Rhode Island General Laws Title 42. State Affairs and Government § 42-64.1-2. Legislative findings

(a) It is found and declared that there exists in our state a condition of substantial and persistent unemployment and underemployment that causes hardship to many individuals and families, wastes vital human resources, increases the public assistance burdens of the state, impairs the security of family life, contributes to crime and delinquency, prevents many of our youths from continuing their education, impedes the economic and physical development of municipalities and adversely affects the welfare and prosperity of our state; that many existing industrial and business facilities in our state are obsolete and inefficient, and dilapidated; that many of these facilities are under utilized or in the process of being vacated, creating additional unemployment; that there exists an acute shortage of land suitable for industrial and business development; that new industrial and business facilities are required to attract and house new industries and businesses and allow expansion and improvement of existing industry and business and thereby reduce the hazards of unemployment; that unaided efforts of private enterprises have not met and cannot meet the needs of providing new industrial and business facilities due to problems encountered in assembling suitable building sites, lack of adequate public service, unavailability of private capital for development, and the inability of private enterprise alone to plan, finance, and coordinate industrial and business development; that the economic insecurity attendant to this chronic and new unemployment and the absence of new employment opportunities constitutes a serious menace for the safety, morals, and general welfare of the people of our state.

(b) It is declared to be the policy of the state to promote a vigorous and growing economy, to prevent economic stagnation and to encourage the creation of new job opportunities in order to ameliorate the hazards of unemployment and underemployment, reduce the level of public assistance, increase revenues to the state and its municipalities and to achieve a stable diversified economy.

(c) It is found and declared that assisting the Rhode Island economic development corporation, as defined below (hereinafter referred to as the “economic development corporation”) to acquire and improve land and facilities for industrial and business purposes are public uses and purposes for which public moneys may be expended.