Gov. Donald Carcieri '65 officially accepted Rhode Island's $1.1 billion share of federal stimulus funds at a ceremony at the State House last Thursday, vowing to work with the state legislature to oversee its allocation.
Receiving the stimulus money will put the state "on the path back to economic recovery," Carcieri said at the event. "I pledge to work with the General Assembly, our congressional delegation and our cities and towns to identify and agree upon projects quickly to maximize the federal stimulus dollars available to Rhode Island and to get our economy moving again."
The governor was joined by House Speaker William Murphy and Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed as he signed the required certificates well in advance of the April 3 deadline stipulated by the stimulus bill, titled the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Though conflict over who will make spending decisions had seemed imminent, the Republican governor appeared to step back from his plan for unilateral control in favor of working with the state's Democratically controlled General Assembly.
In February, Carcieri created the Office of Economic Recovery and Reinvestment to recommend infrastructure improvement projects subject to his approval. But that office will now track expenditures and aid transparency while decisions about spending will be made collaboratively by the Governor's office and the state legislature, Carcieri announced at Thursday's event.
Few details are known about how the state will spend its discretionary funds since officials are still reviewing the 1,500-page act and receiving new information from Congress, Carcieri said. Much of the stimulus money is attached to specific programs, such as the Federal Additional Compensation Program which goes into effect this week and gives an additional $25 per week to those receiving unemployment benefits.
