Keep Rhode Island Building
Under the McKee Administration, Rhode Island has more public and private infrastructure in the pipeline than at any point in our state’s history—investments that will pay dividends for generations and make our state more competitive and more attractive to live, work, and invest. Governor McKee’s FY 2027 budget builds on that momentum by recommending six general obligation bond questions totaling $600 million on the November ballot.
Higher Education Facilities – $215.0 million
- University of Rhode Island Integrated Health Building: Provides $105.0 million to build a facility on the Kingston Campus to advance health education, clinical training, and workforce development. The building would primarily house the College of Nursing and support interdisciplinary education with the Colleges of Health Sciences and Pharmacy.
- Community College of Rhode Island Workforce Innovation Center: Provides $60.0 million to build a workforce innovation center on the Warwick Campus designed to address critical workforce shortages, support local industry, and provide training in high-demand sectors, such as healthcare, advanced manufacturing, information technology, construction, and renewable energy.
- Rhode Island College Adams Library: Provides $50.0 million to construct a student success and career readiness center within Adams Library to integrate high-impact services, such as academic advising, tutoring, digital learning resources, and employer engagement, in a central location.
Housing and Homeownership – $120.0 million
- Increases and preserves the State’s affordable housing portfolio through redevelopment, new construction, property acquisition, and infrastructure improvements. Of the $120.0 million in funding, $25.0 million would go toward producing housing units intended for homeownership. Economic Development – $115.0 million
Economic Development – $115.0 million
- Industrial Site Development: Provides $70.0 million to acquire land, make infrastructure improvements, and prepare sites for development. Eligible uses include large-scale industrial site developments in the Quonset Development Park and investments in the I-195 District.
- Growth Industry Infrastructure: Provides $45.0 million to finance infrastructure, facilities, projects, and investments that support Rhode Island’s ocean, defense, life sciences, and related industries.
Career and Technical Education – $50.0 million
- Finances the creation of new—the and improvement of existing—career and technical education programs statewide, helping districts close facility-equity gaps, expand access to 21st-century workforce training, and remove barriers so every district can offer programs that meet student and employer needs.
Green Economy and Clean Energy Bonds – $50.0 million
- Resilient Rhody Infrastructure Fund: Provides $20.0 million to assist municipalities in improving the resiliency of infrastructure and vulnerable coastal habitats and restoring river and stream floodplains.
- Energy Efficiency: Provides $10.0 million to finance energy efficiency infrastructure.
- Natural and Recreational Assets: Provides $8.0 million for recreational facility improvements and new parks; $7.0 million to restore and protect water quality in the Narragansett Bay watershed; $3.0 million in 80-percent matching grants for brownfield remediation; $1.0 million in 80-percent matching grants for local recreation projects; and $1.0 million to protect and repair marine infrastructure and piers.
Cultural Economy – $50.0 million
- State History Center and State Preservation Grants Program: Provides $45.0 million to construct a facility with an exhibit gallery to permanently display the State’s founding documents and space for rotating exhibits; and $5 million in grants to be administered by the RI Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission for municipalities and nonprofits to preserve, renovate, and improve historic sites, museums, and cultural art centers.