State of Rhode Island

Recovery Plan

State Fiscal Recovery Fund

August 2021 Report
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State of Rhode Island

Recovery Plan – August 2021

Contents

General Overview.............................................................................................................................2

Executive Summary..........................................................................................................................2

Introduction......................................................................................................................................3

Process......................................................................................................................................................3

A Framework for Decisions......................................................................................................................4

Uses of Funds....................................................................................................................................6

Promoting Equitable Outcomes Overview ........................................................................................6

Measuring Equity .............................................................................................................................6

Equity Prioritization.........................................................................................................................7

Equity by Expenditure Category ......................................................................................................7

Negative Economic Impacts.....................................................................................................................7

Services for Disproportionately Impacted Communities..........................................................................7

Equity Efforts to Date.......................................................................................................................7

Community Engagement ..................................................................................................................7

Labor Practices.................................................................................................................................9

Use of Evidence...............................................................................................................................10

Project Inventory............................................................................................................................10

Performance Report .......................................................................................................................10

Ineligible Activities: Tax Offset Provision (States and Territories Only).........................................10
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General Overview

This report is submitted by the State of Rhode Island pursuant to Section 602(d)(2) of the American 

Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“the Act”). It is intended to provide the U.S. Department of the Treasury

(“Treasury”) and Rhode Islanders with an explanation of the State’s planning activities with respect to the 

use of the $1.13 billion in State fiscal recovery funds allocated to Rhode Island under this Act.

Executive Summary 

Through a collaborative and deliberate process, the State is working to ensure that funds will be used 

equitably, and for the highest and best purposes. The State has not finalized its plan to allocate the State 

Fiscal Recovery Fund balance. The State will update this plan in fall 2021 as required by Treasury 

guidance to provide project details and the allocation of funds by eligible use category.

While planning for the effective use of fiscal recovery funds, the State is engaged in ongoing efforts to 

address the immediate public health crisis and provide critical assistance to Rhode Island households and 

businesses. These activities are financed through the additional funds received by Rhode Island under the 

Act and previous federal stimulus bills. Examples of funding being used to address immediate needs are 

provided below:

Public Health

The Act provided $31 million for testing and activities to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in K-12 

schools and $32 million for vaccination efforts. These funds are being used in conjunction with Federal

Emergency Management Administration funding and grants from prior stimulus bills to continue the 

important public health efforts, including vaccination, testing, case investigation/contact tracing, and 

community mitigation.

Housing

The Act provided $152 million in emergency rental assistance to eligible Rhode Islanders who have fallen 

behind on their rent and/or utility payments and are at risk of homelessness or utility shutoff. This is in 

addition to $200 million provided by previous federal stimulus packages. Additionally, $50 million has 

been provided to assist eligible homeowners avoid pandemic-related foreclosures and utility shutoffs.

Child Care

More than $90 million in funding under the Act has been provided to bolster the critical child care sector. 

The State is using $36 million in flexible Child Care Development Block Grant funds to support families,
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essential workers in child care and licensed child care providers, especially in publicly funded child care 

programs. The State is also providing $57 million of Child Care Stabilization Funds to help child care 

providers cover unexpected business costs associated with the pandemic and to help stabilize their 

operations so they may continue to provide care. This is in addition to funding already provided to child

care providers under previous federal stimulus bills.

Education

Approximately $415 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) was 

obligated to Rhode Island to provide local educational agencies with emergency relief funds to address 

the impact that COVID-19 has had, and continues to have, on elementary and secondary schools. Rhode 

Island will use the funding to help safely reopen and sustain the safe operation of schools and address the 

impact of the pandemic on students. This is in addition to the more than $200 million from previous 

federal stimulus bills.

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed significant challenges facing many Rhode Islanders, including a 

lack of affordable housing, barriers to health care and economic vulnerabilities. The pandemic has also

brought renewed focus to racial and socioeconomic inequities that have impacted our communities. The 

State is committed to finding solutions to ensure a more equitable and prosperous future for those who 

have been historically underserved. 

The State is navigating this crisis knowing that the well-being of Rhode Islanders, families, businesses,

and communities depends on the quality and characteristics of every transaction and every interaction, no 

matter how big or small. Looking to the future, the State recognizes that making sustainable investments 

is the cornerstone of a long-term recovery that results in an economy that works for everyone.

The Governor has listened to, and continues to work with community partners, industry experts, residents, 

municipal leaders, state departments and agencies, and the state Legislature. The approach being pursued 

by Rhode Island policy makers reflects a firm commitment to making choices based on the best available 

data, evaluating that data within a framework that emphasizes the needs of all Rhode Islanders, and 

protecting the public’s interest in ensuring the use of funds achieves the most sustainable benefit possible.

Process

Immediately following passage of the Act, the State began to engage various state agencies, industry 

experts, municipal leaders and community partners to gather feedback for the best uses of the State Fiscal 
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Recovery Funds. All potential projects are being vetted to ensure they comply with the detailed guidance 

regarding the permitted use of these funds that was released by Treasury between May and July 2021. 

Special consideration is being given to projects that demonstrate evidence of timely implementation and 

execution, the ability to generate benefits within one year (whether through increased access to services, 

realization of cost savings, job creation, enhanced service delivery, etc.), transformational capacity,

sustainable growth, and equitable outcomes. For a more detailed explanation of the framework for 

decision making to ensure that the use of funds is permitted by Treasury guidance, please see the below 

section. 

A Framework for Decisions

The following table captures and summarizes some of the major questions policy makers are addressing 

as they consider how to use the resources provided under the Act.
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Uses of Funds

The State is training program management teams, which will execute identified projects, to apply

Treasury compliance and reporting guidance. Potential uses are being evaluated to ensure that they are

eligible under the Act, manageable within the covered period and measurable using data that can be 

readily collected. Importantly, all potential uses are being analyzed and designed to reduce the possibility 

of generating unintended negative impacts.

One concern that must be thoroughly accounted for in this planning exercise is the impact of the highly 

contagious Delta variant that is projected to strain the public health system. The State is carefully 

considering how best to use the State Fiscal Recovery Fund to provide for the additional health care 

capacity that might be necessary based upon the data and projections.

Promoting Equitable Outcomes Overview

The State recognizes the challenges facing underserved communities and is committed to finding

solutions. Toward that end, the State is deploying all resources, including the State Fiscal Recovery Fund, 

to not only address the impacts directly related to the pandemic, but also lay the groundwork to remedy 

entrenched inequities. This is also why state leadership and agencies continue to engage and listen to 

advocates and community group organizations that are most familiar with the issues facing underserved

communities.

Measuring Equity

The marginalized and adversely affected groups that the State intends to better support using the funds

include, but are not limited to: minority-owned businesses; communities of color; employees in industries 

that disproportionately suffered negative economic impacts during the pandemic; low-income individuals 

at risk of experiencing homelessness or housing instability; households for whom homeownership is out 

of reach; and incarcerated individuals who historically do not have access to gainful employment and 

housing after their sentence.

As planning for the use of the State Fiscal Recovery Fund allocation continues, strategies are being 

developed to ensure the State collects data and measures the effectiveness of the projects to be 

undertaken. The State will continue to work with local nonprofits, community organizations and 

community leaders that serve marginalized and disproportionately impacted communities to measure 

equity in each investment. The State will also continue to use a wide range of outreach strategies to reach 
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these communities. Specific goals, metrics and intended outcomes will be outlined in detail as 

programming is further developed.

Equity Prioritization

Many of the State’s projects under consideration are intended to promote economic and racial equity by:

• Supporting minority businesses

• Assisting unemployed and underemployed Rhode Islanders

• Focusing on the urban core and low-income communities to increase economic opportunities,

provide quality affordable housing and address disparities in health care

Equity by Expenditure Category

Negative Economic Impacts

Rhode Island is focused on building a sustainable and equitable economy. The State is committed to

addressing the negative economic impacts of the pandemic across all socioeconomic boundaries. As

projects are vetted and approved for implementation, this section will be updated. 

Services for Disproportionately Impacted Communities

The State’s attention to equity will deliver services tailored to meet the needs of communities 

disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. As the projects are vetted and approved for 

implementation, this section will be updated.

Equity Efforts to Date

Equity efforts to date have been centered on planning activities, as discussed above and in the Community 

Engagement section below. As projects enter the implementation stage, the State will report on those 

efforts.

Community Engagement

The Governor and Lieutenant Governor have conducted extensive community engagement, including 11 

community conversations, dozens of meetings with the nine Governor’s Transition Working Groups

(equity/justice, education, energy and the environment, transportation and infrastructure, and small 

business, among others), and a working group for housing initiatives. As detailed below, this extensive 

outreach has allowed the Governor and Lieutenant Governor to engage with community members, leaders 

and experts from every region of Rhode Island.
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Additionally, the State solicited ideas from agencies and is collecting feedback from conversations 

facilitated by the Rhode Island Foundation. 

Over the course of at least seven meetings for each of the Governor’s Transition Working Groups, they

developed a series of high-level recommendations for the Governor. These groups included more than

100 members, and each was paired with a member of the Governor’s policy team. The groups engaged a

diverse array of stakeholders, who were asked for recommendations on how to best use the State Fiscal 

Recovery Fund allocation.

Similarly, the Governor has convened a process to help develop a long-term strategy for a more resilient, 

prosperous and equitable Rhode Island throughout this decade. These discussions centered on creating a 

brighter future that, in part, will be made possible by the judicious use of the State Fiscal Recovery Fund

allocation. The Governor initiated the 2030 Community Conversations to hear from members of the 

Legislature, keynote speakers with national expertise on key topics, local panelists, and community 

stakeholders. Community Conversations have been held on topics such as housing, tourism, small 

business, children and youth services, health, and higher education. So far, these virtual forums have been 

viewed more than 15,000 times and garnered more than 500 public comments. For those that cannot 

watch live, recordings with automatically generated captions are on Facebook. Outreach for each event is 

conducted via email, social media and promotion in local press.

The Governor has been clear and consistent in his desire that Rhode Islanders from every corner of the 

state and every background be involved in the planning and development process. In addition to the 

digital outreach that has been conducted, Rhode Island has planned a series of regional community 

conversations as part of a listening tour. These events will likely be held in person and are being designed 

with accessibility in mind. Translation services will be available at these events, giving persons with 

limited English proficiency an opportunity to provide input. In partnership with the University of Rhode 

Island’s Economics Chair and other academic faculty from institutions around the state, the planning 

process will culminate in a document that can be used to guide future investments. 

The Lieutenant Governor has convened a series of meetings to bring together housing experts, community 

advocates and residents to address one of the greatest challenges facing Rhode Island: a lack of affordable 

housing. She is focused on formulating plans to address the myriad issues that fall under housing as a 

policy issue, including homelessness, affordable housing, the creation of housing stock at all levels and 

funding sources for housing programs. The meetings have included input from state agency leadership, 

state legislators, nonprofits and advocacy groups.
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Finally, the Rhode Island Foundation conducted additional community outreach. It has partnered with the 

Economic Progress Institute, the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council and others to administer

stakeholder interviews, community focus groups and visioning sessions. These community engagement 

efforts have focused on including people of color, the elderly and those without a postsecondary 

credential. They have established a dedicated email address and online form to receive feedback from the 

community at large.

The Rhode Island Foundation has received over 400 recommendations from Rhode Islanders of all 

demographic identities from at least 30 of the 39 cities and towns. Their programs include various 

accommodations such as translation and bilingual services and alternative interview formats. One of the 

guiding principles of this initiative is equity, in that their recommendations aim to address the root causes 

and conditions of systemic inequalities, which predated and were exacerbated by the COVID-19 

pandemic. 

The Rhode Island Foundation anticipates providing the State with its feedback and recommendations by 

the end of September 2021 and has already shared its progress and process during one of the Governor’s 

Community Conversations. This collaborative relationship has maximized the ways in which the 

community could engage and provide their expertise, ideas and recommendations. The State will review

these recommendations when they are made available and will consider them when approving the 

projects.

Labor Practices 

Rhode Island is committed to implementing strong labor standards in connection with all State Fiscal 

Recovery Fund-supported infrastructure projects to ensure the delivery of high-quality projects and

strengthen employment opportunities for workers in the state.

The use of Act funds for infrastructure initiatives will comply with the requirements of Rhode Island 

General Law (“RIGL”) 37-13 and the general prevailing rate of pay for regular, holiday and overtime 

wages to be paid to each craftsperson, mechanic, teamster, laborer or other type of worker performing 

work on public works projects when state or municipal funds are used in excess of $1,000. 

Contractors must refer to the applicable Davis Bacon Wage Determination rate schedule found online at 

the U.S. System for Award Management (SAM) to determine the prevailing wage rates for a public works 

construction project. The prevailing wage rates to be applied are those that are effective as of the date of 

the awarding of the contract to the general contractor. Contractors must also adjust employees’ hourly 
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wage rates (if applicable) every July 1 in accordance with any updated Davis Bacon Wage Determination 

rates.

Compliance Enforcement

• The Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training Prevailing Wage Section has been actively 

conducting compliance investigations on prevailing wage projects as well as through various 

awarding authorities throughout the state.

• Any violation of RIGL 37-13-13 of Certified Weekly Payroll Forms and Daily Logs will result in 

the Department imposing a penalty on the contractor of a minimum of $100 for each calendar day 

of noncompliance.

Use of Evidence 

State agencies are required to report how their proposals and/or the proposals provided by the community

incorporate evidence-based interventions; and/or if projects would be evaluated through rigorous program 

evaluations that are designed to build evidence. All proposals are being scrutinized to determine if they 

would result in readily available evidence to gauge their efficacy. 

Project Inventory

Under development. Rhode Island will provide an update as required by Treasury guidance.

Performance Report

Key performance indicators and outcome measures will be included in the updated plan to be filed upon 

completion.

Ineligible Activities: Tax Offset Provision (States and Territories Only)

Rhode Island has not used nor plans to use State fiscal recovery funds for ineligible activities.

Rhode Island’s Fiscal Year 2022 budget, signed by the Governor on July 6, 2021, made several changes 

that reduced tax revenue, including the exemption from personal income taxation of Wavemaker 

Fellowship awards, the exemption from the real estate conveyance tax of the transfer of affordable 

housing projects, and the elimination of the State’s sales tax permit fee. The total impact of these changes 

in Fiscal Year 2022 is expected to reduce revenue by $0.4 million, with similar impacts in the following 

fiscal years. These revenue-reducing covered changes therefore fall below the de minimis threshold 

established by the interim final rule and do not qualify under the tax offset provision.