Seal of Rhode Island Rhode Island

Rhode Island has a constitutional restriction on appropriations under Article IX Section 16 of the Rhode Island Constitution. This limitation was voter approved by legislative referendum in November 1992. The restriction limits appropriations to 98% of estimated available revenues. Revenues in excess of the limitation would be deposited first into the budget reserve fund and then into funds for debt service and capital projects.

This was amended in 2006 to increase the maximum size of the budget reserve account, only apply excess revenues to the capital fund, and change the appropriations limit to 97% of revenues effective in 2012.

 
The base year represents the year the hypothetical Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR) would have been enacted. Selecting a base year changes how the state’s TABOR is calculated because the annual growth rates of inflation and population change depending on when TABOR is enacted.
  • Year Inflation-adjusted Actual Spending
    1992 4,988,770,007
    1993 4,664,361,295
    1994 4,317,022,580
    1995 4,360,398,151
    1996 4,339,027,706
    1997 4,250,962,367
    1998 4,396,944,148
    1999 4,417,767,966
    2000 4,921,522,706
    2001 5,307,295,327
    2002 5,916,881,654
    2003 5,872,609,076
    2004 5,835,709,840
    2005 5,950,758,405
    2006 6,402,957,850
    2007 6,539,013,672
    2008 6,739,787,965
    2009 6,633,348,976
    2010 6,410,219,428
    2011 6,520,642,031
    2012 6,515,309,326
    2013 7,086,327,314
    2014 7,489,143,848
    2015 6,664,456,313
    2016 6,788,919,162
    2017 6,856,939,684
    2018 7,125,367,000
    2019 7,418,800,131
    2020 7,698,511,784
    2021 7,225,560,829
    2022 9,350,719,883
*All spending figures are in inflation-adjusted 2022 dollars.