§ 42-126-2. Legislative findings and declaration of public policy. (a) The general assembly finds:

(1) That boating, boat building, outfitting, and related industries have been and continue to be a vital component of Rhode Island's economy;

(2) That these marine related businesses and their skilled workers are heavily concentrated in Rhode Island's East Bay Region;

(3) That this region has been considered a labor surplus area by the United States Department of Labor and that serious conditions of unemployment and underemployment exist in this region;

(4) That this region contains vacant and under-utilized facilities and resources;

(5) That as a result of the repeal of the federal luxury tax on boats and the state sales use tax on boats, boating, boat building, outfitting, and related industries have enjoyed a revival in the East Bay region, and that there is the opportunity for substantial continued expansion of these industries;

(6) That these industries face national, technical and international competition, that the market for the goods and services produced by these industries is national and international, that Rhode Island is an excellent location for boating and yachting, and that Rhode Island's marine industries are renowned nationally and internationally; and

(7) That the promotion and expansion of boating, boat building, outfitting, and related industries, the creation of jobs in these industries, and the fuller use of facilities and resources by these industries in the East Bay region will require the cooperation of federal, state and local governments, and private businesses.

(b) The general assembly declares that it is a public policy and in the public interest to promote job creation and economic development in boating and marine-related industries in the East Bay region and that the establishment of the East Bay Economic Initiative is a public purpose.

History of Section. (P.L. 1996, ch. 208, § 1.)