What will Gov. McKee say in his State of the State address? A few guesses

PROVIDENCE − Gov. Dan McKee will take center stage at 7 p.m. on Tuesday to deliver his first State of the State address as the elected governor of Rhode Island to a joint session of the House and Senate in a chamber packed with state luminaries, from legislators, mayors and judges to the top echelon at the state's colleges and university.

What to listen for in McKee's televised and live-streamed address:

∎ A preview of some key items in the 2022-23 state budget he is scheduled to roll out Thursday, including the tax relief he talked about in an end-of-year interview with The Journal in December. That includes a potential sales-tax cut, a gas-tax freeze and rebate of the taxes ratepayers are paying on their winter electric and gas bills.

∎ Some hints on how far he is willing to go to fix problems in Rhode Island's education system, from the oft-criticized $950-million state funding formula to persistently low student test scores in some communities, that pre-date COVID. (State education officials have requested a massive increase in funding.)

∎ More details on how he intends to keep the promises he made during his Jan. 3 inauguration day speech, including:

"Raising incomes for Rhode Islanders in all 39 cities and towns ... Raising education outcomes for our children to reach Massachusetts levels by 2030 ... Creating a healthier Rhode Island, where we reduce chronic illness and improve health outcomes."

"Rhode Island, this is our time. This is our moment. It’s our turn," he said that Tuesday earlier this month when he was sworn in to his first full, four-year term as governor. As lieutenant governor, McKee automatically ascended to the top job when his predecessor, Gina Raimondo, quit mid-term in March 2021 for a spot in President Biden's Cabinet.

It remains to be seen how much attention McKee will give in his state-of-the-state speech to R.I.'s housing-affordability crisis, a week after the abrupt resignation of the state's first − and much-criticized – housing czar, Josh Saal.

Most of the $250 million lawmakers appropriated to the problem last year has yet to be spent or even committed, and by the time Saal resigned under pressure, frustrations with the perceived lack of progress had reached a peak. (The deadline for applications for a big chunk of the money was just last week.)

But there's a bit of a self-congratulatory tone to most state-of-the-state speeches, even for governors who, like McKee, spent most of the last year touting their accomplishments on the campaign trail.

"We’re bringing offshore wind to East Providence," McKee said in his inauguration day speech. "We’re building a new State Health Lab in Providence. We’re investing in our world-class fisheries in Galilee. We opened a new education center in Woonsocket. We’re making crucial investments in Quonset. We’re delivering historic tax relief to families. We’re saving [the so-called Superman building in Providence] and breathing new life into downtown Pawtucket.

"And we’re just getting started."

A question for seasoned McKee speech-watchers: will he again mention his successes in "getting shots in arms" and getting Rhode Island economy moving again during "The COVID."

Asked what to expect last week, McKee spokesman Matt Sheaff said: "The governor will use Tuesday’s State of the State to build off some of the themes he highlighted during his inaugural address. He will talk about the progress we’ve made as a state over the past year and lay out a vision for continuing our momentum."

And "you can expect the governor to talk about all of us working together as one team – all 39 cities and towns (the flag of each city and town have already been moved into the chamber)!"

Viewing options:

The State of the State will be televised by Capitol TV on Cox Communications channels 15 and 61 for high definition, i3Broadband (Full Channel) on 15 and Verizon on channel 34. Livestreaming is available on the Capitol TV website. It will also be livestreamed on the governor’s Facebook page. A simultaneous Spanish translation will be available on the governor's Spanish-language Facebook page.

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

In the state of Washington, Gov. Jay Inslee highlighted his own state's housing and homelessness crisis, saying: "Until we fix our housing crisis, thousands of people will remain homeless."

Inslee proposed a $4-billion referendum to "significantly speed up the construction of thousands of new units that will include shelters, supportive housing and affordable housing" and promised, "This will be combined with additional behavioral-health support, substance-use treatment, employment services and more."

In New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy told his audience: "The notion of the American Dream is harder to achieve for too many people. And that is why I am dedicated to creating pathways to opportunity."

Among the potential crossovers from his speech: "We must recognize that in the new, post-pandemic business environment, not every new job created for a New Jerseyan is going to be housed in a physical office in New Jersey. ... So let’s take this moment to focus on incenting jobs in New Jersey, wherever they are ... in an office building in Newark or at a kitchen table in Cherry Hill."

Other Murphy pledges: "Advancing environmental justice ... Undoing the harm that the War on Drugs did to our communities...Protecting our sacred voting rights ... Standing strong against the ever-present and, sadly, rising tide of hate and intolerance ... [And] rejecting the politics of fear and grievance in favor of a new politics of hope and commonality."

In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul delivered a punchlist of "initiatives to create a more affordable, more livable and safer New York," including a "strategy to address New York’s housing crisis [by building] 800,000 new homes over next decade" ... Raise the minimum wage annually and index to inflation ... [Provide] $165 million in relief to more than 800,000 utility customers."

She sketched an ambitious, billion-dollar plan to close some of the many gaps in the health care system for New Yorkers with mental illness.

She also proposed "to end the sale of any new fossil-fuel-powered heating equipment by 2030."

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: What will Gov. McKee say in his 'state of the state' address? A few guesses