Governor Dan McKee has given his State of the State address. The GOP has delivered its response. The House speaker and the Senate president have held their big fund-raising kickoffs.
Now it’s the progressives’ big day to roll out their plans for 2024.
At least 20 members of the House and Senate are holding a 3 p.m. press conference at the State House to roll out what they call their Working Families agenda for the year, backing legislation that includes the expansion of paid leave for families, free school lunch for all students, and granting homeowners the right to build accessory dwelling units (ADUs) to provide housing that’s affordable.
The Working Families Party – which in Rhode Island equals Democrats who have the backing of the group – is also planning to announce support for several other housing-related bills as well as legislation that would provide more funding for RIPTA, allow the state to wholesale cheaper prescription drugs from Canada, and reform the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights.
Stepping back: The Working Families group unabashedly backs progressives in the state, but unlike some of the other left-leaning coalitions, they routinely have a targeted plan and message – especially in an election year. They have played a crucial role in slowly moving both chambers to the left in recent years.
This year’s legislative agenda is no different. The lawmakers know that not all of their bills have a chance to pass this year; for example, it’s highly unlikely the General Assembly will raise taxes on people who earn more than $1 million a year. But they are standing side by side with House Speaker Joe Shekarchi – the ultimate moderate – on ADUs because they view it as both good politics and good policy.
Stepping back further: Working Families does have something to prove heading into an election year. The group went all-in on supporting Aaron Regunberg for Congress last year, and he was beaten rather handily by former President Biden aide Gabe Amo in the Democratic primary. Not every progressive was thrilled with that endorsement.
Under the hood: The proposal to expand paid family leave from six weeks to 12 weeks (Representative Joshua Giraldo from Central Falls is the House sponsor) already has a high-profile support in Senate President Dominick Ruggerio. That’s a bill that could get a serious look this year.
This story first appeared in Rhode Map, our free newsletter about Rhode Island that also contains information about local events, links to interesting stories, and more. If you’d like to receive it via email Monday through Friday, you can sign up here.
Dan McGowan can be reached at dan.mcgowan@globe.com. Follow him @danmcgowan.