R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-48.2-2: Legislative findings and purpose.

The general assembly finds and declares that:

(1) The state of Rhode Island relies on a number of tax incentives, including credits, exemptions, and deductions, to encourage businesses to locate, hire employees, expand, invest, and/or remain in the state;

(2) These various tax incentives are intended as a tool for economic development, promoting new jobs and business growth in Rhode Island;

(3) The state needs a systematic approach for evaluating whether incentives are fulfilling their intended purposes in a cost-effective manner;

(4) In order to improve state government’s effectiveness in serving the residents of this state, the legislature finds it necessary to provide for the systematic and comprehensive analysis of economic development tax incentives and for those analyses to be incorporated into the budget and policymaking processes.