Coronavirus In RI: State Leaders To Vote On $300M Line Of Credit

PROVIDENCE, RI — Rhode Island's political leaders will gather this week to address Governor Gina Raimondo's proposal to borrow money to help fund the state during the coronavirus pandemic. With businesses across the state closed to help contain the infection rate, including casinos, the state's third-largest source of revenue, an emergency line of credit is needed to keep the state running during the crisis, Raimondo said.

The Disaster Emergency Funding Board will meet at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday. The board is comprised of Speaker of the House Nicholas Mattiello, Senate President Dominick Ruggerio and the chairmen of the House and Senate finacne committees: Marvin Abney and William Conley.

In a letter, Raimondo asked the board to meet and approve borrowing $300 million from the federal government or other sources to fund the state's response to COVID-19. Under the law that established the board's authority, the state has up to two years to repay the emergency loan.

Because gatherings are currently limited to just 10 people or fewer, members of the public will not be allowed to attend the meeting. Comments can be submitted via email to relief-funding@rilegislature.gov, and the meeting will be streamed live on the General Assembly's websiteor on Cox on Channels 15 and 61, in high definition on Cox Channel 1013, on Full Channel on Channel 15 and on Channel 34 by Verizon subscribers.

Blake Filippi, the House minority leader, criticized the action, saying the decision should be made by the full General Assembly rather than the four-member board.

"If we would have passed our House Bill 7757 setting up emergency remote meetings of the General Assembly, there wouldn’t be a need for the board to exercise these extraordinary powers," Filippi said in a statement. "Absent remote meetings, the DEFB laws need to be updated to have bi-partisan representation - likely by adding the House and Senate Majority and Minority Leaders. In the meantime, we will stay in contact with our colleagues in government, and closely monitor the decisions of the Board, as they could have long-lasting implications for Rhode Island."