Rhode Island ballot measure · November 3, 2026

Rhode Island Green Economy Bond, explained

$55 million for resilience, water quality and recreation. A ballot measure is a yes-or-no question put directly to voters — no candidate is involved, and the wording on the ballot is the wording that becomes law. This page shows that wording first, then what it actually changes.

The official wordingWhat appears on the ballot. Everything below explains it.

"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?" (5) Green Economy Bonds — $55,000,000 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 fifty-five million dollars ($55,000,000) for environmental and recreational purposes, to be allocated as follows: (a) Brownfields Remediation and Economic Development — $3,000,000, for up to 80% matching grants to public, private, and/or non-profit entities for brownfield remediation projects. (b) Facility Improvements — $12,000,000, for the renovation and repair of existing facilities and recreational venues as well as the development and construction of new facilities and parks. (c) Local Recreation Projects — $1,000,000, for up to 80% matching grants for municipalities to acquire, develop, or rehabilitate local recreational facilities. (d) Marine Infrastructure Development — $1,000,000, to provide asset protection and emergency repair needs for most facilities, including recreational facilities, marine infrastructure, and more. (e) Resilient Rhody Infrastructure Fund — $25,000,000, to provide financial assistance to local governmental units for restoring and/or improving resiliency of infrastructure, vulnerable coastal habitats, and restoring rivers and stream floodplains. (f) Narragansett Bay Watershed Restoration — $7,000,000, for activities to restore and protect the water quality and enhance the economic viability and environmental sustainability of Narragansett Bay and the State's watersheds. (g) Agriculture Land Preservation Commission — $3,000,000, to the agricultural land preservation commission for farmland protection. (h) Open Space Program — $3,000,000, for the State to acquire fee simple interest or conservation easements to open space, watershed, and recreational lands.

What it actually means

Rhode Island has put a "green economy" bond to voters in most recent cycles, and this is the 2026 version: $55 million spread across eight purposes. The largest share, $25 million, goes to the Resilient Rhody Infrastructure Fund, which helps towns harden infrastructure, coastal habitats and floodplains against storms and flooding. The rest funds parks and recreational facilities, Narragansett Bay water quality, brownfield clean-up, farmland protection, open space acquisition and marine infrastructure repairs. Several pieces are matching grants, so local or private money has to come with them.

If you vote YES

The state may issue up to $55 million in general obligation bonds, refunding bonds or temporary notes for environmental and recreational purposes.
$25 million goes to the Resilient Rhody Infrastructure Fund for local governments to restore or strengthen infrastructure, vulnerable coastal habitats and river and stream floodplains, prioritised to leverage further local funds.
$12 million funds renovation and repair of existing recreational facilities and the construction of new facilities and parks; $1 million more goes to up-to-80% matching grants for municipal recreation projects.
$7 million funds Narragansett Bay and watershed restoration, including stormwater management, nutrient and pollution abatement and riparian buffer restoration.
$3 million each goes to brownfield remediation matching grants, the agricultural land preservation commission for farmland protection, and the Open Space Program to buy land or conservation easements; $1 million goes to marine infrastructure repairs.
The debt is repaid from state general revenue over the life of the bonds.

If you vote NO

The bonds are not issued, and none of the eight programmes receives this round of funding.
The Resilient Rhody Infrastructure Fund, brownfield grants, farmland protection and open space acquisition continue on whatever money remains from earlier bonds and annual appropriations.
Towns seeking help with coastal and flooding resilience would have to look to federal programmes, their own budgets or a future bond.
No new debt service is added for these projects.
The other four bond questions are unaffected.

The numbers that matter

Amount authorised: Up to $55,000,000
Largest allocation: $25 million to the Resilient Rhody Infrastructure Fund
Narragansett Bay and watershed restoration: $7,000,000
Combined total of all five 2026 bond questions: $600,000,000

What each side says0 for, 0 against — quoted, not summarised

Why supporters say YES

We found none published in the sources reviewed.

Why opponents say NO

We found none published in the sources reviewed.

What's genuinely uncertain

No argument is shown here for either side. No campaign registered in support or opposition as of July 2026 and no organised case either way was located, so rather than print one side alone this page shows neither.
Several allocations are matching grants of up to 80%, so how much work actually gets done depends on whether municipalities and nonprofits can raise the rest.
The proposition names programmes rather than projects, so which towns and which sites receive money would be decided afterwards by the administering agencies.
The total cost with interest is not stated in the ballot language and no official estimate was available to us.
The Secretary of State assigns the ballot numbers for these questions, and those had not been published when this was written. Some coverage refers to this question as the Environment and Watershed Protection and Development bond; the budget act calls it Green Economy Bonds.

The bottom line

Whether to borrow $55 million for storm resilience, Narragansett Bay water quality, parks and farmland — spread across eight programmes, much of it conditional on local matching money.

One neutral sentence describing the tradeoff — not a recommendation.

Sources (3)The numbers in the text above link here

Checking it against the official text

The Rhode Island Department of State publishes the certified measures and, in most states, an official voter guide with fiscal notes. That is the authoritative version. Everything here is an explanation of it, not a substitute for it.

Confirm this with the official source

Your ballot is determined by your election authority, not by us. Verify your registration, precinct, and sample ballot at Rhode Island Department of State.

Other measures on the Rhode Island ballot

Candidates on the same ballot

Everything on the Rhode Island ballot →

Rhode Island Green Economy Bond, explained

What it actually means

If you vote YES

If you vote NO

Why supporters say YES

Why opponents say NO

Checking it against the official text

Other measures on the Rhode Island ballot

Candidates on the same ballot

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