Rhode Island Question 2, State Beaches and Water Bond Measure (March 2021)

Rhode Island Question 2
Election date March 2, 2021
Topic Bond issues
Status a Approved
Type Bond issue	Origin State Legislature

2021 measures
March 2
Rhode Island Question 1
Rhode Island Question 2
Rhode Island Question 3
Rhode Island Question 4
Rhode Island Question 5
Rhode Island Question 6
Rhode Island Question 7
Polls
Voter guides
Campaign finance
Signature costs

Rhode Island Question 2, the State Beaches and Water Bond Measure, was on the ballot in Rhode Island as a legislatively referred bond question on March 2, 2021. It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported authorizing the state to issue bonds in an amount not to exceed $74 million for state beaches, parks, recreational facilities, and water projects.

A "no" vote opposed authorizing the state to issue bonds in an amount not to exceed $74 million for state beaches, parks, recreational facilities, and water projects.

Election results

Rhode Island Question 2
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		82,696	78.32%
No		22,893	21.68%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What did the bonds issued by Question 2 fund?

See also: Full text

Question 2 authorized the state to issue bonds in an amount not to exceed $74 million for the following projects according to the respective amounts:

• $33 million for state beaches, parks, and campgrounds;
• $4 million for I-195 Park;
• $4 million for up to 80% matching grants for local recreation;
• $3 million for working forest and farmlands preservation;
• $15 million for the Clean and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds;
• $7 million for up to 75% matching grants for local flooding resiliency structures, coastal habitats, river and stream floodplains, and watersheds; and
• $2 million for rehabilitating public recreational projects and infrastructure along the Woonasquatucket River and its Greenway.

How did Question 2 get on the ballot?

See also: Path to the ballot

To put a legislatively referred bond question before voters, a simple majority vote is required in both the Rhode Island State Senate and the Rhode Island House of Representatives. Question 2 was introduced into the Rhode Island General Assembly as a provision of Article II of House Bill 7171 (HB 7171) on January 16, 2020. HB 7171 included a total of seven bond measures. The legislature voted on each article of HB 7171 separately.

On December 16, 2020, Article II of HB 7171 passed in a vote of 58-7, with 10 members not voting, in the state House. On December 18, 2020, the state Senate voted 31 to five, with one member not voting, to approve Article II of HB 7171. Governor Gina Raimondo (D) signed HB 7171 on December 18, 2020, certifying the seven bond issues for the ballot. All but nine Democratic state legislators voted to approve Article II, and no Republican state legislators voted to approve it .

What were the other bond questions that appeared on the March ballot?

Seven bond questions appeared on the statewide ballots in March. Since 2008, an average of four bond questions have appeared on statewide ballots.

The following chart lists all the bond issues (totaling $400 million) that appeared on the ballot in March:

Measure	Primary purpose	Amount	Outcome
Question 1	Higher education	$107,300,000	a
Question 2	Water and recreation	$74,000,000	a
Question 3	Housing	$65,000,000	a
Question 4	Transportation	$71,700,000	a
Question 5	Education	$15,000,000	a
Question 6	Culture and arts	$7,000,000	a
Question 7	Industrial infrastructure	$60,000,000	a

What was the history of bond measures in Rhode Island?

See also: Background

Between 2008 and 2020, voters in Rhode Island had decided 22 bond measures, totaling $1.3 billion ($1,310,915,000) in principal value. Voters approved 100 percent of the bond measures, with support ranging from 55.23 percent (Question 2 of 2010) to 83.89 percent (Question 3 of 2016). Voters had not rejected a bond measure since 2006, when 50.56 percent of electors rejected a $4.0 million bond for improvements in Fort Adams State Park.

As of the fiscal year 2019, the Rhode Island state debt from general obligation (GO) bonds was $1.22 billion, a $61.2 million increase from the prior fiscal year.

Text of measure

Ballot question

See also: Full text

The ballot question for Question 2 was as follows:

“

2. BEACH, CLEAN WATER AND GREEN BOND -$74,000,000 For environmental and recreational purposes, to be allocated as follows: (a) State Beaches, Parks, and Campgrounds - $33,000,000 (b) I-195 Park - $4,000,000 (c) Local Recreation Projects - $4,000,000 (d) Natural and Working Lands - $3,000,000 (e) Clean Water and Drinking Water - $15,000,000 (f) Municipal Resiliency - $7,000,000 (g) Providence River Dredging - $6,000,000 (h) Woonasquatucket River Watershed - $2,000,000 [ ] Approve [ ] Reject

”

Fiscal impact

The following chart was included in the state voter guide. It shows the estimated cost of issuing the bonds for a 20-year term at an interest rate of 5%.

Estimated total cost of Rhode Island bonds (March 2021)
Bond question	Principal	Interest	Total cost
1. Higher Education Bond	$107,300,000	$64,900,592	$172,200,592
2. State Beaches and Water Bond	$74,000,000	$44,759,029	$118,759,029
3. Housing Bond	$65,000,000	$39,315,363	$104,315,363
4. Transportation Bond	$71,700,000	$43,367,870	$115,067,870
5. Early Childhood Care and Education Capital Fund Bond	$15,000,000	$9,072,776	$24,072,776
6. Cultural Arts and State Preservation Grant Programs Bond	$7,000,000	$4,233,962	$11,233,962
7. Industrial Facilities Infrastructure Bond	$60,000,000	$36,291,105	$96,291,105
Estimated total costs	$400,000,000	$241,940,697	$641,940,697

Full text

The full text of Article II of the state budget can be read below:

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2021

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title and summary for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The state legislature wrote the ballot language for this measure. The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 7, and the FRE is 48. The word count for the ballot title is 53, and the estimated reading time is 14 seconds.

Support

Yes on 2 led the campaign in support of Question 2.

Supporters

Officials

• Rhode Island State Senator Maryellen Goodwin (D)
• Rhode Island State Representative K. Joseph Shekarchi (D)
• Rhode Island State Treasurer Seth Magaziner (D)

Political Parties

• Green Party of Rhode Island

Unions

• Rhode Island AFL-CIO

Organizations

• Audubon Society of Rhode Island
• Clean Water Action
• Environment Council of Rhode Island
• Providence Foundation
• Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management
• Rhode Island Land Trust Council
• The Nature Conservancy
• Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council

Arguments

• Janet Coit, director of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management: "Green bonds support what we love about Rhode Island — clean blue waters, beautiful parks and beaches, and vibrant communities. In the past year, the value of these investments has come into sharper focus as Rhode Islanders have explored our open spaces in greater numbers, looking for places to unwind and forget their troubles. People in every community can feel and enjoy the benefits of clean water and places that are accessible for public recreation. We owe it to our families to keep investing in quality of life – and we owe it to the generations to come who count on us to be good stewards of our beautiful state. Pay it forward.”
• Rhode Island General Treasurer Seth Magaziner (D): "By voting yes on Question 2, Rhode Island has the opportunity to invest in the new green economy and create hundreds of new jobs while at the same time protecting our cities and towns against the effects of extreme weather and rising sea levels. I urge all Rhode Islanders to vote yes on Question 2 to spur economic recovery for our state."
• House Speaker Joseph Shekarchi (D): "The Rhode Island General Assembly made sure to include the bond measures in this year’s budget because we recognize that bonds are investments in all Rhode Islanders. Approving the referenda questions on the March 2 ballot will fund projects that will jolt our economy and accelerate a badly needed recovery."

Opposition

If you are aware of any opponents or opposing arguments, please send an email with a link to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Campaign finance

The campaign finance information on this page reflects the most recent scheduled reports that Ballotpedia has processed, which covered through March 8, 2020.

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Rhode Island ballot measures

There was one ballot committee registered in support of Question 2: Environment Council of Rhode Island. The committee reported $81,450.00 in cash and in-kind contributions. If you are aware of a committee registered to support or oppose this measure, please email editor@ballotpedia.org.

	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Support	$8,950.00	$72,500.00	$81,450.00	$8,058.00	$80,558.00
Oppose	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Total	$8,950.00	$72,500.00	$81,450.00	$8,058.00	$80,558.00

Support

The following table includes contribution and expenditure totals for the committee in support of Question 2.

Committees in support of Question 2
Committee	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Environment Council of Rhode Island	$8,950.00	$72,500.00	$81,450.00	$8,058.00	$80,558.00
Total	$8,950.00	$72,500.00	$81,450.00	$8,058.00	$80,558.00

In addition to the committee registered in support of the question, Build RI made $23,502.14 in independent expenditures supporting the measure.

Donors

The following table shows the top donors to the support committees.

Donor	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions
The Nature Conservancy	$0.00	$70,000.00	$70,000.00

Opposition

If you are aware of a committee registered to oppose this measure, please email editor@ballotpedia.org.

Methodology

To read Ballotpedia's methodology for covering ballot measure campaign finance information, click here.

Background

Environment, recreation, and water bond measures in Rhode Island

From 2008 through 2020, Rhode Island voters had approved all eight bond measures that appeared on the ballot related to the environment, recreation, and water totaling $234.5 million in bonds. Approval rates for the measures ranged from 58.04% to 78.86%.

Bond issues on the ballot in Rhode Island

Between 2008 and 2020, voters in Rhode Island had decided 22 bond measures, totaling $1,310,915,000 in principal value. Voters approved 100 percent of the bond measures, with support ranging from 55.23 percent (Question 2 of 2010) to 83.89 percent (Question 3 of 2016). As of 2021, voters had not rejected a bond measure since 2006, when 50.56 percent of electors rejected a $4.0 million bond for improvements in Fort Adams State Park.

The following table contains information on the 22 bond issues that appeared on the ballot in Rhode Island between 2008 and 2020:

Year	Measure	Primary purpose	Amount	Outcome
2008	Question 1	Transportation projects	$87,215,000	a
2008	Question 2	Environment and recreation	$2,500,000	a
2010	Question 2	Higher education	$78,000,000	a
2010	Question 3	Transportation projects	$84,700,000	a
2010	Question 4	Environment and recreation	$14,700,000	a
2012	Question 3	Higher education	$50,000,000	a
2012	Question 4	Housing	$94,000,000	a
2012	Question 5	Water infrastructure	$12,000,000	a
2012	Question 6	Environment and recreation	$20,000,000	a
2012	Question 7	Housing	$25,000,000	a
2014	Question 4	Higher education	$125,000,000	a
2014	Question 5	Museums	$35,000,000	a
2014	Question 6	Transportation projects	$35,000,000	a
2014	Question 7	Environment and recreation	$53,000,000	a
2016	Question 3	Housing	$27,000,000	a
2016	Question 4	Higher education	$45,500,000	a
2016	Question 5	Transportation projects	$70,000,000	a
2016	Question 6	Environment and recreation	$35,000,000	a
2016	Question 7	Environment and recreation	$50,000,000	a
2018	Question 1	School buildings	$250,000,000	a
2018	Question 2	Higher education facilities	$70,000,000	a
2018	Question 3	Environment and recreation	$47,300,000	a

GO bond debt in Rhode Island

As of the fiscal year 2019, the Rhode Island state debt from general obligation (GO) bonds was $1.22 billion, a $61.2 million increase from the prior fiscal year.

Path to the ballot

To put a legislatively referred bond question before voters, a simple majority vote is required in both the Rhode Island State Senate and the Rhode Island House of Representatives. In Rhode Island, the state General Assembly must ask voters to issue general obligation bonds over $50,000, except in the case of war, insurrection, or invasion.

The bond measure was introduced into the Rhode Island General Assembly as a provision of Article II of House Bill 7171 (HB 7171) on January 16, 2020. HB 7171 included a total of seven bond measures—Higher Education Bond Measure, the State Beaches and Water Bond Measure, the Housing Bond Measure, the Transportation Bond Measure, the Early Childhood Care and Education Capital Fund Bond Measure, the Cultural Arts and the Economy Grant and State Preservation Grant Programs Bond Measure, and the Improvements to Industrial Facilities Infrastructure Bond Measure. The legislature voted on each article of HB 7171 separately.

On December 16, 2020, Article II of HB 7171 passed in a vote of 58-7, with 10 members not voting, in the state House. The measure was sent to the state Senate. On December 18, 2020, the state Senate voted 31 to five, with one member not voting, to approve HB 7171. Governor Gina Raimondo (D) signed HB 7171 on December 18, 2020, certifying the seven bond issues for the ballot.

Vote in the Rhode Island House of Representatives December 16, 2020
Requirement: Simple majority vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 38  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	58	7	10
Total percent	77.34%	9.33%	13.33%
Democrat	58	1	7
Republican	0	6	3

Vote in the Rhode Island State Senate December 18, 2020
Requirement: Simple majority vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 20  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	31	5	1
Total percent	83.78%	13.51%	2.70%
Democrat	31	0	1
Republican	0	5	0

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Rhode Island

Click "Show" to learn more about voter registration, identification requirements, and poll times in Rhode Island.

How to cast a vote in Rhode Island

The information below covers regular voting policies in the state. Information may have not applied to the election on November 3, 2020, because of temporary changes in response to coronavirus. Click here to read about changes made for the 2020 elections. Poll times Polls in Rhode Island open at 7 a.m. Eastern Time except in New Shoreham, where they open at 9 a.m. All polls statewide close at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote. Registration requirements Check your voter registration status here. To register to vote in Rhode Island, an applicant must be a citizen of the United States, a resident of Rhode Island, and at least 16 years old. To voter, one must be at least 18 years old by Election Day. Applicants can register online, by mailing in a voter registration form, or in person at the local board of canvassers or other state agencies such as the Department of Motor Vehicles, Department of Human Services, or the Department of Mental Health. Automatic registration See also: Automatic voter registration Rhode Island enacted automatic voter registration in 2017. Online registration See also: Online voter registration Rhode Island has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website. Same-day registration See also: Same-day voter registration “ Rhode Island allows for same day voter registration for the Presidential Election only. If you miss the voter registration deadline, you can register to vote on Election Day, but you will only be able to vote for President and Vice President. You will not be able to vote in any state, local, or other federal races. You can only register and vote on Election Day at the location designated by your local board of canvassers. ” Residency requirements To register to vote in Rhode Island, you must be a resident of the state. Verification of citizenship See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States Rhode Island does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual applying to register to vote must attest that they are a U.S. citizen under penalty of perjury. All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters. Verifying your registration The Rhode Island Department of State allows residents to check their voter registration status online by visiting this website. Voter ID requirements Rhode Island requires voters to present photo identification (ID) while voting. Accepted forms of ID include a Rhode Island driver's license, Rhode Island voter ID card, and U.S. passport. For a list of all accepted forms of ID, see below. The following list of accepted ID was current as of April 2023. Click here for the Rhode Island Secretary of State page on accepted ID to ensure you have the most current information. “ RI Driver's License or Permit RI Voter ID Card * U.S. Passport ID issued by a U.S. educational institution U.S. military ID ID card issued by the United States or the State of Rhode Island Government issued medical card Tribal ID ” *The Rhode Island Secretary of State's office is issuing free voter photo ID cards to individuals who do not possess any of the valid Photo IDs listed above. For additional information, visit Rhode Island's online Voter Information Center, call 401-222-2340, or email elections@sos.ri.gov.

See also

2021 measures

• 2021 ballot measures
• Bond issues on the ballot

Rhode Island

• Rhode Island ballot measures
• Rhode Island ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• House Bill 7171
• 2021 Voter Guide

Support

• Yes on 2 campaign website
• Yes on 2 Facebook page

Opposition

Submit links to editor@ballotpedia.org.