With R.I. on brink of losing House seat, legislator plans to revisit paying people to move here

PROVIDENCE — A Pawtucket lawmaker plans to reintroduce his bill that would offer $10,000 in tax credits or incentive payments to middle-class people willing to move to Rhode Island, so the state can pump up its population in time to avoid the loss of one of the Ocean State’s two seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

On a swing through the State House on Thursday, Rep. Carlos Tobon, D-Pawtucket, confirmed his intent to reintroduce a reworked version of the Qualified Family Migration to Rhode Island Act he introduced last year.

His bill would have dangled cash — $833.33 per month, up to $10,000 — to middle-class American families willing to become Rhode Islanders for a year, in an effort to bolster bolstering the state’s stagnant population before the 2020 census reckoning.

While his 2018 bill sparked controversy — and some derision earlier this year from critics — Tobon pointed to this headline in Thursday’s Journal as evidence of the need: “R.I. on brink of losing House seat.”

Read more: https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20181220/with-ri-on-brink-of-losing-house-seat-legislator-plans-to-revisit-paying-people-to-move-here