Bill
SB 3181
Authorizes up to $100 million in general obligation bonds to fund Rhode Island coastal resilience and climate adaptation projects over ten years, prioritizing high-risk areas.
Proposed by: Senators DiPalma, Gu, Felag, Sosnowski, Tikoian, Ciccone, and Thompson
Introduced: April 3, 2026
Committee: Senate Finance
Summary目的
- Create a statewide general obligation bond program, the "Blue Wave Bond for Coastal Preparedness," to fund coastal resilience and climate adaptation projects in Rhode Island.
- Voter referendum on November 2026 ballot to authorize up to $100 million in bonds, with funds directed to high-risk and prioritized areas identified in the state’s resilience planning.
Main purpose and intent
- Address increasing climate-related risks (sea level rise, coastal erosion, storm surge, extreme precipitation, chronic flooding) that threaten safety, infrastructure, housing, environment, and the economy.
- Fund capital projects, planning, design, permitting, acquisition, construction, and workforce development to plan, design, build, and maintain climate-resilient infrastructure.
- Prioritize projects aligned with the state’s resilience planning and risk mapping, with a ten-year implementation horizon.
Key provisions and changes the bill would make
- Authorization of bonds:
- Up to $100 million in general obligation bonds for coastal preparedness and resilience.
- Bonds issued at governor/treasurer discretion, with interest/maturity per RI law.
- Use of proceeds:
- Funds may cover capital projects and related planning, design, permitting, acquisition, and construction that directly increase resilience to climate hazards.
- All projects must comply with labor and payment requirements (RI Gen Laws § 37-13-7) for contractors and subcontractors.
- Eligible project categories:
- Coastal and shoreline protection (living shorelines, dune/beach restoration, salt marsh restoration, easements, nature-based attenuation, etc.).
- Stormwater and flood mitigation infrastructure (drainage expansion, culverts, detention basins, green infrastructure, modeling, retrofits).
- Water/wastewater resilience (floodproofing, equipment relocation/elevation, wet-weather storage, backup power, sewage protection).
- Transportation and evacuation resilience (elevations, flood barriers, berms, planning for retreat/re-routing, resilient transit).
- Energy/critical infrastructure hardening (microgrids, substations hardening, undergrounding, redundancy, comms protection).
- Port/working waterfront resilience (bulkhead work, flood barriers, marina port resilience, backup power).
- Public facilities/resilience hubs (floodproofing, resilience hubs, EMS/hospital-adjacent protection, relocation of services).
- Workforce preparedness and training (training programs, credentials, apprenticeships, partnerships with colleges, unions, workforce boards; facilities and grants for training related to resilience projects).
- Priority alignment with resilience plan (Section 5):
- Proceeds must be tied to high-risk or prioritized areas identified in the state’s resilience report.
- Ten-year implementation horizon: projects must be actionable within ten years, with measurable resilience benefits.
- Documentation required for each project, including location, alignment to resilience actions, hazard descriptions, risk reduction estimates, and a 10-year schedule.
- Public list of priority areas and eligible investments within 180 days of voter approval.
- Prohibition on non-priority spending; any non-aligned expenditure deemed unauthorized and reallocation possible.
- Allocation and administration (Section 6):
- Proceeds deposited into the Blue Wave Bond Fund.
- Governor’s office, in coordination with key agencies (Infrastructure Bank, DEM, CRMC, DOT, Admin, etc.), to establish project prioritization.
- Priorities: protect critical facilities/populations, reduce repetitive flood losses, prefer nature-based solutions, bolster emergency response, leverage federal/private/matching funds, support port/working waterfront resilience, provide measurable risk reduction, and foster a trained resilience workforce.
- Allocation schedule (Section 7):
- Coastal/Shoreline Protection: $30M
- Stormwater/Flood Mitigation: $20M
- Wastewater/Drinking Water Resilience: $15M
- Transportation/Evacuation: $10M
- Energy/Critical Infrastructure Hardening: $10M
- Port/Working Waterfront: $10M
- Public Facilities/Resilience Hubs: $3M
- Workforce Preparedness/Training: $2M
- Administrative cap: up to 2% of total bonds
- Transferability: limits allow up to 10% transfer between categories with justification and 30-day notice
- Municipal grant set-aside: at least 25% of proceeds awarded via municipalities/regions/quasi-public entities
- Matching incentives: prioritize leveraging federal/private/municipal funds (e.g., FEMA, USACE)
- Regional equity and distribution (Section 8):
- Ensure investments span coastal and inland regions consistent with resilience report’s high-risk/prioritized areas.
- Minimum regional investment: 15% of total bonds allocated to each of five regional groupings (Washington, Kent, Providence, Bristol & Newport, Blackstone Valley).
- Remaining funds may be allocated statewide to priority projects.
- Waiver authority if regional readiness is insufficient or a statewide project yields multi-regional benefits; waivers must be reported with justification.
- Accountability and reporting (Section 9):
- Within 180 days of voter approval, publish an Implementation Plan with preliminary project list, costs/timelines, geographic distribution, outcomes, and workforce plans.
- Annual report to governor/general assembly and public, detailing obligations/expenditures, project status, workforce outcomes, resilience performance, and progress toward protecting high-risk areas.
- Ballot question (Section 10):
- Ballot to ask voters whether to authorize up to $100 million in general obligation bonds for the Blue Wave Bond for Coastal Preparedness, with implementation within 10 years in high-risk/prioritized areas.
- Effective dates (Section 11):
- Sections 1, 2, 10, and 11 take effect upon passage.
- Remaining sections activate only if a majority vote approves the ballot measure and certification is provided by the State Board of Elections.
Potential impact
- Finances: Enables a $100 million bond program contingent on voter approval, with explicit spending categories and regional equity requirements.
- Resilience: Directly funds a broad set of climate adaptation projects across coastal protection, infrastructure hardening, water management, and workforce development.
- Governance: Establishes a structured administration, reporting, and transparency framework; requires alignment with statewide resilience planning and ten-year action horizon.
- Labor and procurement: Emphasizes labor standards and local workforce development, with local/municipal grant opportunities and federal/private matching incentives.
- Regional equity: Sets minimum investment targets to ensure geographic distribution of resilience funding.
Ballot timing
- Referendum to occur at the November 2026 general election, with the bond expected to be authorized only if voters approve Section 10’s proposition.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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