Gov. Dan McKee set to give first state of the state address Tuesday night

Gov. Dan McKee
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PROVIDENCE — At 7 p.m. Tuesday, Gov. Dan McKee will deliver his first state-of-the-state speech as governor since his predecessor's mid-term resignation last March thrust him into the state's top job — and the public spotlight.

Former Gov. Gina Raimondo delivered the last state-of-the-state address in February 2021 to a largely empty House chamber a month before quitting to take a post in President Joe Biden's cabinet. And she used the annual agenda-setting address to recall the high points of her six years as governor and to try to define her legacy.

Tuesday's speech gives McKee — who last faced voters as a 2018 candidate for reelection as lieutenant governor — his first big chance before the fall elections to highlight what he has done in his first 10½ months in the top job.

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It also gives him a chance to sketch, in broad strokes, key items in the proposed 2022-23 state budget he is scheduled to roll out Thursday, including his plans for more than $1 billion in federal windfall dollars.

If he takes his cues from fellow governors, he will also tell COVID-weary Rhode Islanders what he proposes to do to fix the cracks in the mirror the pandemic has exposed.

“This crisis has created an opportunity to redefine ourselves, and we must embrace it,'' said another former lieutenant governor who became governor mid-term, New York's Kathy Hochul.

This year's state-of-the-state address, which in pre-COVID times packed the House chamber with lawmakers, judges, mayors and other luminaries, is expected to play to 60 to 65 masked invitees.

About a dozen lawmakers on the leadership teams in the House and Senate have been invited, along with "representatives" of the other branches of government.

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Others will have to watch remotely during an uncertain, and unnerving, time in Rhode Island's COVID trajectory.

Rhode Island COVID update

Rhode Island set single-day records for new COVID cases on three consecutive days this month, from Jan. 3 through 5. The number of new cases and the percent of tests coming back positive have both declined slightly over the last week, while remaining close to historic highs.

Meanwhile, the number of COVID-related hospitalizations continued to rise. There were 550 hospitalized patients on Wednesday, which set an all-time high for the pandemic. It ticked down to 484 COVID-positive patients in Rhode Island hospitals at last count, on Saturday.

McKee recently pledged an effort to determine how many of the currently hospitalized patients are being treated primarily for COVID illness, and how many have tested positive after being admitted for other reasons.

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Through the first 16 days of January, the state has reported an average of 6.1 COVID-related deaths a day, up from 4.9 deaths per day in December but less than half of what it was reporting in January 2021.

Against this backdrop, McKee extended the state's public health emergency — and the emergency powers that go with it — through Feb. 4.

"I expect the [governor] to talk about kitchen-table issues all Rhode Islanders are facing and leveraging the historic opportunity we have before us to build a stronger Rhode Island," McKee spokesman Matt Sheaff said Monday.

Looking to other governors for clues

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker is slated to speak at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston on Tuesday, Jan. 25.

A look at what some of McKee's fellow Democratic governors have proposed in their own state of the state addresses this year may, or may not, provide a few clues to what McKee intends to talk about Tuesday night.

In New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy "used his fourth State of the State address to tell weary residents more time — and action — is needed before New Jersey turns a corner on the nearly 2-year-old coronavirus pandemic," according to NJ.com.

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Murphy also used his speech to stress how much he expects New Jersey’s businesses and economy to benefit from a massive — though controversial — $14-billion corporate tax incentive program he recently signed into law.

In New York, Hochul "pledged $10 billion to boost the state’s decimated health care work force ... and directed funds to combat gun violence," according to The New York Times.

"Of that, $2 billion would be earmarked for retention bonuses of up to $3,000 apiece to health care workers; $2 billion more would go toward capital investments in health care infrastructure. Additional money would be spent on loan forgiveness for professionals working in underserved regions."

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The response? "Health care unions, not surprisingly, welcomed Ms. Hochul’s proposal, but it received backlash from government watchdogs who described it as a giveaway to unions and hospitals," The Times reported.

According to the local affiliate of ABC, she also "outlined an agenda for an economic comeback [that included] new government investments in ... housing and renewable energy."

For example, she proposed investing "up to $500 million in offshore wind port infrastructure to meet the requirements of a sweeping state law calling for 70% of electricity from renewable sources by 2030." (Rhode Island law aims to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions to 45 percent below 1990 levels by 2030, and net-zero by 2050.)

“Every single initiative is filtered through the lens of how it’ll help you and your families, because I know you’re exhausted," Hochul said. "I know you want this pandemic to be over. I know you’re worried about the economy, inflation, your kids, their education and what the future holds.”

In Washington, Gov. Jay Inslee touted his own proposals "to address homelessness, poverty, mental health issues and climate change, and pressed lawmakers to make it easier to build town homes and duplexes to ease the state’s dire housing shortage," according to the Seattle Times.

An excerpt from his speech that may sound familiar in Rhode Island:

"Look, we cannot tell our constituents we are fighting homelessness and yet not provide ways to build more housing." That means we must allow housing that meets the realities of our tremendous population and economic growth this century.”

In a nod to both the COVID-19 pandemic and fears over security, Inslee delivered his annual State of the State address in a Capitol temporarily closed to the public.

With reports from Michael McDermott.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: What to expect at RI Gov. Dan McKee's first state of the state