§ 44-34.1-2. City, town, and fire district reimbursement.
(a) In fiscal years 2024 and thereafter, cities, towns, and fire districts shall receive
reimbursements, as set forth in this section, from state general revenues equal to
the amount of lost tax revenue due to the phase out of the excise tax. When the tax
is phased out, cities, towns, and fire districts shall receive a permanent distribution
of sales tax revenue pursuant to § 44-18-18 in an amount equal to any lost revenue resulting from the excise tax elimination.
(b)(1) In fiscal year 2024, cities, towns, and fire districts shall receive the following
reimbursement amounts:
| Barrington |
$ 5,894,822 |
| Bristol |
$ 2,905,818 |
| Burrillville |
$ 5,053,933 |
| Central Falls |
$ 2,077,974 |
| Charlestown |
$ 1,020,877 |
| Coventry |
$ 5,872,396 |
| Cranston |
$ 22,312,247 |
| Cumberland |
$ 6,073,469 |
| East Greenwich |
$ 2,417,332 |
| East Providence |
$ 11,433,479 |
| Exeter |
$ 2,241,381 |
| Foster |
$ 1,652,251 |
| Glocester |
$ 2,381,941 |
| Hopkinton |
$ 1,629,259 |
| Jamestown |
$622,793 |
| Johnston |
$10,382,785 |
| Lincoln |
$5,683,015 |
| Little Compton |
$366,775 |
| Middletown |
$1,976,448 |
| Narragansett |
$1,831,251 |
| Newport |
$2,223,671 |
| New Shoreham |
$163,298 |
| North Kingstown |
$5,378,818 |
| North Providence |
$9,619,286 |
| North Smithfield |
$4,398,531 |
| Pawtucket |
$16,495,506 |
| Portsmouth |
$2,414,242 |
| Providence |
$34,131,596 |
| Richmond |
$1,448,455 |
| Scituate |
$1,977,127 |
| Smithfield |
$7,098,694 |
| South Kingstown |
$3,930,455 |
| Tiverton |
$1,748,175 |
| Warren |
$2,090,911 |
| Warwick |
$25,246,254 |
| Westerly |
$5,765,523 |
| West Greenwich |
$1,331,725 |
| West Warwick |
$5,673,744 |
| Woonsocket |
$9,324,776 |
| Lime Rock Fire District |
$133,933 |
| Lincoln Fire District |
$208,994 |
| Manville Fire District |
$64,862 |
| Quinnville Fire District |
$13,483 |
(2) In fiscal year 2024, funds shall be distributed to the cities, towns, and fire districts
as follows:
(i) On August 1, 2023, twenty-five percent (25%) of the funds.
(ii) On November 1, 2023, twenty-five percent (25%) of the funds.
(iii) On February 1, 2024, twenty-five percent (25%) of the funds.
(iv) On May 1, 2024, twenty-five percent (25%) of the funds.
The funds shall be distributed to each city, town, and fire district in the same proportion
as distributed in fiscal year 2023.
(3) For the city of East Providence, the payment schedule is twenty-five percent (25%)
on November 1, 2023, twenty-five percent (25%) on February 1, 2024, twenty-five percent
(25%) on May 1, 2024, and twenty-five percent (25%) on August 1, 2024.
(4) On any of the payment dates specified in subsections (b)(2)(i) through (b)(2)(iv),
(b)(3), or (d) of this section, the director of revenue is authorized to deduct previously
made over-payments or add supplemental payments as may be required to bring the reimbursements
into full compliance with the requirements of this chapter.
(c) When the tax is phased out to August 1, of the following fiscal year the director
of revenue shall calculate to the nearest thousandth of one cent ($0.00001) the number
of cents of sales tax received for the fiscal year ending June 30, of the year following
the phase-out equal to the amount of funds distributed to the cities, towns, and fire
districts under this chapter during the fiscal year following the phase-out and the
percent of the total funds distributed in the fiscal year following the phase-out
received by each city, town, and fire district, calculated to the nearest one-hundredth
of one percent (0.01%). The director of the department of revenue shall transmit those
calculations to the governor, the speaker of the house, the president of the senate,
the chairperson of the house finance committee, the chairperson of the senate finance
committee, the house fiscal advisor, and the senate fiscal advisor. The number of
cents, applied to the sales taxes received for the prior fiscal year, shall be the
basis for determining the amount of sales tax to be distributed to the cities, towns,
and fire districts under this chapter for the second fiscal year following the phase-out
and each year thereafter. The cities, towns, and fire districts shall receive that
amount of sales tax in the proportions calculated by the director of revenue as that
received in the fiscal year following the phase-out, subject to a maximum two percentage
point increase from the previous fiscal year. For fiscal year 2026 only, the increase
shall be based on the amount received pursuant to subsection (b)(1) or subsection
(c) of this section whichever is greater.
(d) In fiscal years 2025 and thereafter, twenty-five percent (25%) of the funds shall
be distributed to the cities, towns, and fire districts on August 1, 2024, and every
August 1 thereafter; twenty-five percent (25%) shall be distributed on November 1,
2024, and every November 1 thereafter; twenty-five percent (25%) shall be distributed
on February 1, 2025, and every February 1 thereafter; and twenty-five percent (25%)
shall be distributed on May 1, 2025, and every May 1 thereafter.
(e) [Deleted by P.L. 2024, ch. 400, § 1 and P.L. 2024, ch. 401, § 1.]