Frank A Ciccone

Senate Resolution Honoring The Victims Of The Brown University Shooting And Commending First Responders

Senate Resolution Expressing Deepest Condolences On The Passing Of Arthur Armand Coia

Senate Resolution Extending Deepest Sympathy On The Passing Of The Venerated Legal Luminary, Judge Frank Caprio

This act would promote transparency and accountability in the use of artificial intelligence by health insurers to manage coverage and claims. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would require electric and gas utilities to provide a detailed breakdown of supply, delivery, and public policy costs on electric and gas bills, including specific costs for renewable energy sources, and mandate public comment and PUC approval. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would establish the Rhode Island fire services training fund, a restricted, non- lapsing fund within the department of public safety to support the Rhode Island Fire Academy and statewide fire service training. An annual assessment equal to twenty-five hundredths percent (0.25%) of all written premiums for the prior calendar year would be used to fund the program. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would repeal the corporation minimum tax. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would establish the office of inspector general as an independent administrative agency charged with the responsibility to investigate, detect, and prevent fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement in the expenditure of public funds. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would allow a modification to federal adjusted gross income for all social security income for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2027. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would change the gross pay amount a retired teacher or state employee certified to teach drivers education could earn as a part-time income by the department of education or by the board of governors of higher education for the purpose of providing classroom instruction in driver education courses to $25,000 from $15,000. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would raise the amount of life insurance the state would provide at no charge to Rhode Island National Guard members called up for federal duty to five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000). This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would increase the income range up to fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) and tax credit up to eight hundred fifty dollars ($850), for elderly and disabled persons who own or rent their homes. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would require that all maintenance of all sidewalks along state highways, with the exception of snow and ice removal, be the responsibility of the state. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would protect people attending Rhode Island court proceedings from civil arrest without a judicial warrant, ensures court access, sets enforcement rules, and provides remedies for violations. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would allow a minor between fourteen (14) and seventeen (17) years of age who does not have a permanent residence or is in the custody of the department of children, youth and families to receive a state identification card without a signature from a parent, guardian or foster parent at no cost as well as a certified copy of the minor's birth certificate. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would mandate arming campus police at public higher educational institutions and would include campus police in the definition of "law enforcement officer" for the purposes of the "law enforcement officers' bill of rights". This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would allow vehicles owned and operated by the Rhode Island Disaster Medical Assistance Team, Inc. and/or its affiliates or subsidiaries to operate with forward facing red and white emergency lights. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would require every school district to render assistance and cooperation within its jurisdictional power to further the objectives of this chapter, to wit, providing the courts with any information concerning a child as the court may require. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would change the community service requirements of a sentence related to the violation of § 11-44-21.1 relating to defacing private residences, offices, businesses or commercial property. Every person convicted of a first and second offense under this section would be required to perform not less than forty (40) hours and not more than one hundred (100) hours cleaning and remediating graffiti vandalism on state or local properties. Every person convicted of a third or subsequent offense under this section would be required to perform not less than forty (40) hours and not more than three hundred (300) hours of community service cleaning and remediating graffiti vandalism on state or local properties. This act would take effect upon passage.

Senate Resolution Honoring Kathy Nadeau On The Occasion Of Her Retirement From The State Of Rhode Island After Many Years Of Dedicated And Exemplary Public Service

This act would require that a conspicuous display be a visual illustration showing each component of the utility bill and the cost associated with each component of said bill, subject to the approval of the division of public utilities (DPUC). This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would direct the commissioner of elementary and secondary education to ensure that every public school has a school library in a permanent and dedicated space. This act would also direct the commissioner to ensure that every public school has a certified school librarian to manage and maintain the library. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would expand the requirement that all high schools and middle schools, whether they are publicly or privately run, to maintain on site functional automated external defibrillators (AED) while establishing and implementing a cardiac emergency response plan in these schools, inclusive of athletic activities, beginning in the 2027-2028 academic year. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would exempt from the sales tax firearm safety equipment, storage devices, gun safes, gun cabinets, gun vaults, gun cases, strong boxes, cable locks, trigger locks and biometric locks. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would provide that the department of elementary and secondary education, in consultation with a workgroup composed of various stakeholders, would develop a funding formula for school districts sending students to career and technical programs outside their district. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would permit paid members on the state labor relations board to continue to receive their retirement benefits. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would exempt individual retirement accounts as a countable resource for public assistance. This act would prohibit the state as a creditor against an ABLE account in the event of death of a beneficiary. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would require any remaining funds in the enacted budget from the Rhode Island promise scholarship program or the Rhode Island hope scholarship program, after Rhode Island college has satisfied all eligible scholarships pursuant to those programs, to be reimbursed to onward we learn for any scholarships that onward we learn has paid on behalf of its students who have attended Rhode Island college in that fiscal year. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would exempt the trade-in value of pickup trucks under eight thousand eight hundred pounds (8,800 lbs.) gross weight, used exclusively for personal use, from sales tax. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would provide medical assistance coverage for medical services provided to qualifying eligible recipients for community-based care. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would prohibit insurance companies from paying a rate that is less than the approved Medicaid rate set by the executive office of health and human services. This act would take effect on January 1, 2027.

This act would permit a nurse who has the appropriate knowledge, credentials and clinical competency, to provide home services foot care, which would include routine foot and nail care, as well as implementing a plan of footcare that includes hygiene and the shortening of toe and finger nails. A nurse providing in-home foot care would ensure that two (2) hours of continuing education out of the ten (10) hours required per certification period would be focused on foot care. The department of health would determine fair and reasonable license and renewal fees for nurses providing services pursuant to this section. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would allow a landlord that did not obtain a lead certificate pursuant to the lead mitigation laws of chapter 128.1 of title 42 due to the fact that the state lacks the adequate resources to conduct inspections. The act also would provide that if the landlord certifies that the landlord followed all lead mitigation law requirements as of September 1, 2024, the landlord would not be fined for the lack of a lead certificate. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would remove the mandatory certification for an individual sixteen (16) years or older who was found delinquent for having committed two (2) offenses after the age of sixteen (16) which would render the person subject to an indictment if the person was an adult. This act would take effect upon passage.

Joint Resolution To Approve And Publish And Submit To The Electors A Proposition Of Amendment To The Constitution -- Of Suffrage (proposes To The Voters Of The State A Constitutional Amendment Regarding Eligibility To Vote And To Be A Candidate.)

This act would amend several statutes relating to elections and the dates for primaries and dates within which to file nomination papers and object to nomination papers. This act would take effect on January 1, 2028.

This act would prohibit participation in the federal school voucher tax credit for contributions to scholarship-granting organizations unless both the general assembly and the governor approve such participation. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would create a peer-to-peer car sharing program, which will prescribe insurance coverage and other related details while using a car sharing application. This act would take effect on January 1, 2027.

This act would require law enforcement agencies to obtain search warrants for electronic information, data, location information and other identifying information of subscribers and customers, except in specified circumstances. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would make sexual contact or penetration between any law enforcement officer that is on duty and a person that is a detainee, arrestee, in custody or a suspect during questioning, a felony. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would prohibit any questioning of a juvenile who is suspected of delinquent or criminal behavior unless (1) the parent, legal guardian of the juvenile or the DCYF when parental rights are terminated is present, (2) unless an attorney is present, (3) the juvenile and their parent or legal guardian have waived their presence, (4) the court is satisfied that the juvenile has made a knowing voluntary waiver of their rights, or (5) the juvenile is emancipated or has misrepresented their age as being eighteen (18) years or older. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would provide the review and appeal process for individuals applying for a permit or license to carry a handgun with the licensing authority or attorney general. This act would provide that an applicant denied a concealed carry handgun permit, could request a meeting with the licensing authority to reconsider the application. If the licensing authority fails to approve the application after the meeting, then an appeal for a trial de nova may be taken to the superior court. The act would further provide that the documents, records and proceedings before the licensing authority and before the superior court shall not be open to the public unless the applicant requests in writing that that hearing be open to the public. This act would take effect upon passage.

Under current law, employers are not obligated to pay overtime to their executive, administrative, and professional employees who are compensated through salary rather than hourly wages, unless the salary of such employees would, if calculated according to a 40-hour work week, fall below the state’s current minimum wage. This act would raise that cut-off and make additional salaried employees non-exempt and therefore eligible for overtime pay, by requiring small employers with one to fifty (1-50) employees and large employers with fifty (50) or more employees, to pay overtime wages to currently exempt workers, if their salary falls below a threshold based upon multipliers of minimum hourly wage, for a forty (40) hour workweek. For example, for the year 2027, the multiplier would be one and one-half (1½) times the minimum hourly wage for a forty (40) hour workweek for small employers with less than fifty (50) employees and two (2) times the minimum hourly wage for a forty (40) hour workweek for large employers with more than fifty (50) employees, resulting in overtime entitlement for more employees. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would increase the number of days a retired municipal employee could work in a calendar year without interruption of their pension benefits from seventy-five (75) to ninety (90) days. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would allow any peace officer working in a Rhode Island school, as a full or part- time resource officer, to work in excess of the seventy-five (75) working days in a calendar year and not have an interruption in their receipt of pension benefits. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would provide for the right to strike for public sector workers in Rhode Island, including teachers, with exceptions for police officers, firefighters, 911 employees, and correctional officers. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would repeal the law that prevents a collective bargaining agreement covering state employees, public school teachers and municipal employees from specifying a particular healthcare provider in it. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would repeal daylight savings time in the state and follow the “United States Standard Eastern Time” as provided by an exemption from the advancement of time as provide by the federal Uniform Time Ac of 1966, 15 U.S.C. § 260(a). This act would take effect upon passage and enactment by a law of a permanent year-round “United States Eastern Standard Time” in the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont, in substantially the same form as § 42-5.2-1 and upon a date agreed upon by all five (5) states.

This act would authorize and fund the painting of a portrait of the president of the senate and former presidents of the senate to be hung in the senate lounge or thereabouts. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would create a program through which fire departments and fire districts are notified of locations of registrants of electric and hybrid motor vehicles by the division of motor vehicles. This act would take effect six (6) months after passage.

Senate Resolution Proclaiming January 18th-24th, 2026, To Be "certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists Week" In The State Of Rhode Island

This act would direct the public utilities commission to establish a standardized framework for determining authorized common equity ratios and authorized rates of returns on equity for public utilities. This act would take effect on July 1, 2027.

This act would amend the composition of the urban collaborative in Providence and would provide that the urban collaborative would be governed by a board of trustees. It would also clarify that the Providence public schools cannot terminate their participation in the urban collaborative during the state takeover of the Providence public schools without the approval of the Providence school board. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would amend the composition of the Rhode Island school safety committee by adding an additional member who is a representative from the Rhode Island School Resource Officer Association. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would allow a modification to federal adjusted gross income for all social security income for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2027. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would exempt from sales tax the trade-in values of motorcycles as well the proceeds received as a result of an unrecovered stolen or total loss of a motorcycle. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would exempt the trade-in value of pickup trucks weighing fourteen thousand pounds (14,000 lbs.) or less from sales and use tax. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would allow a municipality to set an additional conveyance tax rate of not more than ten dollars ($10.00) for each five hundred dollars ($500), or fractional part of that amount, of the consideration in excess of nine hundred thousand dollars ($900,000). This act would also require that the excess conveyance taxes collected alternatively be deposited in a restricted account and distributed within two (2) years, to be used only for affordable housing for individuals or families at or below eighty percent (80%) of the area median income or transferred to state housing agencies for use in the community to develop affordable housing. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would allow members of the retirement system who served in the national guard or reserves and qualify as veterans, to purchase retirement service credits based on their years of service in the National guard or reserves. This act would take effect upon passage.

Joint Resolution Making An Appropriation Of $3,000,000 To The Rhode Island Food Bank (this Resolution Would Authorize The Appropriation Of The Sum Of $3,000,000 To The Rhode Island Food Bank.)

This act would create an additional Rhode Island personal income tax of three percent (3.00%) on taxable income over approximately six-hundred and forty thousand dollars ($640,000) in 2026 dollars, impacting only the top one percent (1%) in income of personal income tax filers. This tax would apply to taxable income after all appropriate exemptions and deductions and not to total income. The existing three-bracket personal income tax structure would remain in place. Each year, Rhode Island’s division of taxation would apply an inflation adjustment to revise the top one percent (1%) cut-off for the following tax year. This act would not apply retroactively to prior tax years or to taxable income from prior tax years. This act would take effect on January 1, 2027.

This act would provide on and after July 1, 2027, a school district could elect and choose to not spend money on any mandate that is not fully funded through the state education aid formula or of any other state funding received through the department of elementary and secondary education. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would establish a tax credit against income tax based upon eligible expenditures incurred by a family caregiver for the care and support of an eligible family member. The maximum amount of the credit would be one thousand dollars ($1,000) and would apply to all tax years beginning after December 31, 2026. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would create an income-sensitive tiered subsidy program to ensure that home energy utility costs are affordable for eligible low-income households. The cost of the discount, including administrative costs not funded through other sources, would be collected in rates from all other customers of the electric and gas distribution companies in a manner determined just and reasonable by the public utilities commission. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would authorize an annual two and one-half percent (2.5%) escalation for all active and retired police and firefighter's retirement pension allowance, compounded each year on January 1 following the year of retirement and continuing yearly, on that date. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would eliminate the estate tax in Rhode Island. This act would take effect upon passage.

Joint Resolution Creating A Special Legislative Commission To Study Safe Staffing Ratios In Hospitals (creates A 15-member Joint Commission To Study And Provide Recommendations Regarding Safe Staffing Ratios In Hospitals, And Who Would Report Back To The General Assembly By September 1, 2027, And Expire On January 30, 2028.)

This act would prohibit any city, town, quasi-municipal corporation or public corporation from assessing any existing agricultural operation or agricultural land for the extension of any water utilities past the property and from imposing any connection fee. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would change the residential limit for any substantial multi-family housing project not to exceed forty thousand (40,000) residents according to the United States Census Bureau. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would repeal the provisions of chapter 45.1 of title 11, regarding unreasonable noise levels. This act would also provide that cities and towns would have the power to establish, by ordinance, standards for the control of noise originating within the municipality. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would define suitable person for purposes of possessing and having a concealed carry pistol permit, would establish reasons for applying for a concealed carry permit for both in- state and out-of-state residents, would establish what information is required on applications for concealed carry permits, establish an appeal process when an application is denied and provide that records relating to concealed carry permits and appeals are not a public record. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would require all schools and educational institutions to develop and implement a school safety plan that would provide for immediate access to school facilities by first responders in an emergency. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would make it a felony for any person required to register as a sex offender to live within three hundred feet (300’) of a school as defined in § 11-37.1-2. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would prohibit defendants who are serving probation for driving under the influence death resulting from earning good time off their probationary period. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would allow a tenant with a disability who needs a service animal or an emotional support animal to house the animal on the rented premises. The act would allow a landlord to request documentation from the tenant supporting the need for the emotional support animal. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would criminalize and set mandatory minimum sentences for the unlawful interference with traffic upon the federal and state highways of this state. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would provide a rebuttable defense if any person shall die or sustain a personal injury while committing any violent criminal offense of a person if that individual is lawfully in a place they have a right to be, and acted in self-defense and in the reasonable belief that the person engaged in the criminal offense was about to inflict great bodily harm or death upon that person or any other individual. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would reduce the number of signatures needed on nomination papers for a candidate to be a delegate to a national presidential convention to 50 voters. This act would also amend and reduce the number of days before an election for which nomination papers must be submitted before a presidential preference primary to 54 days, and would reduce the number of days by which the local board of canvassers would need to certify the signatures to the secretary of state to 50 days before the presidential preference primary. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would increase the penalties for a first offense of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death to a minimum ten (10) years in incarceration, a minimum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) and a minimum license revocation of ten (10) years. It would also increase other penalties in this section from a minimum of five (5) years to ten (10) years in prison for violation. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would make a first offense of possessing a large capacity feeding device a misdemeanor and subsequent offenses felonies. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would clarify the role of a corporation electing to be governed as a workers' cooperative to allow it to operate as a hiring hall under certain circumstances. This act would also designate that workers furnished by a workers’ cooperative corporation would be considered independent contractors, and the workers’ cooperative with the respect to those workers would be exempt from the requirements that to the extent that a workers’ cooperative has stakeholders (owners) who are employees (members), the workers’ cooperative would be subject to the provisions of title 28 related to employees including, but not limited to: department of labor and training payroll taxes, temporary disability insurance, state unemployment insurance, and workers’ compensation insurance. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would require employers to protect employees from extreme temperatures through rest breaks, PPE, training, and equipment, and mandate training, to recognize and mitigate heat- and cold-related risks. The act would require the department of health to establish and implement a training program. This act would take effect on January 1, 2027.

This act would establish a seven (7) member public-private partnership infrastructure oversight commission to approve all requests for proposals submitted for public-private partnership construction of qualified facilities. This act would also establish a new scheme outlining the request for proposal process for the construction of public-private qualified facilities and would further provide for the state to exercise the power of eminent domain relating to the construction of such qualified facilities. This act would take effect upon passage.

Effective January 1, 2028, this act would increase the hourly minimum wage in accordance with the Consumer Price Index for the Northeast Region for the previous four (4) fiscal years. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would require that before any fire fighter or police officer is eligible to receive benefits for an illness or injury sustained while off duty, that they prove they had reasonable grounds to believe that an emergency existed that required immediate need of their assistance. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would authorize the use of campaign funds for security related expenses, including home or office security systems and ongoing monitoring services. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would amend the requirements pursuant to the Hospital Conversions Act to authorize the attorney general and the department of health to permit the filing of an initial application for conversion pursuant to the expedited review provisions of § 23-17.14-12.1 for a hospital subject to court-supervised insolvency proceedings. The provisions of this act shall sunset one year from the effective date of the act, except that the sunset provision shall not inhibit review by either department for any application that was filed on or before the sunset date. This act would take effect upon passage.

RELATING TO MAKING REVISED APPROPRIATIONS IN SUPPORT OF FY 2026 RELATING TO ROGER WILLIAMS MEDICAL CENTER AND OUR LADY OF FATIMA HOSPITAL AND AUTHORIZING THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND TO PROVIDE FINANCING SUPPORT TO ASSIST THE SALE OF THE HOSPITALS TO CHARTERCARE HEALTH OF RHODE ISLAND, INC.

This act would establish property, tangible, sales and use tax exemptions as incentives for the location of qualified data centers in Rhode Island upon a minimum qualified investment of two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000) in a designated enterprise zone and four hundred million dollars ($400,000,000) in a non-enterprise zone. The application requirements and approval process would be in a form and manner prescribed by the Rhode Island commerce corporation. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would allow retired state employees to be reemployed by a municipality with no restrictions and with no loss of their existing retirement benefits. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would increase the monthly minimum benefit for a spouse, domestic partner or former spouse and grant, to eligible retirees who retired after July 1, 2012, and provide a one-time full COLA of three and thirty-four one hundredths percent (3.34%). This act would further provide a modification reducing federal adjusted gross income for the amount received of public pension benefits administered by the Employees Retirement System of Rhode Island. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would allow an individual, who is a first-time homebuyer, to contribute funds to a first-time homebuyer savings account with Rhode Island housing to pay for eligible costs to purchase a home and receive favorable tax deductions and exemptions. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would add probation officers and parole officers to the definition of "police officer" for purposes of salary payments during line of duty illness or injury. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would establish a revolving fund to assist first-time homebuyers and veterans to purchase a home in Rhode Island by issuing grants of up to forty thousand dollars ($40,000). The revolving fund would be administered by the Rhode Island housing and mortgage finance corporation. This act would also authorize the Rhode Island housing and mortgage finance corporation to issue low interest loans to applicants who qualify for the grants. The act would also provide for an initial appropriation of thirty million dollars ($30,000,000) to establish the revolving fund. This act would take effect on July 1, 2026.

This act would eliminate the sales tax on taxi services and pet care services. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would, change the teacher and state employees' retirement benefit calculations' cutoff date from July 1, 2024, to July 1, 2012, for all retirement members eligible to and who retire on or after the new July 1, 2012, cutoff date. The average compensation would be reduced from the highest five (5) years to the average of the highest three (3) consecutive years, of compensation, within the total service, when the average compensation was the highest. This act would take effect upon passage.

Joint Resolution Making An Appropriation Of $15,200,000 To Be Used To Purchase Pfas-free Firefighting Gear (authorizes The Appropriation Of The Sum Of $15,200,000 To Cities And Towns To Purchase Firefighter And Rescue Personnel Protective Gear Which Is Pfas Free.)

Joint Resolution Making An Appropriation Of $200,000 To The Rhode Island Free Clinic (appropriates The Sum Of $200,000 To The Rhode Island Free Clinic.)

Commencing January 1, 2027, this act would mandate insurers provide health insurance coverage without cost-share requirements for vaccinations recommended by the state department of health and would mandate the coverage for the medical assistance program and managed care organizations. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would make offenses against gift card holders subject to the penalties for larceny. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would require public auctions by any city or town of real estate or an interest therein to only be done in person and not by electronic or remote procedures unless authorized by court order. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would allow parents or guardians to have access to GPS data of the bus or other motor vehicle used to transport students to and from school. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would require all requests for public records to sufficiently identify information to permit verification of the requester’s identity and would allow the public body to communicate regarding the request. This act would not allow for anonymous public records requests. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would provide that a person over the age of eighteen (18) years can purchase and possess a stun gun or electronic dart gun and also prohibits the sale of a stun gun or electronic dart gun to any person under the age of eighteen (18) years. It would also criminalize the use of a stun gun or electronic dart gun in any criminal offense or the use of a stun gun or electronic dart gun against any police officer engaged in the execution of their duty. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would increase the sentences, fines or both for § 31-27-1 ("driving so as to endanger, resulting in death") and § 31-27-1.1 ("driving so as to endanger, resulting in personal injury"). This act would also repeal the enhancement of the punishments for subsequent offenses of § 31-27-2.2 ("driving under the influence, resulting in death") and § 31-27-2.6 ("driving under the influence, resulting in serious bodily injury") and would replace the enhancement of punishments with an amended single range of sentences, fines or both. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would require that the license plates of a vehicle be impounded by a law enforcement officer if the owner was arrested for driving while their license was suspended, revoked or cancelled for refusing to submit to a chemical test or for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of a narcotic drug or intoxicating liquor and would allow temporary substitute plates if the court determines such impoundment of license plates would cause undue hardship to dependents of offender. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would allow for a special Rhode Island license plate to raise awareness for colon cancer. The plate would be designed by the Partnership to Reduce Cancer in Rhode Island in honor of the late Maryellen Goodwin. The fees for the plate would be divided equally between the general fund and the not-for-profit Partnership to Reduce Cancer in Rhode Island. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would allow for the holder of a manufacturer’s license to be able to sell one one- sixth (1/6) barrel keg of malt beverage, produced on the premises, per day. This act would take effect upon passage.

This would allow the dependents of a national guard member, who is in good standing, to be eligible for tuition assistance. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would require the state building commissioner to implement electronic permitting for any category of state or local permit authorized under state law to significantly impact the expediency of construction and development. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would provide protocols for radon inspection relative to real estate transactions and provides time frames and conditions for testing and mitigation. This act would take effect on June 1, 2027.

This act would require all public utilities to maintain a customer service facility within the state to perform services such as addressing customer inquiries and accepting bill payments. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would grant automatic admission to state public institutions of higher education to any applicant who is a resident of the State of Rhode Island who has earned the rank of Eagle Scout from Scouting America or the Gold Award from the Girl Scouts of the USA and meets all minimum application submission requirements of the institution. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would amend the statute establishing Rhode Island's voluntary quality rating system for early care and education and school-age child care by requiring that, for school-age child care programs operating in RIDE-certified school buildings, facility-based elements of observational tools or environment rating scales (including SACERS or successor tools) be deemed met or treated neutrally in order that such facility-based elements do not reduce a program's quality rating level. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would prohibit state agencies from entering into software contracts that limit the agency's ability to install or run the software of the agency's choosing on their hardware. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would make it an unfair claim practice whenever a dental insurer refuses to honor a “direction to pay” after a request by the claimant or the insured. This act would allow the insurer to review the records of the service provider to verify that the services were received, but prohibits the insurer from modifying the amount of benefits to be paid. This act would not allow a contract between the insurer and a dental service provider requiring the provider to accept payment for services only by virtual credit card. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would require a report to be produced that focuses on prescription drug prior authorizations by January 1, 2027. This act would take effect upon passage.

Senate Resolution Respectfully Urging The United States Congress To Protect Patients And Traditional Medicare From Medicare Advantage

This act would prohibit health insurance providers from requiring preauthorization for in- network mental health or substance use disorder services. This act would take effect on January 1, 2027.

This act would limit the use by insurers of step therapy utilization management, a protocol or program that establishes a specific sequence in which prescription drugs for a specified medical condition are covered by an insurer by allowing medical providers to request step therapy exceptions. This act would also require insurers to provide the office of the health insurance commissioner with information and documents sufficient to evaluate whether step therapy protocols delay or deny medically necessary care, including utilization and outcome data as required by the commissioner. This act would take effect upon passage.

This bill would require landlords of residential properties built before 1978, to register lead hazard mitigation information with the department of health and the information would remain private and only accessible by specific entities. The act also would make revisions to prohibited retaliatory conduct and the statewide mandatory rental registry. The act further would allow landlords to register free of charge, restrict DOH from creating any additional burdens, and promptly issue lead documentation. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would substitute "housing resources commission" with the "department of health" for lead hazard mitigation purposes. It would also make it easier for a property owner to release funds placed into an escrow account, as long as the money is needed to make required repairs or improvements. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would amend the section of law relative to violations for driving after denial, revocation or suspension of a license and would expand the list of offenses for which an unlicensed motorist would be in violation. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would provide that fees for costs charged for search, retrieval or copying of public records shall be waived for members of the general assembly who certify that they are acting in their official capacity. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would prohibit bail bond agents and bail bond recovery agents from engaging in civil immigration enforcement, define such conduct as unprofessional, and subject violators to professional discipline under Rhode Island law, including license suspension, revocation, denial of renewal and civil penalties. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would change the date for the election of delegates to the conventions from the fourth Tuesday in April to the first Tuesday in March 2028. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would amend sections of the Rhode Island cannabis act relating to the residency requirements for applicants for issuance of a license or certificate to own a cannabis establishment. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would create a comprehensive statutory framework to address and regulate the use of artificial intelligence in the workplace, considering the interests of employers and employees. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would establish the workplace psychological safety act to provide protection for employees from workplace psychological abuse (bullying) by requiring employers and representative employees to take all reasonable steps to prevent workplace bullying and respond appropriately thereto. This act would also provide a cause of action for employees to pursue injunctive relief and/or actual and punitive damages. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would require employers to provide each employee, defined as a nonexempt employee who works at a warehouse distribution center, upon hire, with a written description of each quota to which the employee is subject, including the quantified number of tasks to be performed or materials to be produced or handled, within the defined time period and any potential adverse employment action that could result from failure to meet the quota. This act would take effect on January 1, 2027.

This act would allow holders of a Class P license to purchase alcoholic beverages from either a retail or wholesale establishment in the State of Rhode Island and allow wholesalers to refuse to fulfill orders permitted under this section, or set minimum quantities or dollar values per order. It would also permit caterers to serve and leave an event host's alcoholic beverages at their residence so long as it is under the caterer's control for the entirety of the event. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would repeal the energy efficiency charge. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would enact the State of Rhode Island interior design practice act to control and regulate the professional practice of interior designers. This act would establish a board existing of seven (7) members, four (4) of whom would be registered interior designers. The board would have the authority to promulgate rules and regulations to register interior designers, regulate the unlawful practice of interior design, and enforcement of such rules and regulations. This act would take effect on July 1, 2026.

This act would establish minimum percentages of bio-based product contained in heating oil sold in the state and set dates for compliance to set standards. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would amend the definition of farm and agricultural land to include land on which agricultural operations are being conducted or is suitable for agriculture operations, and further expand the definition of a farmer to include any person who owns or is a principal operator of a farm and engages in agricultural operations. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would allow a modification to federal adjusted gross income of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) of social security income for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2027. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would amend the current law on teacher’s creditable service so that a teacher who takes an unpaid parental or medical leave during the year would be given credit for a year of service for that school year if they served a minimum of one-hundred thirty-five school days. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would increase the amount of state aid distributed to the towns and cities through appropriation in lieu of property tax provisions applicable to certain private and state properties that are exempt from property tax. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would require the department of elementary and secondary education to establish a bilingual education support fund to provide grants to traditional public school districts that establish and expand bilingual language instruction program model. This act would take effect on July 1, 2026.

This act would exempt a single-family, primary residence, owned by a taxpayer, who is at least sixty-five (65) years old, and has been a Rhode Island resident for at least forty (40) years. This act would exclude multi-family and income-producing properties. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would require that healthcare professionals provide written informed consent signed by the recipient, or in the case of a minor child, by a parent or guardian prior to administration of a vaccine. It would prohibit discrimination against individuals who refuse or delay vaccines. The act would also provide for civil recovery and fines of up to twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for violations. It would further prohibit DCYF from investigating a parent/guardian for their failure to vaccinate their child This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would prohibit enforcing a thirty (30) day notice of vacancy policy when a resident of an assisted living facility or nursing home dies and limit the facility's ability to charge rent and fees for a maximum of seven (7) days or until removal of the personal property from the room, whichever occurs first. A violation would constitute a deceptive trade practice. This act would take effect on September 1, 2027.

This act would provide any police report and all communications between railroad employees involving a railroad fatality not be made public. Additionally, this act would make a violation of this section a misdemeanor. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would grant an affirmative defense for certain privileged communications, including communications made by an individual, without malice, regarding an incident of sexual assault, harassment, or discrimination and would specify the attorneys' fees and damages available to a prevailing defendant in any defamation action brought against that defendant for making that communication. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would create a Rhode Island civil cause of action allowing individuals to sue persons acting under color of federal law for violations of Federal Constitutional rights committed under color of federal law. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would establish a restricted receipt account at the department of labor and training (“DLT”) to be used for hospitality industry workforce training grants, including certified food and alcohol safety training programs to be offered in multiple languages, funded by an annual fee of fifty ($50.00) dollars to be charged by the department of health (“DOH”) to food service establishments. This act would take effect on January 1, 2027

This act would allow, but not require, local licensing authorities to grant temporary periods for extended indoor service hours under existing liquor licenses for certain 2026 FIFA World Cup Tournament matches occurring between June 11, 2026 and July 3, 2026, for operation until up to 4 a.m. with liquor service until up to 3 a.m. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would adopt the 2024 International Residential Code for one to three (3) family dwelling units by January 1, 2027, establish a moratorium on changes to the state building codes applicable to residential structures of one to three (3) family dwelling units until January 1, 2031, unless approved by the legislature and made effective by the governor, and to provide for uniform procedures for the adoption and amendment of the state building code by the state building code standards committee. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would add property damage to statutory underinsured motor coverage, rather than just uninsured motorist coverage, as it is presently. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would provide an end to transaction fees for school lunches in all districts. The department would ensure there is at least one no-fee payment method for school lunches. This act would also require that any payment processing platform used by the district clearly discloses whether fees will be charged. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would apply to electric-generating facilities owned or operated by non-regulated power producers, a domestic electric utility or its affiliates generating electricity on or after January 1, 2025, regarding the sale and transmission of electricity, restructuring of the facility, and provisions of last-resort service. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would provide an exemption from paying nonresident tuition to any student who attended an approved Rhode Island high school for at least two (2) or more consecutive years; continues to reside in the State of Rhode Island; has graduated from an approved Rhode Island high school or received a high school equivalency diploma from the State of Rhode Island; and has filed, or will file, upon matriculation, with the Rhode Island public university, college, or community college of expected attendance, the appropriate exemption request. This act would take effect on July 1, 2026.

This act would create a new category of residential solar energy generation for small portable solar generation devices. This act would take effect upon passage.

AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF PROVIDENCE TO ISSUE NOT TO EXCEED $25,000,000 GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS AND NOTES TO FUND THE PROVIDENCE HOUSING TRUST FUND TO FINANCE AFFORDABLE MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING PROJECTS IN THE CITY

This act would increase the fines for certain traffic offenses to one hundred dollars ($100) and add fines of one hundred dollars ($100) for offenses required by law but omitted from the schedule. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would restate the UTGR Master Contract and the Twin River-Tiverton Master Contract and would consolidate the marketing program of each into the Consolidated Marketing Program. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would authorize the Johnston town council to set tax exemption limit to an amount determined by the city council via ordinance or resolution for qualified individuals defined in the act. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would prohibit the imposition of fees associated with home modifications that are specifically required to accommodate a veteran’s disability. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would allow the town of Johnston to receive a one-half (1/2) credit for affordable housing units for manufactured homes in age restricted communities in conformance with all zoning laws and/or ordinances of the town. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would allow the town of Johnston to determine its density bonuses based upon its underlying zoning. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would authorize the town of Johnston, if an aggregate of two hundred fifty (250) or more units should be proposed in comprehensive permit project(s), to enact an emergency moratorium until the permit requirement of § 45-53-4 are amended. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would require nonprofit entities who receive grants or other funding to provide a detailed list of their ten highest paid directors, officers or employees’ salaries and benefits, including the names of said individuals. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would authorize the state police to enforce municipal ordinances; provided that, the ordinances provide for civil penalties only. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would establish the criminal offense of real estate title fraud. Additionally, this act would allow municipalities to refuse to record “suspicious documents” from persons who are not trusted submitters. The act would also create penalties for real estate title fraud. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would create the joint committee of the repealer for a term of six (6) years to compile suggestions for repeal of statutes, regulations, and executive orders received from citizens, businesses, and government agencies, including, but not limited to, those that are not considered "business-friendly", and those that are archaic and out of date. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would expand the benefit definitions of temporary care giver leave to include a grandchild and care recipient and would increase a leave benefits period to ten (10) weeks for 2027 and twelve (12) weeks for 2028. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would create a new chapter to provide for non-charitable bingo by the state lottery division. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would raise the minimum threshold contract price before public works contractors are required to pay prevailing wages to their employees, from one thousand dollars ($1,000) to one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000). This act also would require municipal oversight, enforcement and compliance with the payment of prevailing wages regarding municipal contracts. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would establish an opportunity for employee ownership and the process whereby, if the owner of a qualified business decides to sell said qualified business, the owner would notify all current full-time and part-time employees and provide them with a thirty (30) day window in which to initiate a process to potentially purchase the business as a workers' cooperative. This act would take effect January 1, 2027.

This act would authorize the administrator of the division of motor vehicles to make available special license plates for the Rhode Island Manufacturers Association. This act would take effect six (6) months after passage.

This act would permit Johnston to require two (2) parking spaces for each studio, one- bedroom, or two-bedroom low- or moderate-income housing unit upon the determination that limited or no local public transportation or off-street parking is availabile near these units. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would allow the holder of a manufacturer’s license to sell one-sixth of a barrel keg or any otherwise permitted vessel containing no more than the amount of malt beverage allowed. The act would also provide that manufacturers of alcoholic beverages be allowed to hold a wholesaler’s license if they are a party to a labor peace agreement with a bona fide labor organization and meet certain other conditions. This act would take effect upon passage.

Senate Resolution Urging The Congress Of The United States To Enact The Major Richard Star Act

This act would define "military-connected student" and permit military-connected students to enroll by remote registration upon presentation of military orders confirming that the parent or guardian shall be stationed in this state during the current or following school year. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would freeze obligated entities’ annual requirements regarding percentages of retail sales of electricity obtained from renewable energy sources for the years 2027, 2028, and 2029. This act would further permit the use of nuclear energy obtained outside the state for use within the state to achieve the state’s renewable energy standard. This act would take effect on July 1, 2026.

This act would require that certain data centers requiring large amounts of electricity be required to fund the cost of necessary infrastructure improvements to supply such electricity. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would provide that no new charter school application shall be granted, if the proposed school is a network charter school or the expansion of an existing charter school would create a network charter school. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would prevent the council on elementary and secondary education from granting preliminary approval or final approval for the creation or expansion of any district charter school, independent charter school or mayoral academy charter school beginning operations in 2026-2027, 2027-2028, or 2028-2029 school years. This act would also prevent the state from approving or appropriating funding to any new charter school or to expand an existing charter school that has not been approved by the council on elementary or secondary education prior to July 01, 2025 for fiscal year 2026-2027, fiscal year 2027-2028, or fiscal year 2028-2028. This act would take effect upon passage.

Joint Resolution Creating A Special Legislative Commission To Study And Provide Recommendations For The Creation Of A Statewide Teacher Healthcare Plan (creates An 11-member Commission To Study And Make Recommendations On A Statewide Teacher Healthcare Plan, And Would Report Quarterly As Of September 1, 2026, And Submit A Final Report By September 1, 2027, And Expires On December 31, 2027.)

This act would amend the Consumer PFAS Ban Act of 2024 by clarifying enforcement provisions, providing the department of environmental management (DEM) with authority to join a multijurisdictional clearinghouse to assist in carrying out the requirements of the law, and providing DEM with the authority to exempt a product or category of products from the prohibitions in the law. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would modernize the state’s existing online E-Permitting Portal by requiring automated plan review and instant permits issuance for residential solar energy systems or other eligible small-scale solar energy systems that meet all safety and building codes. It would also authorize remote virtual inspections as a valid practice for typical rooftop residential installations in an effort to reduce administrative costs for Rhode Island’s municipalities, businesses, and consumers. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would establish a property tax deferral program for senior citizens, disabled persons or veterans. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would establish a tax credit for businesses transitioning to employee ownership. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would extend the timeframe for the division of taxation to review nonresident contractor cases and provide a specific penalty for noncompliance with the statute's withholding requirements. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would provide that all public officers and employees, teacher retirees and municipal employees, in addition to their defined benefit retirement allowance, receive cost of living adjustments of up to three percent (3%) but in no event, zero percent (0%) and that the adjustment be compounded into the retiree’s total retirement benefits each year. The benefits shall be based on the retirement benefit received on January 1, 2026, or, if not receiving benefits at the time of the passage of this act, then upon their defined benefit retirement entitlement. These benefits shall be prospective only and this act shall not modify or increase any contribution by any employee into the retirement system. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would remove the language that requires the department of elementary and secondary education to prorate funds available for distribution among school districts if the total approved costs of sought after reimbursement exceeds the amount of funding appropriated in any fiscal year. This act would also eliminate the funding of the categorical programs pursuant to the transition plan in § 16-7.2-7. This act would take effect upon passage.

The act would require a review by the department of elementary and secondary education of the formula components used to compute the aid needed to support high need studies. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would provide that in local education agencies when over forty-five percent (45%) of the children have a family income that is at or below one hundred and eighty-five percent (185%) of federal poverty guidelines, then the student success factor will be fifty percent (50%) by the core instruction per-pupil amount. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would provide an investment tax credit to a taxpayer that makes a qualified investment in a local qualified business of ninety-nine (99) employees or less. This act would be funded by a Rhode Island commerce corporation strategic fund pursuant to § 42-64-18. Additionally, the general assembly would annually appropriate sufficient funds from the general fund to fully compensate for any loss of revenue as a result of the provisions of this act. This act would take effect upon passage.

Commencing on July 1, 2026, this act would allow members, state and municipal employees to retire when they have at least twenty-eight (28) years of active service and their retirement age, when combined with the number of their years of service reaches, the number eighty-five (85). This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would define “electronic nicotine-delivery system shop” and require that ten percent (10%) of sales revenue from said shops be transferred to the tobacco cessation programs pursuant to § 27-20-53. The act also would double the penalties for any violations by the shops and assess payments for storing and/or destroying confiscated materials. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would remove the definition of "totally and permanently disabled" from the general law affording college tuition paid by the state to the spouse and children of active members of the police force who are killed or disabled during duty. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would require certain healthcare facilities to allow a terminally ill patient’s use of medicinal cannabis within the healthcare facility, subject to the following restrictions including: requiring a patient to provide the healthcare facility with an ID and a copy of their medical marijuana card or written documentation that the use of medicinal cannabis is recommended by a physician, and requiring a healthcare facility to restrict how a patient stores and uses medicinal cannabis to ensure the safety of other patients, guests, and employees of the healthcare facility. The act would also provide that compliance with the bill would not be a condition for obtaining, retaining, or renewing a license as a healthcare facility. The act would authorize a healthcare facility to suspend compliance with these provisions if a federal agency takes specified actions. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would prohibit health insurance companies or other payors from including in their physician participation agreements any provisions that restrict or prevent a physician practice from charging patients reasonable administrative or operational fees to support practice overhead. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would ensure that more developmentally disabled adults can self-direct the care they need and want, by incorporating collective bargaining rights into the self-directed supports program to enhance service access, increase the availability of education and training options and improve the recruitment and retention of the individuals selected by participants as direct support professionals. This act does not alter or limit the authority of the director of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals to administrator the self-directed supports program, enforce existing rules, regulations and procedures, or adopt amended rules, regulations and procedures for operating the program. This act further does not alter or limit the rights of participants and their representatives to select, direct and terminate the services of self-directed direct support professionals or to determine the wages of self-directed direct support professionals within the range set by the director. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would clarify and update language in the office of state medical examiners statute to address outdated or ambiguous language, outdated practices, outdated position titles/qualifications, and ensure compliance with federal HIPAA requirements. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would establish the Rhode Island center for employee ownership to facilitate businesses in transitioning to an employee-owned business model. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would increase the minimum hourly wage commencing January 1, 2028, by an amount equal to the total percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the Northeast Region for the calendar year 2027. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would provide that all contractual provisions in a firefighters collective bargaining agreement would continue until a successor agreement has been reached or an interest arbitration award has been rendered. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would mandate any contract for capital improvements at any healthcare facility adhere to the requirements of chapter 13 of title 37. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would allow a police officer to be reemployed by a state agency or department for purposes of working a state-funded detail subject to certain restrictions. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would add staff of day camps and residential camps for youth to the definition of "person responsible for a child's welfare" within the chapter on abused and neglected children. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would align the implementation date of youth camp licensing within the operational, and statutory framework of the Rhode Island department of human services and department of children, youth and families. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would establish a system of ranked choice voting whenever a municipality's charter amendment is approved by its voters. This act would take effect on January 1, 2027.

This act would provide measures to prevent title fraud by authorizing the recorder of deeds to require the production of a government-issued photographic identification card before recording a deed or certain other instruments and providing for a separate cause of action to quiet title after an attempted fraudulent conveyance. This act would take effect on January 1, 2027, and would apply to instruments presented for recording on or after that date.

This act would add school superintendents, central office officials, school principals, and all other school employees, to the definition of a “public official” for purposes of the criminal prohibition against making threats to public officials. In the case of an alleged threat against these persons, a suspect would be charged only if the suspect is eighteen (18) years of age or older and is not a student at the school. No student enrolled or matriculating at the school would be charged under the provisions of this act. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would prohibit the holding of multiple drivers licenses or identification cards and would change the term "re-constructed salvage" to "rebuilt salvage" for purposes of the Rhode Island salvage law. Sections 1 and 2 of this act would take effect upon passage and section 3 would take effect six (6) months after passage.

This act would fund the state crime victim compensation program through an additional one dollar ($1.00) fine on traffic violations, exclusive of violations related to the parking of vehicles. This act would take effect one year after passage.

This act would create three (3) new awards for Rhode Island National Guard members and would provide eligibility for the Rhode Island star for certain civilian government employees and military and civilian leaders of foreign governments. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would provide services for veterans in the criminal justice system ensuring disclosure and connections with federal and state resources. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would require that any contractor performing any construction or maintenance for RIDOT, RITBA or any other construction on any state roads have in place an attenuator truck/crash truck with an operational camera. Violators may be punished criminally and be barred from performing work on any state project for up to 5 years. This act would take effect on January 1, 2027.

This act would amend the definition of "distributor" under the chapter relating to taxation- -cigarette, other tobacco products, and electronic nicotine-delivery system products, to include dealers whose annual business sales of cigars are greater than fifty percent (50%) of their sales. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would establish the Rhode Island education funding and accountability act, which would include a totally revised and revamped formula for funding all levels of public education in Rhode Island. This act would take effect upon passage, with full implementation no later than fiscal year 2030.

Joint Resolution Making An Appropriation Of $800,000 To Waterfire Providence (authorizes The Appropriation Of The Sum Of $800,000 To Waterfire Providence.)

This act would increase the number of state childcare licensing inspectors to meet the national recommended average of one inspector for every fifty (50) to sixty (60) childcare providers. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would prohibit municipalities from restricting certain landscaping equipment based on its power source unless the restriction was grandfathered in or as a result of a positive referendum vote. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would establish a moratorium on changes to the state energy conservation code from the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code until January 1, 2031, unless approved by the legislature and made effective by the governor. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would permit those individuals convicted of multiple felonies and misdemeanors to have their records expunged and provide criteria for the court to consider in determining whether the person is of good character. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would amend “Law Enforcement Officers’ Due Process, Accountability, and Transparency Act" by changing the provision for payment of legal fees to allow upon written application by both the law enforcement agency and the accused that the chairperson may appoint legal counsel for the hearing committee, and each party shall be responsible for fifty percent (50%) of the legal fees unless otherwise agreed. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would set an earlier deadline from June to April for filing of declaration of candidacy and nomination papers It would delay the filing of nomination papers from fifty-four (54) days to eighty-four (84) days, before the date of the primary. It would also change the date of primary elections, from the eighth Tuesday preceding the biennial state elections to the second Tuesday. This act would take effect on January 1, 2027

This act would increase the role of the division of motor vehicles in the voter registration and address verification process, by establishing very specific obligations and responsibilities that must be followed before offering an individual an application to register to vote. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would provide amendments to the assessment of filing fees required to appeal from certain matters adjudicated by the district court. This act would take effect on January 1, 2027.

Senate Resolution Congratulating The American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (ahepa) Chapter 106 "sophocles" Of Providence On The Joyous Occasion Of Its 100th Anniversary

Senate Resolution Joyously Celebrating "world Greek Language Day In The State Of Rhode Island" As Proclaimed By Unesco

Joint Resolution To Amend The Medicaid Section 1115 Demonstration Waiver Requests And Renewals (allows Eohhs To Implement Waiver Amendments, State Plan Amendments, And Changes To Department Rules And Regulations To Make Certain Updates To The Behavioral Health Per-diem Add On Program For Particularly Complex Patients.)

This act would establish the operations necessary for a 988 hotline for suicide prevention and behavioral health crisis management. This act would also establish the operations necessary for acute mental health crisis outreach and stabilization services in direct response to the 988 hotline. This act would take effect on July 1, 2027.

This act would impose certain duties, transparency, and accountability from pharmacy benefit managers and pharmacy benefit management services. This act would take effect on January 1, 2027.

This act would require pharmacy benefit managers to apply for a certificate of authority from the office of the health insurance commissioner to operate such a business in this state. Further, this act would empower the health insurance commissioner to oversee all pharmacy benefit managers and penalize violations. This act would take effect on January 1, 2027.

This act would require healthcare insurers, without prior authorization, to provide post- acute care services to patients discharged from a hospital for a minimum of seven (7) days commencing on or after January 1, 2027. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would expand the health professional loan repayment program to healthcare providers practicing in primary care health settings. This act would take effect upon passage.

Senate Resolution Creating A Special Legislative Commission To Make A Comprehensive Study Of Rhode Island's Medical Malpractice Impact On Health Care Providers And Health Care Costs In Rhode Island (creates Commission To Study Medical Malpractice Issues Relating To Lawsuits, Claims, Settlements, Filings And Related Impact On Insurance Costs For Providers With Report Due 10/1/27 And Expiration On 1/31/28.)

This act would establish the framework to create a medical school at the University of Rhode Island and provide an initial appropriation of five million dollars ($5,000,000) as the first phase of a multi-year investment for the development of a medical school. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would establish a statewide mobile response and stabilization services program to provide rapid crisis response and short-term stabilization for children and youth in their natural environments. This act would take effect upon passage.

Senate Resolution Expressing Deepest Condolences On The Passing Of Anna Casale

This act would change the term of drug court to recovery court. This act would take effect upon passage.

Effective for retirement plan year 2026, the act would provide that all teachers and state employees who retired after July 1, 2012, their annual cost of living adjustment would be reinstated and municipal employees would receive a one-time cost of living adjustment of two and eighty nine one hundredths percent (2.89%). The act would also provide that public petition benefits from the state retirement system would not be subject to the state personal income tax. This act would take effect upon passage.

Senate Resolution Celebrating March 19, 2026, As "rhode Island College Day" In The State Of Rhode Island

This act would provide that the statute of limitations for second-degree sexual assault shall be ten (10) years from the date of the offense, or, in the case of a victim who is under the age of eighteen (18), ten (10) years from the victim’s eighteenth birthday, whichever is later. The act would also provide that the statute of limitations for third-degree sexual assault will be measured from the date of the victim’s eighteenth birthday, not from the date of the offense. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would expand the definition of "educational program" for purposes of the abused and neglected children general law to include charter schools, parochial schools, after school programs, camps and various other programs involving children, and would amend certain provisions of the law relative to reporting of physical, mental or sexual abuse or neglect. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would prevent an insurer from designating a motor vehicle a total loss if the cost to rebuild or reconstruct the motor vehicle to its pre-accident condition is less than seventy-five percent (75%) to eighty-five percent (85%) of the "fair market value". It would allow the consumer to designate the motor vehicle a total loss when the seventy-five percent (75%) threshold is met but less than eighty-five percent (85%) of the fair market value of the vehicle. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would prohibit state or local authorities from voluntary participation in federal civil immigration enforcement. It would not prohibit compliance with a judicial warrant or court order issued by a court of competent jurisdiction. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would redefine sports wagering sections and specifically change the percent the host facilities would receive on sports wagering. No later than January 1, 2027, the division would issue an open invitation to applicants for sports-wagering vendor contracts and then would award no less than four (4) and no more than six (6) individual sports-wagering vendor contracts. Additionally, this act would allow a sports-wagering vendor to be permitted to make operational decisions with regard to marketing, advertising, and promotions and reallocate the percentages of revenue that the vendors, the state and host facilities would receive from sports-wagering revenues. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would extend provisions of an existing collective bargaining agreement for municipal police arbitration purposes until a successor agreement is reached or an interest arbitration award is rendered. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would include the senate majority leader in the joint committee on legislative services. This act would take effect upon passage.

Senate Resolution Celebrating St. Patrick's Day And Honoring Irish American Patriots' Role In The United States War Of Independence

Senate Resolution Commemorating The Celebration Of St. Joseph's Day

Senate Resolution Honoring The Life And Legacy Of The Late Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio And Commemorating The Naming Of The Rhode Island Senate Chamber In His Honor

This act would provide that every gas distribution company that charges for the distribution of gas to any house or building would need to include certain information on any bill or statement provided to the consumer. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would allow a modification to federal adjusted gross income for all public pension benefits administered by the employees' retirement system of Rhode Island. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would create a new class of retirement status license for retirees that had possessed a professional license issued by the division of professional regulation. This act would take effect on January 1, 2027.

Senate Resolution Celebrating "uri Day" At The Rhode Island State House On March 26, 2026

This act would establish guidelines, rules and regulations for the implementation and expansion of high-quality public prekindergarten education programs for children ages three (3) and four (4) to increase children’s school readiness and to ensure high quality prekindergarten services are available statewide and coordinated together by the department of elementary and secondary education and the department of human services. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would increase the historic tax credit to thirty percent (30%) of the qualified rehabilitation expenditures; provided that, at least eighty percent (80%) of the total rental area of the certified historic structure would be made available for multi-family housing. This act would further increase the tax credit to thirty-five percent (35%); provided that, at least eighty percent (80%) of the total rental area of the certified historic structure would be made available for multi- family housing in which twenty percent (20%) of rental units would constitute affordable rental units, or ten percent (10%) of available units would be sold as affordable housing. This act would take effect on upon passage.

This act would amend pension benefits for Rhode Island State Police members and pension benefit determinations to be based on date of hire and years of service. Retirements authorized after twenty (20) years of service would be entitled to fifty percent (50%) of whole salary. Members may accrue an additional three percent (3%) for each year of service over twenty (20) years with a cap of sixty-five percent (65%) of whole salary. Members may serve no more than a maximum of thirty (30) years. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would allow any city, town, state and/or agency of a municipality or the state to report unpaid fines of two hundred dollars ($200) or more to the division of motor vehicles as grounds for refusal of registration. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would provide that motor vehicle rental companies be entitled to establish non- liability for toll violations, administrative fees, and fines by providing a rental or lease agreement to the traffic tribunal as prima facie evidence that a lessee was the vehicle operator, and would exempt car rental companies from registration penalties resulting from out-of-state toll violations from operators using their rental vehicles. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would authorize judges to issue electronic warrants for DUI offenses under certain conditions. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would create an enhanced penalty defined as "road rage" to be applied in addition to penalties for convictions of certain misdemeanor and felony offenses where the behavior on the part of the operator or passenger includes certain intentionally aggressive, harassing, intimidating or dangerous behavior. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would designate bridge number 44-000000000007010, located in Providence, Rhode Island, where U.S. Route 44 (Smith Street) crosses over both northbound and southbound lanes of Interstate 95, roughly a tenth of a mile south of the junction with Route 146, as the “George Nee Bridge.” This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would authorize a veterinarian to establish a client-patient relationship in Rhode Island through synchronous audiovisual electronic means, subject to certain limitations and requirements. The act would also provide that the veterinarian shall be licensed in Rhode Island, obtain the client consent to establish the veterinarian client-patient relationship through electronic means, and maintain such documentation for at least one year. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would be a proposed bond measure that would authorize the State of Rhode Island to issue up to one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) in general obligation bonds, subject to voter approval, to fund coastal preparedness and resilience projects. Funds would be used for shoreline protection, flood mitigation, stormwater and wastewater upgrades, protection of critical facilities, port and working waterfront resilience, and workforce preparedness and training programs to support resilience-related jobs and infrastructure investments. Bond proceeds may only be used for projects in high-risk and prioritized areas identified in the state’s resilience report for implementation within the next ten (10) years. Sections 1, 2, 10, and 11 of this act would take effect upon passage. The remaining sections of this act would take effect when and if the state board of elections shall certify to the secretary of state that a majority of the qualified electors voting on the proposition contained in section 10 of this act hereof have indicated their approval of the project thereunder.

This act would establish sales and use tax exemptions for commercial forest product operations. Exempt would be machinery and equipment to include, but not limited to: sawmills, tractors, forklifts, log skidders, chainsaws and power generators. Additionally, the act would create a new motor vehicle registration for "forestry vehicles" and would provide that all forestry product operations machinery, including motor vehicles with forestry registration plates would be exempt from taxation. Municipalities would be allowed to tax forestry product operations buildings at a rate that reflects the actual cost incurred by the municipality in providing services to these buildings. Finally, this act would provide that forest product operations are permitted uses within all zoning districts of a municipality except where prohibited for public health or safety reasons or the protection of wildlife habitat. This act would take effect upon passage.

Joint Resolution Making An Appropriation Of $250,000 To 401 Tech Bridge To Study And Explore Seagliders In Rhode Island (this Resolution Would Make An Appropriation Of $250,000 To 401 Tech Bridge To Study And Explore Seagliders.)

This act would provide and clarify procedures for the administration of deep sedation and general anesthesia by certain types of nurses. This act would take on January 1, 2027.

Senate Resolution Commending The Valiant Intervention Efforts Of Superior Court Judge Joseph J. Mcburney And Head Of Security, Dana Smith On Behalf Of His Court Intern Who Was Wrongfully Identified And Targeted By Immigration And Customs Enforcement (ice) Agents

Senate Resolution Proclaiming April 24, 2026, As "armenian Genocide Remembrance Day" To Commemorate The Armenian Genocide Of 1915 To 1923, And In Honor Of Armenian-americans

Senate Resolution Expressing Deepest Condolences On The Passing Of The Honorable Joseph A. Abbate

This act would repeal § 16-2-34 ("Central Falls School District board of trustees"). The Central Falls Stabilization Fund would include funding for tuition payments for outplaced special education students and tuition payments to other public schools. The Davies and Met Stabilization Fund would be established to ensure appropriate funding is available to support their students. This act would take effect on July 1, 2026.

Joint Resolution Making An Appropriation Of $500,000 To Onward We Learn In Support Of Rhode Island Gear Up (appropriates The Sum Of $500,000 To Onward We Learn In Support Of Rhode Island Gear Up.)

This act would provide that a portion of state income taxes from employees working at not- for-profit healthcare institutions, health service institutions, and educational institutions be allocated to the city of Providence to offset expenses related to the growth in the healthcare and educational areas. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would extend the sunsetting of the "Don't Block the Box" automated traffic detection systems from January 15, 2027, to January 15, 2030. This act would take effect upon passage.

Senate Resolution Proclaiming April 28, 2026, To Be "arts Day In Rhode Island"

Senate Resolution Commemorating May 4, 2026, As Rhode Island Independence Day And The 250th Anniversary Of The General Assembly's Historic Act Of Renunciation

Senate Resolution Condemning Political Violence And Reaffirming The Principles Of Civility, Public Safety, And Democratic Governance

Senate Resolution Congratulating The Eleanor Slater Hospital--zambarano Campus On The Recognition Of "zambarano Day" On May 5, 2026

Senate Resolution Proclaiming May 4th Through May 8th Of 2026, To Be "teacher Appreciation Week" In The State Of Rhode Island

Senate Resolution Proclaiming The First Saturday In May As "rhode Island Labyrinth Day" And Recognizing May 2, 2026, As "world Labyrinth Day" In The State Of Rhode Island

Commencing on July 1, 2026, this act would allow teachers, state and municipal employees to retire upon the earlier of reaching age sixty (60) with thirty (30) years of service or the employee's retirement eligibility date under present state statutes. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would establish a state-run prescription drug purchasing pool, available for participation by nonstate public employers, private employers, and health insurance carriers, to maximize the value of drug discounts available to participants. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would exempt certain vehicles that are not manufactured with the proper front plate registration bracket from the requirement that motor vehicles display a front facing registration plate. This act would take effect upon passage.

Senate Resolution Proclaiming May 19th Of 2026 As "greek And Pontic Genocide Remembrance Day" In The State Of Rhode Island

Senate Resolution Commemorating May 10 Through May 16, 2026, As "national Police Week" In The State Of Rhode Island, In Remembrance Of All Police And Law Enforcement Officers Who Have Lost Their Lives In The Line Of Duty

Senate Resolution Commemorating May Of 2026, As "national Speech-language-hearing Month" In The State Of Rhode Island

This act would establish a separate domestic violence calendar within the superior court to handle felony domestic violence cases. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would be a proposed bond measure to authorize the State of Rhode Island to issue up to thirty-six million dollars ($36,000,000) in general obligation bonds, subject to voter approval, with respect to projects relating to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Rhode Island. Sections 1, 2, 3, 11, 12, and 13 of this act would take effect upon passage. The remaining sections of this act would take effect when and if the state board of elections shall certify to the secretary of state that a majority of the qualified electors voting on the proposition contained in section 1 of this act have indicated their approval of the project thereunder.

This act would provide that motor vehicle rental companies be entitled to establish non- liability for toll violations, administrative fees, and fines by providing a rental or lease agreement to the traffic tribunal as prima facie evidence that a lessee was the vehicle operator. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would amend various sections of the workers' compensation statute relative to the court's jurisdiction, the court's authority to determine certain issues relative to claims, and the authority to determine the status of certain officer's injuries, reimbursement expenses, and would provide certain employees with a reimbursement for hearing aids. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would establish the office of inspector general to investigate the management and operation of agencies in an effort to prevent and deter fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement in the expenditure of public funds. This act would take effect upon passage.

This act would provide that any Medicaid program savings associated with enrollment reductions would be retained within the healthcare system and reinvested in providers through targeted increases in reimbursement. This act would take effect on July 1, 2026.

Senate Resolution Creating A Special Legislative Commission To Make A Comprehensive Study Of Rhode Island's Medical Malpractice Impact On Health Care Providers And Health Care Costs In Rhode Island (creates A 12 Member Special Legislative Commission Whose Purpose It Would Be To Make A Comprehensive Study Of Ri Medical Malpractice Lawsuits, Claims, Settlements, Administrative Filings And Impact On Medical Malpractice Insurance Costs For Providers.)