Question 1 is the largest of five statewide bond measures on the ballot. The proposal would allocate $165 million to URI for an integrated health facility combining health education and clinical training. The project is scheduled for completion by 2031.

Rhode Island College would receive $50 million to renovate Adams Library as a career readiness center, while CCRI would use $60 million for a workforce innovation center. The CCRI facility is intended to provide training space for manufacturing, technology and other growing industries. Both projects are expected to be completed by 2030.

“It’s all about investing in our students and jobs for the future,” CCRI Chief of Staff Amy Kempe said. She said employers need a pipeline of skilled workers and that the center would prepare people for jobs now and in the future, including in advanced manufacturing, robotics and artificial intelligence.

House Minority Leader Michael Chippendale opposes all five bond questions. He compared borrowing to pay for the projects to using new credit cards to pay existing debt, and argued Rhode Island should not rely on further borrowing to address its needs.

The $275 million principal would cost more than $440 million with estimated interest over 20 years, according to the figures presented for the measure—about $1.60 in repayment for each dollar borrowed. The added cost would ultimately be borne by taxpayers.

The other bond questions on the Nov. 3 ballot concern housing, economic development, cultural initiatives and environmental projects. Rhode Island’s last rejected bond question was in 2006. The Secretary of State’s office has released a voter information handbook covering the measures.