State of the State: 2025 vs 2026
Governor Dan McKee -- comparing priorities year over year
From Incremental Progress to Combative Affordability Agenda
Governor McKee's 2025 address was a broadly optimistic speech organized around his Rhode Island 2030 strategic plan, celebrating economic milestones, education gains, and infrastructure progress while proposing to close a $250 million deficit without broad-based tax increases. The tone was bipartisan and invitational — repeatedly asking Rhode Islanders to "pull up a chair" — and the federal government was barely mentioned beyond a brief, neutral acknowledgment of the incoming Trump administration.
By 2026, the speech underwent a dramatic tonal and substantive transformation. The dominant frame became resistance to the Trump administration, which McKee blamed for raising household costs by $700 through tariffs and threatening Medicaid, SNAP, offshore wind, and women's health programs. The centerpiece proposal was an "Affordability for All" agenda promising to keep $215 million in Rhode Islanders' pockets in the first full year and $1.4 billion over five years, featuring a permanent child tax credit of $325 per child, elimination of the state tax on Social Security, a gas tax rollback, energy bill reform delivering over $1 billion in relief over five years, a Marketplace Affordability program at $9.5 million for HealthSource RI enrollees, and making the Hope Scholarship permanent regardless of income. This comprehensive cost-of-living package had no parallel in the 2025 speech.
The 2026 address also pivoted heavily toward capital investment as economic defense, proposing $600 million in bond proposals — including a $115 million economic development bond, a $215 million higher education bond, a $120 million housing bond, and Rhode Island's first dedicated $50 million CTE bond. In 2025, bond proposals were not a featured element of the speech. The governor also opened the 2026 address with a somber reference to a tragedy involving Brown University students, leading to new campus security and mental health coordination initiatives.
Notably absent from 2026 were several signature 2025 topics: the assault weapons ban that McKee had proposed including in his budget for the first time, the RhodeRestore local road program, detailed discussion of the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics, the Hazel Health telehealth partnership, the Rhode Island 2030 plan as an organizing framework, and the celebration of specific companies like Regent Craft and Saab in the blue economy. The 2026 speech was less a progress report and more a battle plan — positioning Rhode Island's state government as a shield against federal policy while aggressively addressing cost-of-living concerns.
New Priorities in 2026
- +Comprehensive 'Affordability for All' agenda promising $215 million in first-year savings and $1.4 billion over five years, encompassing tax cuts, energy relief, and health care cost controls.
- +Elimination of the state tax on Social Security, positioning Rhode Island to leave the group of only eight states that tax this benefit.
- +Creation of Rhode Island's first permanent Child Tax Credit at $325 per child, replacing the one-time $40 million child tax rebate approach.
- +Rollback of the prior year's gas tax increase, delivering approximately $9 million in annual relief at the pump.
- +Energy bill reform targeting the 25% of bills attributable to state programs and taxes, promising over $1 billion in energy relief over five years.
- +Enforceable caps on private health insurer costs with penalties for non-compliance.
- +$9.5 million Marketplace Affordability program to protect 20,000 Rhode Islanders at risk of losing HealthSource RI coverage.
- +$600 million in bond proposals including $115 million for economic development, $215 million for higher education, $120 million for housing, and $50 million for CTE facilities.
- +Direct and sustained opposition to Trump administration policies on tariffs, Medicaid, SNAP, offshore wind, and women's health framed as a central governing priority.
- +$10 million directed to hospitals to prepare for patients losing health insurance due to federal Medicaid cuts, plus nearly $20 million for federal compliance to help Medicaid recipients stay insured.
- +Doubling the state grant to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank and adding funding to Planned Parenthood in response to federal cuts to nutrition and women's health programs.
- +Campus security review and statewide mental health coordination following the Brown University tragedy.
- +Proposal for a State History Center on Capitol Hill to house Rhode Island's copies of the Declaration of Independence as part of the nation's 250th anniversary.
- +Fully closing RIPTA's remaining $14 million deficit to ensure long-term transit stability.
- +A separate $20 million homeownership program to support production of hundreds of low-cost homes, plus a new $120 million housing bond with $25 million dedicated to homeownership.
- +Additional engineering oversight at RIDOT to review bridge inspection reports and prevent future abrupt closures like the Washington Bridge situation.
Dropped from 2025
- −The assault weapons ban, which McKee called on the General Assembly to pass and proposed including in his budget for the first time in 2025, was not mentioned in 2026.
- −The RhodeRestore local road repair program, which McKee highlighted as supporting 1,000 projects and $100 million in local upgrades and proposed making permanent, received no mention in 2026.
- −The Rhode Island 2030 strategic plan, which served as the central organizing framework for the 2025 speech with its own website and QR code, was not referenced as a guiding document in 2026 (though 'Housing 2030' was mentioned separately).
- −The launch of eight Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics, described in 2025 as a 'once-in-a-lifetime opportunity' to transform behavioral health, was not discussed in 2026.
- −The Hazel Health statewide telehealth partnership for student mental health, described as the first of its kind on the East Coast covering 91,500 students, was absent from the 2026 address.
- −The detailed discussion of the cyberattack/data breach impacting Rhode Island and the commitment to 'follow the facts and hold the right people accountable' was not revisited.
- −Specific celebration of blue economy companies Regent Craft and Saab, which received extended spotlights in 2025, was replaced by brief mentions in a broader jobs list.
- −The Rhode Island Life Science Hub, Ocean State Labs biotech incubator, and the 200,000-square-foot life science complex were not specifically highlighted in 2026.
- −The Litter-Free Rhode Island initiative and the First Lady's literacy and litter campaigns, including the DOT 'Trashboard,' were not mentioned in 2026.
- −Student loan forgiveness for primary care physicians who commit to staying in Rhode Island, a specific 2025 budget proposal, was not reiterated.
- −The proposal to include primary care providers in the health insurance rate review process through the Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner was not repeated.
- −Breeze Airways' expansion making Rhode Island its largest base with 35 routes and 400 jobs received only a passing mention in a jobs list rather than a featured story.
- −The Rhode Island Football Club, Tidewater Stadium, and the celebration of URI football and Little League softball achievements were absent from 2026.
- −The Minority Business Accelerator Program, which supported over 1,000 businesses and certified 50+ new minority- and women-owned businesses, was not discussed.
Shifted Emphasis
- ↔**Federal government framing**: In 2025, McKee made a brief, neutral reference to the incoming Trump administration and asked Rhode Islanders of all political persuasions to 'pull up a chair.' In 2026, opposition to Trump policies became the speech's dominant throughline, with specific attacks on tariffs, Medicaid cuts, SNAP threats, offshore wind obstruction, and women's health funding reductions.
- ↔**Housing strategy**: In 2025, McKee celebrated the voter-approved $120 million housing bond and 6,500 units completed or in pipeline. In 2026, he proposed another $120 million housing bond (with $25 million for homeownership) plus a separate $20 million homeownership program, and formally introduced 'Housing 2030' as Rhode Island's first statewide housing plan in two decades with a goal of 15,000 new homes by 2030.
- ↔**Education narrative**: In 2025, the focus was on Learn365RI, attendance improvements (244,000 fewer absences), and closing the RICAS gap with Massachusetts (34% in ELA, 18% in math). In 2026, the cumulative figures grew (3.7 million hours of learning recovered, 39% gap closure in reading, 29% in math), and emphasis shifted to CTE expansion (nearly 100 new programs, 3,000 more students) and a $50 million CTE bond — a new capital commitment not present in 2025.
- ↔**Homelessness**: In 2025, McKee dedicated significant time to homelessness, spotlighting shelter partners, the pallet shelter pilot, a 60% increase in shelter beds, and two proposed recurring funding streams totaling $4.4 million in FY26 and $8 million in FY27. In 2026, homelessness received no dedicated section, though housing broadly remained a priority.
- ↔**Fiscal posture**: In 2025, McKee emphasized fiscal discipline — closing a $250 million deficit, no broad-based tax increases across five budgets, and $200 million in cumulative tax relief. In 2026, the emphasis shifted to an aggressive $215 million affordability package and $600 million in bond proposals, with less focus on deficit closure and more on counter-cyclical investment against federal threats.
- ↔**Workforce development**: In 2025, McKee proposed 1,000 new work-based learning opportunities, 500 additional Real Jobs RI trainees, high school dual enrollment protections, and the 'Ready to Build' CCRI pre-apprenticeship program. In 2026, workforce was folded into the CTE bond and broader jobs narrative rather than receiving standalone programmatic proposals.
- ↔**Energy and offshore wind**: In 2025, McKee briefly celebrated Rhode Island's largest offshore wind procurement in New England history. In 2026, offshore wind became a combative issue — McKee highlighted federal stop-work orders, a court ruling overturning them, featured a Building Futures graduate working on Revolution Wind, and pledged to 'stand shoulder to shoulder with fellow Democratic governors' against federal interference.
- ↔**Washington Bridge**: In 2025, McKee provided extensive detail on the bridge — $220 million in federal grants, 75% demolition progress, two competing construction firms, and a lawsuit for accountability. In 2026, coverage was briefer but included a new comparison (on track to be completed two years sooner than Maryland's Key Bridge) and a new proposal for additional RIDOT engineering oversight to prevent future failures.
- ↔**Health care system**: In 2025, the Prospect/Fatima/Roger Williams bankruptcy was breaking news and McKee discussed ongoing negotiations with Centurion Foundation. In 2026, the issue was referenced more briefly with a pledge to continue working with the General Assembly and Attorney General to keep the hospitals open, suggesting the situation remained unresolved.
- ↔**Higher education**: In 2025, McKee highlighted the Hope Scholarship at RIC (640 students), RI Reconnect (3,100 adults), and RI Promise at CCRI. In 2026, he proposed making the Hope Scholarship permanent regardless of income, introduced a $215 million higher education bond for facility upgrades at all three state schools, and celebrated RIC's largest freshman class in 15 years — a significant escalation in commitment.
- ↔**Tax relief approach**: In 2025, McKee emphasized past accomplishments ($200 million in cumulative relief) without proposing major new tax cuts. In 2026, he proposed a sweeping new package: eliminating the Social Security tax, creating a permanent child tax credit, rolling back the gas tax, and reforming energy charges — a shift from consolidating past gains to launching an ambitious new affordability offensive.
Policy Topics Addressed
Affordability
Governor McKee unveiled a $215 million "Affordability for All" agenda including eliminating the state tax on Social Security, creating Rhode Island's first permanent child tax credit ($325 per child), rolling back the gas tax increase, reforming energy bill charges to deliver over $1 billion in energy relief over five years, creating a Marketplace Affordability program for health coverage, and making the Hope Scholarship permanent. He also proposed $120 million in housing bonds and $600 million in total infrastructure bonds.
Economy & Jobs
Governor McKee reported over 36,000 private sector jobs added since the start of his administration, with business applications growing 16.2% while declining nationally. He highlighted AAA Northeast choosing Rhode Island over Massachusetts for 370 new jobs and proposed $600 million in bond proposals to "Keep Rhode Island Building" across business, higher education, K-12, and housing infrastructure.
Education
Governor McKee celebrated leading New England in academic recovery from the pandemic, closing the achievement gap with Massachusetts by 39% in reading and 29% in math. He proposed a first-ever dedicated $50 million CTE bond, announced nearly 100 new CTE programs added during his administration, highlighted the permanent RI Promise (free community college), and proposed making the Hope Scholarship permanent for all qualifying students regardless of income.
Environment & Energy
Governor McKee proposed reforms to reduce the 25% of energy bills from state programs and taxes, and highlighted the Revolution Wind offshore project's legal battles against Trump administration stop-work orders. He committed to fighting for the project alongside fellow Democratic governors and proposed energy relief including suspending an energy tax and cutting electric and gas bills.
Government Reform
Governor McKee proposed $600 million in bond proposals to 'Keep Rhode Island Building' across business, higher education, K-12, and housing infrastructure. He called for holding private health insurers accountable by setting enforceable caps on costs with penalties, and noted the budget would fully close RIPTA's remaining $14 million deficit for long-term transit stability.
Healthcare
Governor McKee announced $156 million in federal funding to transform healthcare in 18 communities, significantly expanding primary care, behavioral health, and opioid overdose prevention. He proposed $9.5 million for a new Marketplace Affordability program to protect 20,000 Rhode Islanders at risk of losing HealthSource RI coverage, $10 million to boost hospital support, and nearly $20 million for Medicaid compliance. He also doubled the state grant to the Community Food Bank and added funding for Planned Parenthood.
Housing
Governor McKee highlighted Housing 2030, Rhode Island's first statewide housing plan in almost two decades targeting 15,000 new homes by 2030. He proposed another $120 million housing bond with $25 million dedicated to homeownership, plus a separate $20 million homeownership program for hundreds of low-cost homes. He noted the state made the largest investment in housing in Rhode Island history and praised Treasurer Diossa's AnchorHome program for first-time homebuyers.
Infrastructure
Governor McKee proposed $600 million in bond proposals to 'Keep Rhode Island Building,' including investments in business, higher education, K-12, and housing infrastructure. He highlighted the Washington Bridge rebuild being on track to complete two years sooner than Maryland's Key Bridge, and proposed a $120 million housing bond and $115 million economic development bond for maritime and defense infrastructure at Quonset.
Public Safety
Governor McKee addressed the Brown University shooting tragedy that killed two students, noting coordination of mental health providers and review of security protocols at all Rhode Island colleges. He did not extensively detail broader crime policy but emphasized the importance of community resilience and first responder support.
Social Services
Governor McKee proposed Rhode Island's first permanent child tax credit at $325 per child, doubled the state grant to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, and added funding to Planned Parenthood in response to federal cuts. He created a $9.5 million Marketplace Affordability program to support 20,000 residents at risk of losing HealthSource RI coverage. He also proposed investing $10 million in hospital support and $20 million for Medicaid compliance to help recipients stay insured.
Tax & Budget
Governor McKee unveiled an 'Affordability for All' agenda projecting $215 million in first-year savings and $1.4 billion over five years. Key proposals include eliminating the state tax on Social Security, creating a permanent $325-per-child tax credit, rolling back last year's gas tax increase, reforming energy bill charges to deliver $1 billion in energy relief over five years, and making the Hope Scholarship permanent. He also proposed $600 million in bond proposals for infrastructure investment.
Technology
Governor McKee highlighted Rhode Island College's new AI degree program, with a student applying AI to help identify pneumonia in lung X-rays. He also mentioned the Institute for Cybersecurity & Emerging Technologies and celebrated increased CTE enrollment of nearly 3,000 students. The state's economic development featured tech companies like Vatn Systems building autonomous underwater vehicles.
Veterans & Military
Governor McKee highlighted Lieutenant Governor Matos's community outreach during the SNAP crisis, which affected veterans among others. He proposed doubling the state grant to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank and noted veterans are among those benefiting from the state's elimination of taxes on military pensions.