RI State Report: Made in RI + Tax Incentives to Live Healthier
Saturday, May 18, 2013
This week’s State Report takes an in-depth look at April's unemployment report, which has garnered mixed results. Also on the docket are several bills passed this week that address gender discrimination, tax rates, and locally made products. Lastly, we’ll examine new legislation that looks to encourage healthier lifestyles through tax incentives.
RI’s unemployment rate drops to 8.8 percent
Rhode Island’s jobless rate dropped to 8.8 percent in April, down from 9.1 percent the previous month, and its lowest level since October 2008, according to a new report by the state Department of Labor and Training.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAside from a drop in the unemployment rate, the report also found that the number of Rhode Island jobs was up 500 from the revised March estimate, to 467,000. In fact, the state has created jobs in five of the last six months.
The number of employed residents was also up 1,200, to 508,000, which is 9,100 more jobs than a year ago.
Despite the unemployment rate reaching its lowest level in over four years, the state’s labor force shrunk for the fourth straight month. Rhode Island’s labor force decreased by 700 in April to 558,200, partly the result of displeased workers giving up looking for jobs.
Labor and Training Director Charlie Fogarty also attributed the decline to the state’s aging population, which is finally retiring after postponing doing so because of the poor economy.
Rhode Island currently possesses the sixth-highest unemployment rate in the country (including the District of Columbia), and the highest in New England.
The national jobless rate in April was 7.5 percent.
Senate passes bill banning insurers from gender discrimination
On Tuesday, the Senate approved legislation designed to stop health insurers from using a practice known as “gender rating.” Sponsored by Sen. V. Susan Sosnowski, the bill would ban the discriminatory practice, which customarily charges women and men different premiums for individual insurance.
“Women face unconscionable disparities when buying health insurance in the individual market,” said Sosnowski. “When the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed, it emboldened our country to recognize what women all over the world already knew: Being female is not a pre-existing condition. We must restore balance to the equation and forever end the discrimination of women in health care.”
The bill, which passed in 36 to 0 vote, specifies that insurers cannot set rates for individual policies or for small groups up to 50 based on gender. Effective Jan. 1, 2014, the new law also standardizes the definition of “pre-existing condition” in Rhode Island’s general laws and makes it consistent with the new federal definition found in the Affordable Care Act reforms of 2014.
A March report from the non-profit National Women’s Law Center found that “gender rating” costs women approximately one billion dollars a year.
House Committee approves apartment tax rate bill
On Thursday, the House Municipal Government Committee approved legislation sponsored by Rep. Lisa Baldelli Hunt to modify the tax classification of apartments with four to ten units from residential to commercial.
According to Baldelli Hunt, the bill will provide Woonsocket small businesses and residential taxpayers some much-needed tax relief.
“At a time when our city is being squeezed from every direction to raise revenue, this is a way to ease some of the burden on most taxpayers, from the single-family and triple-decker owners to those who own and operate small businesses throughout our city,” she said.
Under the legislation, four- to 10-unit rental properties would move from a residential tax rate, currently $32.26 per $1,000 of value, to a commercial tax rate of $38.27 per $1,000. Four-unit properties that are owner-occupied will be allowed to pay the residential rate.
The legislation will reduce both the commercial and residential rates—while still raising the same amount of revenue—by increasing the number of properties paying higher commercial rates, said Baldelli Hunt.
The bill will now make its way to the House floor for a vote.
House passes ‘Made in RI’ bill
In an effort to boost small business awareness, the House passed legislation on Thursday that establishes a collaborative to help promote locally made products.
“Buying locally made products is one of the best things consumers can do to help our state’s economy, because it means their dollar is supporting a local business that pays taxes here and provides jobs to Rhode Islanders. Giving consumers a way to identify those products keeps more money right here in the state and strengthens our local economy,” said the bill’s sponsor Rep. Jeremiah T. O’Grady.
The legislation creates the Made in Rhode Island Manufacturing Collaborative, a panel of government, education and arts leaders—who with the help of the Economic Development Corp and an advisory council—will work to promote the marketing and sustainability of Rhode Island products.
Additionally, the panel would be tasked with creating a “Made in Rhode Island” logo to be used on locally made products, as well as creating eligibility requirements for the logo’s use. The group will also be responsible for increasing both consumer and business-to-business demand for local products and to promote the “Made in Rhode Island” brand.
A similar bill is currently being considered in the Senate.
House bill looks to promote healthier lifestyles with tax incentives
New legislation sponsored by Rep. Mia A. Ackerman looks to encourage healthier lifestyles by giving small employers a tax break. The bill, which was introduced on behalf of Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts, would create a tax credit for small businesses that institute a wellness program for employees.
“This January, we are going to see the full implementation of the federal Affordable Care Act and the expansion of insurance coverage to thousands of Rhode Islanders,” Ackerman said. “Getting more people covered is a great first step, but if we want to improve the overall health of our residents and lower health care costs that are crippling small businesses, we must take further action at the state level. I, along with the lieutenant governor, believe that one of the best investments an employer can make is in its employees and their health. A healthier workforce is a more productive one.”
Under the bill, the wellness credit would equal 25 percent of the costs associated with instituting the program, up to $10,000 per business in any tax year. If enacted, the program would become available on Jan. 1, 2014.
A nearly identical wellness program took effect in Massachusetts Jan. 1, 2013. Similar programs have also been implemented in Indiana and Kentucky.
