WARWICK, RI – Today, Ashley Kalus, the Republican nominee for Governor, released the below statement calling on Dan McKee to address the PUC’s electricity rate hike before January.
On Friday, Dan McKee announced he would introduce legislation in January of 2023 to suspend the Gross Receipts Tax – an action Ashley called for him to take back on July 23, 2022.
Kalus said, “If Dan McKee truly cared about working families, seniors on a fixed income, and low-income Rhode Islanders, he would call the General Assembly in now for an emergency session to suspend the Gross Receipts Tax on electricity rather than wait until January — especially considering the rate hikes go into effect on October 1st. My campaign has been calling on McKee to suspend both the tax on electricity and the gas tax for months — and it’s only now, at the height of election season, that he’s even considering the notion. Dan McKee wants to hold relief for Rhode Islanders hostage until after November — essentially using his official office and relief to working families as a carrot-and-stick. It’s disgusting, and if he actually cares about the people of this state, he would act immediately, rather than force folks who are already suffering to wait an additional three months. He should be ashamed of himself.”