Rhode Island

Decision instrument

State debt above $50,000 needs the express consent of the people.

What public act authorizes the borrowing, and where is the purpose and the first-year cost written down? Rhode Island Constitution, Article VI, Section 16. The General Assembly also may not pledge the state’s faith for someone else’s debt without that consent. The report describes the unissued general obligation bonds as authorized by the voters. The fraction of votes that counts as consent is not in that section. A city or town charter may require a majority of electors voting on a bond ordinance, but only in the cases set out in R.I. Gen. Laws § 45-12-19. That referendum is not automatic.

Debt statement

No Annual Debt Statement of the New Jersey kind.

What yearly filing states gross debt, deductions, and how close the issuer is to its limit? State debt is in the annual financial statements. Unissued voter-approved bonds are extinguished seven years after authorization unless the General Assembly extends them. City and town dollar rows are not attached.

Debt limit

A city or town may not borrow past 3% of the full assessed value of its taxable property without special statutory authority.

What cap binds a county or a city, and is the state's own ceiling a different rule? R.I. Gen. Laws § 45-12-2. Borrowing in anticipation of taxes is outside that count. The state’s own ceiling is different: $50,000 unless the people consent. Short-term borrowing against expected receipts is a separate rule, capped at 30% of the prior year’s tax receipts and repaid inside the same fiscal year (Article VI, Section 17).

Conflict rule

A substantial conflict is a direct monetary gain or loss. A 10% equity stake, or a $5,000 interest, blocks a quiet contract.

Which ethics statute covers local officers, what counts as an interest, and who is left out? R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 36-14-5 and 36-14-7. The gain-or-loss test covers the official, family, a business associate, an employer, and a business the official represents. A benefit that hits a whole occupation the same way is not a substantial conflict. The 10% or $5,000 figure is the contracting rule: that interest may not take a state or municipal contract unless the award was open and public. It is not the definition of every conflict. Financial disclosure, including those ownership interests, is filed with the Ethics Commission.

Geography

Five counties. No county government.

What is the county-equivalent, and which cities, schools, and authorities must not be pasted onto that row? Census FIPS 44001 through 44009. County government has had no local function since 1846. Eight cities and thirty-one towns borrow. Dollar rows stay blank.

Primary money record

$1.588 billion general obligation bonds.

Which audited report is the state's own number, and as of what date? Notes to the financial statements, year ended June 30, 2025. General obligation principal: $1,587,760,000. It rose $104.5 million during the year. Additions were $273.3 million, including $223.9 million of new bonds and $49.4 million of refunding bonds that retired $49.8 million. Reductions were $168.7 million. Voters have authorized about $591.2 million that is not yet issued. The management discussion rounds the same stock to $1.6 billion.

Who pays the coupon

Full faith and credit. Principal due within one year on these bonds is $132.6 million.

Which fund, tax, or rate is actually pledged — not which new store might show up later? That $132.6 million is principal only. Interest on the general obligation bonds alone is not split out in the schedule that was opened. The combined governmental-bond debt service due in fiscal 2026 is principal $208.0 million and interest $109.1 million. That combined figure includes special-obligation and tobacco bonds, so it is not the general obligation coupon.

Other obligors

Special-obligation debt: $614.2 million. Do not add it to the $1.588 billion.

Which authorities and districts borrow beside the state and must not be added to its total? Of that, grant-anticipation bonds are $493.5 million, motor-fuel tax bonds are $6.1 million, historic-tax-credit bonds are $27.9 million, and appropriation-backed school bonds are $86.7 million. Tobacco settlement bonds are a separate $472.8 million of principal, plus $202.0 million of accreted interest that is not due until 2052. Certificates of participation are about $43.0 million and depend on a later appropriation. Component-unit bonds are $3.681 billion and are not the state’s general obligation stock.

Book-entry wall

Cede & Co., at the Depository Trust Company.

Who is the registered owner on ordinary public paper? Series-level confirmation still waits on that official statement. Beneficial owners stay unnamed.