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Ballot question

Question 3: $100 million in bonds for industrial sites and growth industries (bond issue)

On the ballot in
Rhode Island
Vote
Yes or no
Election
Nov 3, 2026

The question, as printed on the ballot

3. Economic Development $100,000,000 Approval of this question will allow the State to issue general obligation bonds, refunding bonds, and/or temporary notes in an amount not to exceed one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) to fund industrial facilities infrastructure improvements for economic development purposes to fund site development and growth industry infrastructure, to be allocated as follows: (a) Site Development $55,000,000 Provides fifty-five million dollars ($55,000,000) for land acquisition or assembly, environmental remediation, infrastructure and utility installation, site preparation or development, and project investments. Eligible uses include, but are not limited to, large-scale industrial site development to create pad-ready locations and/or facilities, infrastructure improvements and investments within the Quonset Business Park, and land acquisition, preparation, and project investments within the I-195 District. (b) Growth Industry Infrastructure $45,000,000 Provides forty-five million dollars ($45,000,000) for infrastructure, facilities, projects, and investments that support Rhode Island's ocean, defense, life sciences, data analytics and related industries. Eligible uses include, but are not limited to, water-based test ranges and onshore ocean or defense-related innovation/production facilities, as well as facilities, projects, and investments that advance businesses and job growth in the life sciences.

A “Yes” vote means

A yes vote authorizes up to $100 million in state bonds: $55 million for site development (including Quonset and the I-195 District) and $45 million for growth-industry infrastructure.

A “No” vote means

A no vote does not authorize these economic development bonds.

Question text is the project wording of the proposition in Section 1 of Article 5 of the enacted FY 2027 budget (H 7127 Sub A as amended). The Secretary of State prepares the ballot labels (Article 5, Section 2); none were posted on vote.sos.ri.gov or elections.ri.gov as of 2026-09-29 — check against the sample ballot. The proposition as a whole asks: Shall the action of the general assembly, by an act passed at the January 2026 session, authorizing the issuance of bonds, refunding bonds, and temporary notes of the State of Rhode Island for the capital projects and in the amount with respect to each such project listed below be approved, and the issuance of bonds, refunding bonds, and/or temporary notes authorized in accordance with the provisions of said act? Each project is approved or rejected separately.

Sources

The question and plain English statement are copied word for word from official election materials. The Gist does not take a side on ballot questions.