejecting the program takes away an important investigative tool. “I think it’s unfortunate,” he said.

Cronin said the town is not permanently closing the door.

“If at some point there’s a new proposal where they put considerable thought into how the data would be used and safeguarded, we can always hear it again,” she said.

State police have not announced when the 39 cameras will be deployed.

The proposal has been submitted in the following communities:

Glocester, East Greenwich, Exeter, North Smithfield, Tiverton, Providence, Lincoln, Portsmouth, Bristol, Middletown, North Kingstown, Jamestown, Cranston, Pawtucket, East Providence, Johnston, Cumberland, Richmond, Westerly, South Kingstown, Newport and Warren.