Rhode Island
Killed during budget talks, Citizens Bank bill brought back to life • Rhode Island Current
House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi assured reporters Friday night that a proposed tax law rewrite requested by Citizens Bank was not dead, despite its glaring absence in the revised fiscal 2025 budget.
Less than 72 hours later, the Warwick Democrat produced the proof: revised legislation authorizing the shift in state bank income tax calculations, with hearings before both chambers’ finance committees Tuesday.
What changed?
“It wasn’t ready,” Shekarchi said, speaking to reporters at the State House Monday afternoon. “Taxation was opposing it. The administration was opposing it. I certainly wasn’t going to put it in the budget for debate. Now, those two House priorities have been met.”
He added, “I wanted to make sure the taxpayer was protected.”
McKee pushes state tax rewrite to keep Citizens Bank rooted in Rhode Island. But will it fly?
The updated companion bills, sponsored by Rep. Joe Solomon, a Warwick Democrat, and Sen. Lou DiPalma, a Middletown Democrat, come after months of behind-the-scenes negotiations between state officials and bank executives dating back before Christmas, Shekarchi said.
The tax change, in essence, offers banks the option to calculate their taxable income based only on in-state sales, replacing the longtime “three-factor” calculation encompassing in-state sales, property and payroll. While not explicitly written for Citizens, the financial services giant has the most to gain from the proposal; unlike other banks in Rhode Island, Citizens makes most of its money from services outside state borders, yet its physical presence and payroll are weighted toward the Ocean State.
Other states, including neighboring Massachusetts, have already moved to a similar tax calculation method, a trend referenced by Mike Knipper, executive vice president and head of property and procurement for Citizens Financial Group Inc., in an April letter to state lawmakers.
Knipper in his letter warned that without a similar tax update in Rhode Island, the company “would strongly consider expanding its corporate footprint and employee base outside of Rhode Island because of differing tax treatment among the states.”
On May 10, Gov. Dan McKee proposed a budget amendment offering up the requested rewrite of the bank income tax calculation, with an estimated $15.6 million in state tax revenue loss for a full fiscal year.
However, McKee’s proposal did not make the cut when lawmakers unveiled their revised fiscal 2025 spending plan on May 31, with Shekarchi citing lack of detail and time to vet the proposal before finalizing the state budget.
Yet Shekarchi also said he would not be responsible for losing one of the state’s top employers, which boasts a 4,200 in-state payroll and a $285 million Johnston headquarters.
Negotiations ramped up in earnest over the last week and half, with Shekarchi texting key players in the tax proposal from the rostrum of the budget debate Friday night. A weekend of closed-door meetings and phone calls later, the deal emerged.
Key to Shekarchi’s change-of-heart was the OK from the Rhode Island Division of Taxation, which had initially expressed concerns with the legislation when first introduced by Solomon in March. Tax officials gave the green light to the revised proposal Sunday, Shekarchi said.
The updated legislation clarifies the way taxes are calculated to avoid double-taxation — one of Citizens’ concerns — and refines the information the state tax division must collect and review, with a report to lawmakers detailing the impact of the tax change due no later than March 2027.
“Citizens is encouraged by recent progress and greatly appreciates the leadership of Governor McKee, Speaker Shekarchi, Senate President Ruggerio and all others involved,” Keith Kelly, president of Citizens Bank Rhode Island, said in a statement. “We look forward to continuing to work closely with the state towards an outcome that is a win for both the business community and Rhode Island.”
Citizens declined to offer further comment Monday.
‘Vigorous and robust debate’
The tax calculation change is still expected to reduce state tax revenue by $7.5 million in tax year 2025, with a forecasted $15 million revenue loss in fiscal 2026. While the policy is not accounted for in the state’s fiscal 2025 budget, there won’t be any cuts or structural imbalances, Shekarchi said.
Instead, the state will take $6.5 million from the $55 million set aside for a supplemental rainy day fund in fiscal 2024, with another $1 million siphoned from the state surplus, to make up for the expected revenue shortfall in fiscal 2025.
“It was a judgment call,” Shekarchi said when explaining his decision to not include the policy change in the fiscal 2025 budget. “I didn’t want this one unsettled article to be the focus of the budget.”
He insisted multiple times, however, that the proposal will have plenty of time for a thorough vetting by lawmakers; the House Committee on Finance hearing Tuesday marks the third time a version of the tax change has been considered, with prior hearings held on Solomon’s bill and the governor’s budget amendment.
“There will be a vigorous and robust debate,” Shekarchi said.
There’s still no guarantee that the hours of closed-door negotiations prevent Citizens from uprooting anyway, Shekarchi acknowledged.
However, he added, “I think Citizens would be hard-pressed to move. They wanted this very badly.”
As for concerns raised by some lawmakers that changing state tax law to benefit one business will set a precedent for other corporations, Shekarchi dismissed the logic.
“In my mind, there’s no precedent,” he said. “Just because you do it for one, doesn’t mean you do it for another.”
McKee and Senate President Dominick Ruggerio also expressed support for the tax deal in statements on Monday, stressing the importance of parity between Rhode Island and Massachusetts, which is scheduled to move to the single-factor tax calculation starting Jan. 1.
Laurie White, president of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, also welcomed the revival of the tax change, having issued an email warning last week when it appeared the policy would not make it into the fiscal 2025 budget.
“Happy to see that all sides are working towards finding a solution,” White said in a text message Monday. “I applaud the progress being made by Gov. Dan McKee, Speaker Shekarchi, President Ruggerio and Citizens.”
If signed into law, the tax change would take effect Jan. 1.
The House Committee on Finance will take up the revised tax change at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at the State House. The Senate Committee on Finance will follow suit with a hearing on companion legislation Tuesday night.
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🏘️ Portsmouth breaks ground on affordable 55+ housing and senior center
On Wednesday, local housing organizations, community partners, and several state officials celebrated the groundbreaking of a new, age-restricted housing development in Portsmouth. Read the story on WPRI —>
🏘️ Newport City Council-elect calls for letters of interest for key legal roles
Residents can apply for City Solicitor, Municipal Court Judge, and Probate Judge positions by November 19. Read the story on What’sUpNewp—>
⛽ How Rhode Island’s decreasing gasoline sales compare nationwide
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🎭 Theatre Review: ‘Mamma Mia!’ continues to delight audiences with standout performances and energetic dance numbers
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Rhode Island
In Central Falls, a sneak peek at what appealing affordable apartments can look like • Rhode Island Current
CENTRAL FALLS — Surrounded by chain link fencing, the three-story building on Central Street in Rhode Island’s smallest city smells of sawdust from the plywood flooring and wall frames that make up the structure.
But by mid-2026, the property’s developer promises 25 units with vinyl tile flooring and wide doorways that will be completely solar powered — all with rents starting as low as $800 for a one-bedroom apartment.
“Central Street is an innovative development — it’s really going to make a great impact on the community and the neighborhood,” Linda Weisinger, executive director for Pawtucket Central Falls Development, told reporters, housing advocates, and lawmakers gathered outside the building Thursday morning.
The project at 44 Central St. which broke ground in May, is part of the Pawtucket-based nonprofit’s plan to create a total of 62 affordable housing units in Pawtucket and Central Falls over the next two years. The property was most recently a parking lot.
Thursday’s tour was the fourth across the state this year hosted by the Housing Network of Rhode Island, which aims to show how affordable homes can be an attractive addition to any of the state’s 39 municipalities.“While this idea of affordable housing might seem one-size-fits all, it is really anything but,” Melina Lodge, the nonprofit advocacy organization’s executive director, told reporters assembled outside the building. “Every project that our members produce is attempting to respond to a local need by the people and match the feeling and aesthetic of its local community.”
Though he did not join the tour, House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi commended the project during his brief remarks outside the Central Street property.
“This is exactly the type of development that we need more of in Rhode Island,” Shekarchi said. “In the last five years in Rhode Island, the prices of single-family homes have nearly doubled. The rents at 44 Central will be affordable, and that’s fantastic for the 30 new families who will live here.”
The Central Street property will include a mix of units from one to four bedrooms, with rents starting at $800 a month and up to $1,900 for the largest apartments. The average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Central Falls is $1,637 a month, according to the 2024 HousingWorks RI Fact Book.
On the tour, Weisinger highlighted grab bars, lever door handles, roll-in showers and other accessible design features that will be included in some of the apartments.
“It’s really going to that next level of something we’ve been really mindful of in the work we do, in trying to make sure residents, if they are here for a long time, can age in place,” Weisinger said.
That note got the attention of Rep. Deborah Fellela, a Johnston Democrat who joined the tour.
“So many developments don’t think of that,” Fellela said in an interview.
The new building will also have two community commercial spaces, one of which will be a homeownership and financial education center on the ground floor run by PCF Development.
Even in its initial stages of construction, the promise of an attractive building in the heart of the city was enough to captivate Rep. Joshua Giraldo, a Central Falls Democrat.
“I grew up in a small third-floor unit that was really cramped with not a lot of lighting,” Giraldo told Rhode Island Current after the tour. “To see the detail that has been put into the project makes me really proud.”
The Central Street rentals still have a ways to go until their planned 2026 opening, but Weisinger said applications are already open for those interested in getting on the ground floor — or the following two. For application information, visit PCF Development’s website or call (401) 941-2900.
PCF Development rentals predominantly go to low to moderate income families with single-parent female heads of households, its website states.
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Rhode Island
Rhode Island Powers Ahead with Phase 2 of National EV Charging Program: $10M Up for Grabs – Newport Buzz
Rhode Island is on the road to a cleaner future. Governor Dan McKee, alongside the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources (OER) and the Department of Transportation (RIDOT), announced the launch of Phase 2 of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program—a game-changer for electric vehicle drivers across the Ocean State. With $10 million in competitive funding on the table, this phase aims to roll out more EV charging stations across communities, making it easier than ever to “plug in and go.”
For Phase 2, the state is opening applications for public, private, and non-profit entities who are ready to step up and contribute to the state’s clean energy vision. The program offers federal funding covering up to 80% of the project cost, with up to $1 million available for DC Fast Charger sites, $250,000 for Level 2 chargers, and a cool $1.25 million for sites offering both. To get in on the action, applicants need to pony up a 20% match—but bringing a little extra to the table could score some bonus points.
Governor McKee sees this initiative as a bold leap forward, cementing Rhode Island’s reputation as a leader in sustainable transportation. “Rhode Island continues to be a leader across the nation in clean transportation,” he said. “This program is crucial to supporting the adoption of EVs and creating an equitable and accessible future for Rhode Islanders.”
The state is looking to install at least 10 DC Fast Chargers and 100 Level 2 chargers, with the rollout starting on November 14, 2024. Rhode Island’s approach focuses on community-driven needs, making sure the chargers are installed where people need them most. This means accessible, reliable, and fast-charging options for drivers in every corner of the state.
Rhode Island’s Phase 1 rollout, completed in the summer of 2024, saw the state become the first in the nation to build out the Alternative Fuel Corridor along I-95, with chargers installed in key spots like Ashaway and Warwick. This achievement earned high praise from federal heavyweights, including Acting Federal Highway Administrator Kristin White and Joint Office of Energy and Transportation’s Executive Director Gabe Klein.
“Rhode Island being the ‘first-in-the-nation’ has a nice ring to it,” said Congressman Gabe Amo, adding that this next step “brings us closer to reaching our state’s ambitious emissions targets and building a robust electric vehicle charging network.”
Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse echoed the sentiment, pointing out the convenience and long-term savings EV drivers can now look forward to, thanks to Rhode Island’s expanded charging network. Congressman Seth Magaziner emphasized the health benefits for communities, highlighting cleaner air and a reduced carbon footprint.
For Rhode Island, this isn’t just about chargers; it’s about powering a movement. Acting OER Commissioner Chris Kearns noted the importance of this next step in helping Rhode Island achieve its Act on Climate goals. “The NEVI Phase 2 program will continue to create a more sustainable transportation system for residents, businesses, and visitors throughout the state,” he said.
Rhode Island’s EV Expansion by the Numbers
- Up to $10 million in competitive funding for publicly accessible charging installations.
- A minimum of 10 new DC Fast Chargers and 100 Level 2 chargers statewide.
- Application period runs from November 14, 2024, through February 28, 2025.
- Funding covers up to 80% of project costs, with capped amounts per charging type.
The state is taking no shortcuts in making Rhode Island one of the best places in America to own and drive an EV. With Phase 2 officially underway, the Ocean State is charging full-speed ahead toward a future where clean energy and convenient charging stations go hand-in-hand. Applications and more details are available at www.energy.ri.gov/rinevi.
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