Governor Gina Raimondo, Speaker of the House Nicholas Mattiello, Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed and General Treasurer Seth Magaziner on Friday issued the following joint statement regarding the repayment of moral obligation bonds issued for the 38 Studios project:
“As Rhode Island’s elected leaders responsible for ensuring the state’s financial well-being, we stand united in our continued support for honoring the moral obligation bonds issued to finance 38 Studios.
“While we share the frustration of many Rhode Islanders, it is in the best interest of the state and its taxpayers to pay these bonds. Defaulting on this obligation would lower the state’s credit rating, harm our efforts to create jobs and grow Rhode Island’s economy, and ultimately hurt the taxpayers.”
Rhode Island House Oversight Committee chairwoman Karen MacBeth has introduced legislation to stop taxpayer payments to the 38 Studios bondholders after allegations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that there were fraudulent dealings in the 38 Studios bond offering.
WPRO’s Dan Yorke and Tara Granahan both spoke to MacBeth about the case. Listen to the conversations below:
