What about the ballot questions? RIers to decide funding for housing, arts, environment

Lynne Sullivan, Providence Journal
·3 min read

Rhode Island voters have the chance today to weigh in on five statewide ballot questions. From whether to hold a constitutional convention, to funding for the arts and projects to benefit the environment, here's what to know about these important questions.

RI Ballot Question 1: Should Rhode Island hold a constitutional convention?

A constitutional convention − should a majority of voters endorse Question 1 in November − will be made up of 75 delegates, one elected from every state House of Representatives district, who would meet and propose potential changes to the state constitution. The last convention took place in 1986.

The changes a convention works on could be conservative or liberal. They could be cultural or procedural. In theory, Question 1 is nonpartisan. There's no reason a convention would necessarily favor Democratic Party causes, or Republican Party ones.

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But in practice, the two major parties, with some exceptions, have lined up on either ends of the question: Republicans for it and Democrats against it. 

A yes vote calls for a convention; a no vote rejects it.

RI Ballot Question 2: Seeks $160 million for biomedical, cybersecurity facilities at URI, RIC

Voters will be asked to approve a $160.5 million higher education bond. According to a news release, $87.5 million will go toward constructing a new URI biomedical sciences building at its Kingston campus, and $73 million will be used to transform Whipple Hall into a dedicated home for the Institute for Cybersecurity & Emerging Technologies at Rhode Island College.

Rhode Island "has all the talent and tools" to become a leader in biomedical sciences and the high-tech economy − it just needs the proper facilities to train students in these fields, according to supporters of the $160.5 million higher education bond.

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A yes vote approves the spending; a no vote rejects it.

RI Ballot Question 3: A $120 million housing bond

Ballot Question 3, the Housing Acquisition, Development, and Infrastructure Bond Measure, includes:$80 million for low and moderate income housing,$10 million for community revitalization projects,$20 million for low, moderate, and middle income housing for homeownership,$5 million for site acquisition for supportive housing,$4 million for housing-related infrastructure, and$1 million for municipal planning.A yes vote approves issuing $120 million in bonds to fund these projects. A no vote rejects the spending.

RI Ballot Question 4: A $53 million "green bond" to support environment

The bond issue would be divided as follows:

  • $3 million would be channeled to the state open space program managed by the Department of Environmental Management, $5 million would be used for forest management, and another $5 million would go to the state agricultural land preservation program.

  • $15 million for improvements to the Port of Davisville in the Quonset Business Park in North Kingstown that will help support offshore wind development and other shipping activity

  • $10 million to the municipal resilience program that funds matching grants to cities and towns for efforts to strengthen protections from flooding and storms tied to climate change

  • $5 million to clean up former industrial sites

  • $5 million for grants to communities to improve parks, athletic fields and other recreation space

  • $3 million to help repair storm damage to the Newport Cliff Walk

  • $2 million for grants to nonprofits for the restoration of coastal and riverine habitats

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A yes vote approves the funding; a no vote rejects it.

RI Ballot Question 5: A $10 million arts bond

Voter approval is sought for a $10 million bond to provide matching grants to Trinity, Newport Contemporary Ballet and the Tomaquag Museum specifically, and potentially to others. Only those three organizations are specifically mentioned in the bond proposal, with each slated to get $2 million in "matching" grants if voters approve the bond. Another $4 million would go to the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts for distribution.

A yes vote approves the funding; a no vote rejects it.

What about local ballot questions?

From artificial turf to mayoral salaries, shoreline access to gender-neutral pronouns, voters in 23 of Rhode Island's 39 municipalities also will weigh in on local ballot questions. Learn more about these here.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI ballot questions: What to know about bonds, convention