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."

A Journal analysis of U.S. population estimates made public on Wednesday strongly indicates that Rhode Island is likely to lose one of its two House seats after the midterm elections of 2022.

As originally proposed by Tobon, people currently living in any state in the country would be eligible for the tax credit as long as they bring a family of at least three and have a household income that exceeds $100,000 per year. More specifically, Tobon said, he hoped to take advantage of middle-class professionals being priced out of Greater Boston by soaring housing costs.

His 2018 legislation said, in part: "It is hereby found and declared that due to long-term and short-term negative economic trends in Rhode Island, nonresident middle class families have found it difficult to move to and settle in Rhode Island. Middle class families are a significant component in the quality of life and stable cultural fabric of Rhode Island. Consequently, a need exists to promote the migration of nonresident middle class families to move to and settle in Rhode Island."

“Let’s get them here and get them counted,” Tobon told The Journal when he first introduced his bill. “Because the money we would need to keep them here is nothing compared to the money we would lose if we lose our seat.”

Tobon estimated that Rhode Island’s seat would be safe if the state can add 30,000 new residents, and his proposed cash-for-moving program is capped at that number of applicants.

On Thursday, he said he intends to file a reworked version of the bill that may address long a family would need to remain to qualify for the move-to-Rhode Island incentive, as well as other provisions. Tobon said he is still working on the specifics.