Three Rhode Island ballot questions ask voters to authorize a combined $425 million in borrowing for public colleges, economic development and cultural facilities. The state's estimated repayment cost, including interest, is about $682.1 million.
Questions 1, 3 and 4 are separate votes on the Nov. 3 ballot. Their projects and cost estimates appear in the secretary of state's voter information handbook.
Bonds are loans: approving a question authorizes the state to borrow money and repay it over time. The handbook's estimates assume 20-year repayment at 5% interest. Actual borrowing costs can differ from those assumptions.
Question 1: $275 million for public colleges
The largest of the three would authorize $165 million for an Integrated Health Building at URI's Kingston campus, $50 million for renovations and a student-success and career-readiness center at Rhode Island College's Adams Library, and $60 million for a Community College of Rhode Island Workforce Innovation Center at the Knight Campus in Warwick.
The handbook lists estimated completion in 2031 for URI's project and 2030 for the RIC and CCRI projects.
Estimated repayment totals $441,333,250 for Question 1, including $166,333,250 in interest.
Question 3: $100 million for development
This question divides $100 million between $55 million for site development and $45 million for infrastructure serving industries such as ocean, defense, life sciences, and data analytics and cybersecurity.
Eligible site work includes assembling land, cleaning contamination, installing utilities and preparing property for development. The handbook identifies Quonset Business Park and the I-195 District as examples of eligible areas, rather than awarding all the money to named projects.
The estimated repayment is $160,483,750, including $60,483,750 in interest. Projects are expected to begin in mid- to late 2027, with many undertaken within five years.
Question 4: $50 million for cultural facilities
Question 4 would authorize $45 million for a State History Center in Providence's state-government complex and $5 million for historic-preservation grants.
The history center would include document storage, exhibits and educational space. The handbook targets fall 2030 completion. Preservation grants would begin in 2027 and be awarded in annual cycles over three to five years.
The estimated total repayment is $80,242,500, including $30,242,500 in interest.
Together, the three proposals total $425 million in principal and $682,059,500 in estimated repayment. They are part of a five-question statewide bond package. Housing is Question 2, and environmental projects are Question 5; local questions may also appear on a voter's ballot.
An approval authorizes the borrowing described in that question. A rejection denies that authorization. Voters can preview their own ballot at the state voter information center.