Rhode Island voters reject two bond questions, approve $450 million in borrowing

Rhode Islanders OK’d three of five bond measures on Tuesday’s ballot, approving a combined $450 million in borrowing to fund projects in higher education, housing and environmental projects, while rejecting $150 million for economic development and historic preservation. 

The bond package was the biggest ever put before Rhode Islanders at the ballot box.

According to unofficial results from the Rhode Island Board of Elections as of 10:19 p.m., the five measures fared as follows:

• Question 1: Higher education, $275 million. 59.82% of voters approved.
• Question 2: Housing, $120 million. 61.12% of voters approved.
• Question 3: Economic development, $100 million. 52.47% of voters rejected.
•   Question 4: Cultural economy, $50 million. 50.79% of voters rejected.
• Question 5: Green economy, $55 million. 66.92% of voters approved.

The state issues general obligation bonds for the authorized measures. These bonds are then repaid with interest through future state budgets.

Approval of the bond questions does not mean the state borrowing begins immediately.

The state’s voter information guides estimated the total costs of the loans, modeling 5% interest and a 20-year repayment plan for each loan. Under those assumptions, the three approved measures would cost approximately $722 million in principal and interest, compared with roughly $963 million had voters approved all five.

The defeat of Questions 3 and 4 — which sought to fund economic development and create a State History Center, respectively — represents the first time voters in the Ocean State have defeated a bond measure since 2006, when they rejected a $4 million bond for Newport’s Fort Adams. Before Tuesday, every bond put before Rhode Islanders in the intervening two decades had won approval.

Katherine MacGregor, 45, of Middletown, an attorney and registered Democrat, said she voted yes on four of the five ballot questions Tuesday morning.

The only one she rejected was Question 3, the $100 million economy bond for site development at the Quonset Business Park in North Kingstown and the I-195 District in Providence along with infrastructure enhancements. The bond question, which did not specify which projects would benefit from the bond money, was supported by the RI Ports Coalition. 

“It was a little unclear I thought in the description what they were developing,” MacGregor said. “It was not sufficiently detailed.”

MacGregor was interviewed outside the polling site at Thompson Middle School in Newport where she accompanied her significant other Brian Russell, 57, who voted there. 

Russell said he voted yes on four of the five ballot questions too. But he voted no on Question 4, which sought a total of $50 million with $45 million for a new state history center across from the State House in Providence and $5 million for the state program providing matching grants to municipalities looking to preserve historic and culturally significant properties.

The state already has sufficient resources devoted to historic preservation, he said.

“It just seemed to be $50 million for something that I felt was kind of covered,” Russell said.

Here’s a breakdown of the bonds voted on Tuesday.

Question 1: $275 million for higher education

The largest bond measure approved provides $275 million for construction and renovations at Rhode Island’s three public institutions of higher education.

More than half the package — $165 million — will go to the University of Rhode Island (URI) for a new Integrated Health Building on its Kingston campus. The new building will be near White Hall, which currently houses URI’s nursing education program.

URI spokesperson Dawn Bergantino told Rhode Island Current in a recent email that the facility would strengthen existing programs in nursing, pharmacy and health sciences by modernizing teaching and clinical training spaces. Spending on construction for this project would continue through fiscal year 2031, the university expects.

Another $60 million will fund a 44,000-square-foot Workforce Innovation Center at the Community College of Rhode Island’s (CCRI) Knight Campus in Warwick.

CCRI’s Chief of Staff Amy Kempe said via email that the center will expand the college’s existing offerings and increase training opportunities in skilled trades — some of which currently lack dedicated facilities, including plumbing, HVAC and welding.

Kempe cited a recent partnership with Senesco Marine in which CCRI needed to use the company’s welding space to train prospective workers. Similar training opportunities could now be provided on campus with the new workforce center, Kempe said. She noted that more than 22,000 square feet of the building would be devoted to laboratories and workshops.

The remaining $50 million will go toward Rhode Island College (RIC), which wants to use the money to renovate the Adams Library and its Student Success and Career Readiness Center.

Academic advising, tutoring and career services are already offered in the Adams Library. But school spokesperson John Taraborelli said in a recent email that these services are “housed deep within the lower levels of an outdated building, working in space that was not designed for their purposes.”

“Despite some minor updates and renovations throughout the years, Adams Library is still very much the same building it was when it opened in 1963,” Taraborelli wrote.

The renovations would modernize the building and make student support services more central and accessible.

Question 2: $120 million for housing and homeownership

Voters decided to authorize $120 million for housing construction and redevelopment, echoing their approval from two years ago, when Rhode Islanders approved the same amount in a similar bond.

Like the 2024 bond, the version approved by voters Tuesday is intended to support new construction, rehabilitation, property acquisition and infrastructure improvements.

At least $25 million is allotted to help increase the supply of housing intended for homeownership. Up to $10 million could support public housing development.

The latest bond approval comes amid scrutiny of the effectiveness of previous state investments in housing. A May report by the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council questioned the cost and pace of state subsidized housing production. The council’s analysis found that $52.2 million in public funding had financed 200 new rental units, for an average development cost of more than $512,000 per unit.

State housing officials disagreed with that assessment and argued that the report overlooks the costs and complications associated with subsidized housing. Housing Secretary Deborah Goddard said in October that the state’s actual subsidy per unit was much lower, while some developments incur additional costs because of additional support services for residents, or because of environmental cleanup needed for certain sites.

Projects funded through the Question 2 bond money are expected to begin in 2028, with completion anticipated between 2029 and 2032.

Question 3: $100 million for economic development

Voters rejected $100 million in financing for industry and infrastructure development.

The investments, which were intended to jumpstart business development, would have included $55 million for land acquisition, environmental cleanup, utility installation and other improvements at sites such as Quonset Business Park and Providence’s I-195 Redevelopment District.

Another $45 million was meant to support infrastructure including defense, ocean technology, life sciences and cybersecurity. Projects which could potentially receive funding included underwater testing facilities, research and production sites, and investments supporting businesses in the life sciences.

No specific projects were earmarked for the funding, however.

The measure was a scaled-down version of Gov. Dan McKee’s original $115 million proposal, which lawmakers reduced over the course of the legislative session earlier this year.

Question 4: $50 million for history and cultural preservation

The rejection by Rhode Island voters set back Secretary of State Gregg Amore’s longstanding goal to build a dedicated place to host Rhode Island’s historical artifacts in Providence.

The defeated measure would have authorized up to $45 million for a two-story, 24,600-square-foot State History Center across from the State House and next to the Department of Administration. Another $5 million in supporting grants would have gone toward preserving historic and cultural properties statewide.

The State History Center, which would have tentatively opened in 2030, was designed to feature exhibits including Rhode Island’s colonial Royal Charter and one of the state’s copies of the Declaration of Independence. Tuesday’s rejection leaves the project without the proposed bond financing.

But the State History Center has survived setbacks before. Amore’s original proposal in 2024 would have cost $102 million, but lawmakers never approved its funding and it never made it into the budget that year nor was it put before voters.

Question 5: $55 million for the green economy

The final measure provides $55 million for climate resilience, environmental restoration and recreational improvements. Most of the projects have an expected five-year timeline for completion.

The biggest portion of the funding, $25 million, goes toward the Resilient Rhody Infrastructure Fund, meant to assist municipalities for projects that address flooding, coastal erosion and other climate-related hazards.

Other funding allocations include:

• $12 million for improvements at state parks, beaches and campgrounds
• $7 million for Narragansett Bay and watershed restoration
• $3 million each for brownfield cleanup, farmland preservation and open-space conservation
• $2 million split between local recreation projects and marine infrastructure improvements, such as boat launches and docks.

Editor-in-Chief Janine L. Weisman contributed reporting to this story.

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Courtesy of Rhode Island Current