​Coronavirus Update From a Legislative Perspective
Speaker Nick Mattiello and Senate President Dominick Ruggerio announced that the State House will again be closed this week.  No sessions or hearings will be held. To date, no return date has been established.  The leaders have asked their legal counsels to look into the possibility of holding virtual meetings, but that avenue is tricky given Constitutional requirements.
One option under consideration is the convening of a “Disaster emergency funding board.”  RI General Law 30-15-10 allows for such a contingency plan.  It reads:
30-15-10. Financing – Disaster emergency funding board established.

(a) It is the intent of the general assembly and declared to be the policy of the state that funds to meet disaster emergencies shall always be available.
(b) A disaster emergency funding board is hereby established, composed of the president of the senate, the speaker of the house, and the chairpersons of the senate and house finance committees.
(c) It is the legislative intent that the first recourse shall be to funds regularly appropriated to state and local agencies. If the governor finds that the demands placed upon these funds in coping with a particular disaster are unreasonably great, with the concurrence of the disaster emergency funding board, he or she may make funds available by transferring and expending moneys appropriated for other purposes or may borrow for a term not to exceed two (2) years from the United States government or any other private source.
(d) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to limit the governor's authority to apply for, administer, and expend any grants, gifts, or payments, in aid of disaster prevention, preparedness, response, or recovery.
 
Given that backdrop, leaders are attempting to determine how best to proceed, balancing the health needs of the General Assembly members, staff and stakeholders, with the need to take action to address the economic needs of the State.  As you may have heard, the State is weeks, not months, away from running out of money to pay its bills and payroll.  The State reportedly has $203.8 million in the Rainy Day Fund and $14.8 in the Highway Trust Fund which may be tapped to assist in this crisis.
What is the Rainy Day Fund?  According to the Senate Fiscal Office FY2020 Budget report: “In 1990, the Budget Reserve and Cash Stabilization Account, or Rainy Day Fund, was created to establish a fiscal cushion for the State when actual revenues received are less than State expenditures (deficit). The account is funded by limiting annual State general revenue appropriations to a percentage (currently 97.0 percent) of available revenues. Excess funds are deposited to the Rainy Day Fund. The spending limitation, Rainy Day Fund, and disposition of excess funds are governed by provisions in the RI Constitution and General Laws.  RIGL 35-3-20 institutes a cap on the balance of the Rainy Day Fund, which gradually increased between FY2007 and FY2013. Since FY2013, the balance of the Fund has been capped at 5.0 percent of general revenues. When the limit is reached, excess funds are transferred to the Rhode Island Capital Plan (RICAP) fund for capital improvement projects.”  RI General Law (RIGL) 35-3-20 states that the general assembly may make appropriations from the reserves during the third quarter of the fiscal year when a shortfall is coming. 
 
What Can You Do to Help?  We understand that individuals and businesses are operating in unprecedented times.  Some may be able to help, others are trying to hang on and survive.  If you are able, here are some suggestions to help:

•  Health Perspective – the State is looking for medical equipment and supplies.  The list of items needed can be found at https://rigov.wufoo.com/forms/covid-19-medical-supply-donations/  If you have any of the items, or if you can make these items, fill out the on-line forms and the Department of Health will contact you
• Tax Payments – While the federal and state governments have delayed the tax payment deadline to July 15, 2020, if you are able to make the payment by April 15 2020, please do so.  It will assist with the cash flow difficulties faced by the State. 
•  Business to Business – As long as Rhode Island is not under a shelter-in-place order, please consider ordering take-out from your local restaurant.  If you are holding off on a maintenance service – i.e. hair cut, massage appointment, car maintenance – consider paying in advance for the service to help these businesses with cash flow. 
• Mental Health – Check in with family and friends, but also with business associates. 

 
 

This segment of Under the Dome has been re-written numerus times in the last few days.  As of Sunday at 4:30 p.m. the Rhode Island State will be closed this week, with a further evaluation of the timeframe to come.  
Governor Raimondo’s declaration of a state of emergency triggered state anti-price gouging statutes. 
Retailers are banned by law from charging “unconscionably high” prices for necessary products, which is defined as follows:  “"Unconscionably high price" means the amount charged represents a gross disparity between the average prices at which the same or similar commodity was readily available and sold or offered for sale within the local trade area in the usual course of business during the thirty (30) days immediately before the declaration of the market emergency and the additional charges are not substantially attributable to increased cost to retailers, imposed by their suppliers, including replacement costs imposed by the vendors' source. Additionally, the average price calculation during said thirty-day (30) period shall not include discounted prices set and offered as a result of bona fide manufacturer's or supplier's limited discounts or rebates.”
A violation of the law triggers penalties – a flat $100 fine, and a second fine up to $1000 per violation with a cap of $25,000 in a 24-hour period.
 
Last Week At the State House
Minimum Wage – Governor Raimondo signed both H.7157 SubA and S.2147 SubA raising the minimum wage to $11.50 effective October 1, 2020. 
Article 20 of the Budget – employer reporting requirement – The House Finance Committee heard testimony from a number of business groups last week concerning a RIte Share wrap around proposal put forth by the Governor.  The proposal requires businesses with 50+ employees to:
1.  Submit an annual report to the Executive Office and Health and Human Services and the Division of Taxation providing “sufficient and necessary information for the Medicaid agency to determine employee eligibility for RIte Share.  The Chamber testified that this language is concerning because no one knows for sure what it means.  Is it simply a list of employee who are covered by insurance and the health insurance plan offered by business? Is it a more comprehensive report providing personal information about each employee that does not have coverage including family income, size or alternate health care information?  Failure to submit the information requested results in a $5000 fine which the Chamber also said was too high.
2.  Submit quarterly reports outlining which employees are enrolled in the employer’s health care plan and which employees are not covered.  The quarterly report must also include the names of individuals no longer employed by the business.  Failure to file this report brings a fine of $2500 – again, too high.
3. Refrain from offering employees a financial incentive to turn down the employer’s health insurance and remain on Medicaid.  The Chamber raised concerns that this language could be interpreted to ban giving employees a bump in pay if they do not take the employer’s health insurance.  Some employees choose to take a spouse’s or a parent’s health coverage.  We want to be sure employees are not penalized for making good family choices, nor are employers penalized by requiring double coverage on employees.
It unclear whether these provisions would apply to businesses with 50 or more individuals working; or if, like the Affordable Care Act, it would apply to businesses with 50 or more FTEs (employees working 30 or more hours a week).  ACA also excludes seasonal businesses where employees work less than 120 days a year or less than 4 calendar months.  The Chamber suggested that any program, if it were to move forward, should utilize the ACA definition.
The Chamber will continue to monitor and advocate on this issue as it evolves during the budget process.
 
The following bills were filed last week:
House Bill No. 7990  Corvese, Canario, Azzinaro, Ucci, Cortvriend, AN ACT RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE - PROCEDURE GENERALLY - LEVY AND SALE ON EXECUTION (Exempts from attachment five hundred dollars ($500) in savings or deposits in financial or banking institutions.)
 
House Bill No. 7999   Casey, Kennedy, Shanley, AN ACT RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- CONTRACTORS' REGISTRATION AND LICENSING BOARD
 
House Bill No. 8000  Blazejewski, Solomon, Kazarian, Cassar, Johnston, AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY - CATASTROPHIC ILLNESS IN CHILDREN RELIEF FUND (Establishes Children's Catastrophic Illness in Children Relief Fund to provide finance assistance to families for medical expenses not covered by state or federal programs or insurance contract.)
 
House Bill No. 8002  Phillips, Shekarchi, Corvese, Filippi, Morin, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- ESTATE AND TRANSFER TAXES--LIABILITY AND COMPUTATION (Increases the exemption for estate taxes to two million five hundred thousand dollars ($2,500,000) effective January 1, 2022. There would be a further increased estate tax exemption to five million dollars ($5,000,000) effective January 1, 2024.)
 
House Bill No. 8004   Canario, Shekarchi, Jacquard, Kennedy, Craven, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW--GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES (Makes it an unlawful practice to discriminate in the sale of a product or service based on a person's lawful employment or political affiliation/position.)
 

​Last Week At The State House
Last week business testified against a number of bills including the restrictive scheduling bill that calls for employers to provide 14 days-notice of work schedules and requires employers to pay if that schedule is altered.  Proponents accused the business community of “weaponizing” the coronavirus when the virus, as well as weather events, were used as examples of situations outside of the employers’ control. 
The mandated greenhouse gas emission reduction bill received a tremendous amount of attention including support from Director Janet Coit of the Department of Environmental Management.  The Chamber testified against the bill.  If passed, the state would be forced to implement programs such as converting heating systems to electric heat and replacing vehicles with electric vehicles.  According to the US Energy Information Agency, 93% of Rhode Island’s electricity is generated by natural gas – a fossil fuel that would be eliminated under this bill.  Should all residential and commercial buildings switch to electric heat, the state would need to generate an additional 75 GW of electricity.  If geothermal heating is the alternative of choice, the state would need 44 GW of additional electricity (information disclosed at DEM’s heating sector stakeholder meeting last month).  This additional electricity demand does not include any increase in electric vehicle use.  A similar bill S.2404, will be heard in the Senate Environment and Agriculture Committee Wednesday, March 13th in Room 211.  S.2404 requires electricity sold to Rhode Island consumers to be obtained from renewable energy sources only by 2030.
 
This Week At the State House
 
Tuesday, March 10th At the Rise (approximately 4:30 p.m.)
House Finance will be taking testimony in Room 35 on the Governor’s proposal to require businesses with fifty employees or more (not 50 FTEs) to provide reports to the state concerning health insurance coverage of employees.  Employers would be required to annually provide to the State “sufficient and necessary information” for the Medicaid agency to determine an employee’s eligibility for the expanded RIte Share program.  Also, employers would have to provide quarterly reports (1) notifying the State when an employee is no longer working for the employer or has lost Employer Sponsored Insurance (ESI), and (2) stating which employees are covered by ESI and which employees are not covered.  Employers would be required to provide employees with information about RIte Share with enrollment materials; and to participate in an employer education and outreach campaign to be run by the Executive Office of Human Services.  The first report would be due between November 15, 2020, and December 15, 2020.  Lastly, employers would NOT be able to offer “financial incentives for employees to turn down ESI and remain on Medicaid.”  This last requirement seems to suggest that employers could not provide any financial “bump” to employees that choose to decline health insurance for any reason (even if the spouse has insurance), because the employer would have to delve into the employee’s reasons for turning down the insurance in order to provide the financial “bump.”  Some employers do provide a financial bump to employees that can show they are covered on a spouse’s insurance.  It’s unclear whether this practice may still be permitted under the Governor’s proposal. 
 
The House Corporations Committee will meet in Room 203.  One bill up for hearing is H.7699, An Act Relating to Insurance.  H.7699 appears to allow an employee who is eligible for Medicare to elect to enroll in Medicare and allow the remainder of the employee’s family to retain the employer’s insurance if they are covered under the employer.  The employer must agree to the change.
 
The Senate Health and Human Services Committee also meets Tuesday in the Senate Lounge.  S.2465, An Act Relating to Health and Safety, establishes a Children's Catastrophic Illness in Children Relief Fund to provide finance assistance to families for medical expenses not covered by state or federal programs or insurance contract.  Unfortunately, monies for the Fund are raised through an annual $1.50 per employee surcharge on businesses.
 
Wednesday, March 11th At the Rise
House Labor will be meeting in Room 203.  H.7877, An Act Relating to Holidays and Days of Special Observances will be heard.  Under current law, some businesses are exempt from paying premium pay if an employee is working Sunday as a part of his or her 40 hour work week.  Massachusetts and Rhode Island are the last two states in the country to require premium pay.  On January 1, 2023, Rhode Island will be the last state in the country as Massachusetts eliminates the requirement at that time.  H.7877 takes Rhode Island in the opposite direction by making it more difficult to qualify for the premium pay exemption.  The bill suggests allowing an exemption only for businesses that: (1) Pay employees at least 200% of the regular state minimum wage; (2) Do not use temporary employment agencies to staff operations; (3) Offer employer-funded health care benefits to employees; (4) Offer employer-funded retirement options to employees; (5) Have no federal labor law or state labor law violations within the last 10 years; (6) Have no environmental law or regulation violations within the last 10 years; (7) Have no violations of anti-discrimination laws within the last 10 years;  and (8) Have no settlements of alleged violations of labor or environmental laws within the last ten years. 
 
Unique Bill of the Week
S.2694, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Implementation Devices As Condition of Employment says “No employer may require an employee or any prospective employee to implant, or undergo a procedure to implant a device in the employee’s or prospective employee’s body, as a condition of employment in a particular position, or as a condition of receiving additional compensation or other benefits.”  Additionally, “No employer may discriminate against an employee with respect to the employee’s compensation and benefits or terms and conditions of employment based on the employee’s refusal” to undergo the implantation procedure.  The intent of S.2694 has nothing to do with a flu shot or other medical vaccination.  It addresses the implantation of microchips in employees. The Chamber is unaware, at this time, of any business that requires such implantation. 
 
The following bills were filed last week:
 
House Bill No. 7965  Jacquard, AN ACT RELATING TO CORPORATIONS, ASSOCIATIONS, AND PARTNERSHIPS (Allows nonprofit corporations to merge pr consolidate with other business entities or to convert into an other business entity within or outside of this state. It allows other business entities to convert to domestic nonprofit corporations.)
 
House Bill No. 7970  Ucci, Williams, Corvese, Craven, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- LEVY AND ASSESSMENT OF LOCAL TAXES (Requires municipalities to tax renewable energy resources as tangible property without affecting the real property on which it is located. Excepts farmland, which shall be reassessed at the predated farmland classification.)
 
House Bill No. 7974  Edwards, Williams, Caldwell, Shekarchi, Abney, AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE -- INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR MENTAL ILLNESS AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE (Requires a health plan to cover clinically appropriate and medically necessary residential or inpatient services, including detoxification and stabilization services, for the treatment of mental health and substance use disorders.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2635  Euer, Murray, Metts, Quezada, McCaffrey, AN ACT RELATING TO WATERS AND NAVIGATION - STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT - HEALTH AND SAFETY (Updates and modernize the Department of Environmental Management’s ability to enforce environmental laws.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2636  Miller, Sosnowski, Conley, Euer, McCaffrey, AN ACT RELATING TO FOOD AND DRUGS -- DISPOSABLE FOOD SERVICE CONTAINERS (Prohibits a covered establishment from preparing, selling, processing or providing food or beverages in or on a disposable food service container that is composed in whole or in part of polystyrene foam.)
Senate Bill No. 2641  McKenney, Sheehan, Rogers, Paolino, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- PERSONAL INCOME TAX (This act would phase-out the taxation of pensions and annuities over a five (5) year period beginning on January 1, 2021.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2645  Felag, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION - BEER AND MALT BEVERAGE EXEMPTION (Exempts beer and malt beverage from sales tax.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2647  DiPalma, Seveney, Coyne, Murray, AN ACT RELATING TO STATUTES AND STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION -- PAYMENT OF STATUTORY FEES (Facilitates state departments/agencies to implement electronic filing of applications for licenses/permits/ registrations/certificates by allowing state vendor to withhold commission for developing and implementing electronic filing web-based system.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2650
(Dept. of Revenue)
BY  Seveney, DiPalma, Coyne, Valverde, Euer
ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- SALES AND USE TAXES -- LIABILITY AND COMPUTATION (Expands the definition of sales to include any license, lease, or rental of prewritten or vendor-hosted computer software and specified digital products. This act would also define "end-user" for specified digital products.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2656  Sosnowski, Felag, McCaffrey, Ruggerio, Conley, AN ACT RELATING TO FOOD AND DRUGS -- SANITATION IN FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS (Defines what constitutes a multi-use food and beverage storage container and provides for sanitary use of said containers.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2658  Miller, Ruggerio, McCaffrey, Goodwin, Conley, AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE -- INDIVIDUAL HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE (Requires individual health insurers, large group health insurers and small employer health insurers to provide coverage for ten (10) categories of essential health benefits listed in the act.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2694  Lawson, McCaffrey, Goodwin, Lynch Prata, Satchell, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- IMPLANTATION DEVICES AS CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT (This act would prohibit an employer from subjecting its employees or prospective employees to the implantation of an implantation device. It would create criminal penalties as well as civil damages, that may be assessed against violating employers.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2705  Lawson, Ciccone, Lombardi, Lombardo, Metts, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- ESTABLISHING THE "COMMUTER TRANSPORTATION BENEFITS ACT" (This act would establish the commuter transportation benefit act. Employers with five hundred (500) or more employees would provide a pre-tax transportation fringe benefit program or provide transportation to the employees.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2708  Goldin, Cano, Miller, Lawson, Goodwin, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- TEMPORARY DISABILITY INSURANCE--GENERAL PROVISIONS (Increases taxable wage base for TDI/TCI contributions/coverage/maximum weeks for TC leave/provides fines/penalties for non-reinstatement of employee/creates tax credit for low wage employees.)
 

​This Week At The State House
As expected, many new bills were filed this week.  The House added 306 bills to their workload.  The Senate added 232.  More bills will be forthcoming, but this is traditionally the week when the bulk of the bills are put forward.  Twenty-six hearings have been scheduled for this week as well.  This edition selects some of those hearings for your consideration.
Tuesday, March 3rd – all to take place At the Rise (approximately 4:30 p.m.)
The House Finance Committee will take public testimony in Room 35 on the Governor’s budget proposal – Article 8.  If any of these issues affect your business, please attend and testify.  This Article makes the following changes:

• Lowers the manufacturing tax on “still wines” from $1.40 per gallon to $.60 per gallon
• Lowers the manufacturing tax on spirits (whiskey, rum, gin, etc.) from $5.40 per gallon to $3.75 per gallon
• Expands the 7% sales tax to hunting, trapping and shooting services, which would include fishing guides, fishing clubs, archery ranges, shooting clubs, etc.
• Expands the sales tax to lobbying services as defined in RIGL 139.1-3(a).  As last year, this specific statute refers to all lobbyists – both contract and in-house lobbyists, meaning organizations with employees acting as lobbyists could be required to pay a sales tax on the employee’s wages associated with the act of lobbying. 
• Expands the sales tax to computer system design and related services (projects that require writing, modifying, testing, and supporting software to meet the needs of a particular customer; planning and designing computer systems that integrate computer hardware, software, and communication technologies; providing on-site management and operation of clients' computer systems and/or data processing facilities; and other related services such as computer disaster recovery.
• Expands sales tax to interior design services, and courier and messenger services (the Article specifically states that “delivery charges” are different and not subject to sales tax.
• Allows the State to transfer to the general revenue fund 2% of the local meals and beverage tax collected for the municipalities as an administration fee.
• Eliminates the sales tax exemption for alcoholic beverages sold by Class A licensees (liquor stores)
• Increases the hotel tax from 5% to 6% starting July 1, 2020

 
The House Committee on Small Business will hear two bills in Room 205 addressing breweries.  H.7890 requires breweries that choose to sell their product for on-site consumption to (1) maintain liquor liability insurance, (2) require their bartenders to complete an alcohol server training program – a program all other Rhode Island bartenders must complete, and (3) comply with Department of Health regulations such as keeping keg lines clean, etc.  H.7891 will also be heard.  The bill allows for increased sales of alcohol at breweries to 3 drinks which means two 2 oz of spirits or 2 oz of primary spirits.  Breweries would also be able to increase their off-premise sales to twelve 750 ml bottles of beer or twenty-four 375 ml bottles of distilled spirits per visitor, per day.
 
House Judiciary will meet in the House Lounge.  One bill on the agenda is H.7539.  If an employer fails to pay an employee wages amounting to more than $1500, that employer would be guilty of a felony.  If the amount owed is between $1500 and $5000, the penalty is up to $1500 and up to 3 years in prison.  If the amount owed is between $5000 and $10,000, the penalty is a fine of up to $3000 and up to 6 years in prison.  If the amount is greater than $10,000, the penalty is up to $5000 and up to 10 years in prison.  Under current law, these violations are misdemeanors.
 
Wednesday, March 4th at the Rise (approximately 4:30 pm)
 
The House Labor Committee will be discussing a number of bills Wednesday.  H.7466 would raise the tip wage $.50 each year until it reaches 2/3 of the current minimum wage.  After that, the tip wage would increase in conjunction with any minimum wage increase so that it always remains 2/3 of the minimum wage.  H.7570 raises the minimum wage to $15 per hour and then ties it to the Consumer Price Index thereafter.
H.7875 – Predictive Scheduling will also be heard in the House Labor Committee.  This bill requires employers to do the following:
*  Upon hiring, an employer must provide each employee with a good faith estimate in writing, of the number of hours and the days and times the employee is expected to work each week.
*  Employees must be given a written schedule for a period of 14 days throughout the employment
*  Employees can decline to work any hours not included in the 14 day schedule, and if such change is agreed to, the employer must provide the employee with a revised schedule reflecting the change within 24 hours
*  Employers must post, in a public place, the schedule for all employees working or on call
*  If an employer adds or subtracts hours within the 14 day schedule, the employee is entitled to “predictability pay” in addition to wages.  “Predictability pay” is defined as payments to an employee, calculated on an hourly basis at the employee's regular rate of pay, as compensation for changes made by an employer to an employee's schedule pursuant to § 28-12.1-4, in addition to any wages earned for work performed by that employee.”  This is basically double time pay.
*  Employees are entitled to 4 hours of pay (or less if the scheduled shift is less than 4 hours) if the employee shows up for work and is sent home or if the employee is notified less than 24 hours before the shift begins, that the employee is not needed.  Predictability pay is not required under these circumstances – only regular pay.
*  An employee has the right to decline work hours that occur less than 11 hours after the end of a previous day’s shift, during the 11 hours that follows the end of a shift that spanned 2 days, and work that is more than 6 consecutive days.
*  H.7875 also includes a section that calls for equal hourly pay for employees and opportunities for advancement if the skills, duties and responsibilities are substantially the same.  Different wages are permitted for seniority or a merit system.
*  Lastly, employees are entitled to a “retention pay” of $150 per week.  So if a weather event occurs closing the business, employees must be paid at least $150 per week if they are unable to work do to the business closure.
The bill can be viewed at this link: 
House Bill No. 7875  Williams, Ucci, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- HOURS AND SCHEDULING (Requires employers to give their employees at least two (2) weeks notice of their work schedule and other notices scheduling rights and remedies.)
 
 
Thursday, March 5th at the Rise (approximately 4:30 pm)
House Environment Committee will meet in Room 101.  H.7399 will likely get plenty of attention.  This bill mandates that Rhode Island meet specific greenhouse gas emission reductions.  The State would be required to reduce emissions 10% below 1990 levels by 2020 (this milestone has already been met); 50% reduction in emissions by 2035 (current law calls for trying to meet 45%); and net-zero emissions by 2050 (current law calls for trying to meet 80%).  The big difference in this bill – aside from the percentage increases – is the mandatory nature of the targets.  Current law sets these percentages as goals to try to meet if possible.  H.7399 allows individuals to file suit in Superior Court if the targets are not met; and calls for the payment of attorneys’ fees to bring the case.  The introduction of the mandatory nature of this bill would allow the Governor and the Climate Change Commission to unilaterally take actions such as the cap and trade program proposed under TCI, mandating the purchase of electric vehicles by the public, mandate buildings be converted to electric heat, institute a vehicle miles travel tax on drivers…all without any legislative approval.  This bill could prove very costly to businesses and residents with no avenue for expressing opposition to the proposals.
 
 
The following bills were filed last week:
Senate Bill No. 2494  Pearson, Conley, DiPalma, Seveney, Satchell, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION - PERSONAL INCOME TAX (Creates a new income tax bracket of 6.99% on taxable income over five hundred thousand dollars. Any tax collected on this income deposited into restricted receipt account and expended on education for grades kindergarten through twelfth grade.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2513   McKenney, Sheehan, Cano, Valverde, Sosnowski, AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- BEVERAGE CONTAINER DEPOSIT RECYCLING ACT OF 2020 (Creates a refundable five cent ($0.05) deposit for non-reusable beverage containers. A one cent ($0.01) handling fee would be paid by distributors.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2516  Satchell, Seveney, Bell, Conley, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- PERSONAL INCOME TAX (Creates three new categories of taxable income for income above $232,000.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2524  Goodwin, Miller, McCaffrey, Goldin, DiPalma, AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE -- LIFETIME LIMITS (Revokes the authority of the health insurance commissioner's ability to enforce a ruling of the federal government or federal court that revokes the prohibition on limits on health insurance.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2525  Miller, Goldin, Valverde, Satchell, Goodwin, AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- THE RHODE ISLAND HEALTH CARE REFORM ACT OF 2004--HEALTH INSURANCE OVERSIGHT (This act would have the health insurance commissioner adopt a uniform set of medical criteria for prior authorization and create required form to be used by a health insurer.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2554  McKenney, AN ACT RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE -- PROCEDURE IN PARTICULAR ACTIONS--JOINT AND SEVERAL LIABILITY (This act would limit liability of a tortfeasor for damages to several only and not joint, if it is found that the defendant’s act or omission caused no more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the damages sustained by the plaintiff.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2555  Lombardi, Lombardo, Ciccone, Archambault, Rogers, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION—SURETY BOND FOR TAX CREDITS (Requires an individual seeking a tax credit on property with a value greater than five million dollars must submit affidavit stating there are no outstanding liens.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2558  Sheehan, Satchell, Crowley, Nesselbush, Sosnowski, AN ACT RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE - PROCEDURE GENERALLY - NONDISCLOSURE AGREEMENTS (Places limits on the terms that can be included in an agreement that settles a claim of sexual harassment, retaliation for reporting sexual harassment and stalking.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2561  McKenney, AN ACT RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE -- PROCEDURE GENERALLY (This act would reduce the statutory interest on judgments for money in civil actions from twelve percent (12%) to six percent (6%).)
 
Senate Bill No. 2569  Lynch Prata, McCaffrey, Lombardi, AN ACT RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE--PROCEDURE IN PARTICULAR ACTIONS -- THE JOINT TORTFEASOR ACT (This act would allow a release by the injured person of one joint tortfeasor to relieve that tortfeasor from liability to make contribution to another joint tortfeasor.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2576  Quezada, Metts, Crowley, Cano, Goodwin, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS (For proposed wages, workers' compensation, temporary disability and unemployment benefits this act creates a new definition for "employee".)
 
Senate Bill No. 2582  Cano, Valverde, Conley, Goldin, Euer, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- RHODE ISLAND PARENTAL AND FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE ACT (Increases the amount of parental or family leave available to an employee from thirteen (13) weeks to twenty-six (26) weeks in any two (2) calendar years.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2588  McCaffrey, Lombardi, Lynch Prata, Ruggerio, Ciccone, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- PAYMENT OF WAGES (Increases the criminal penalties for wage theft and employee misclassification.)
 
House Bill No. 7658  Marszalkowski, AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- MANUFACTURING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT--TAX INCENTIVES (Establishes the "refundable investment tax credit act" to provide for a refundable investment tax credit for certain investments in the construction of facilities, acquisition of tangible property, and the training of employees in the state.)
 
House Bill No. 7659  Kennedy, Azzinaro, Johnston, Casey, Solomon, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- PROPERTY SUBJECT TO TAXATION (Amends the classification of manufacturing machinery that is eligible for a property tax exemption.)
 
House Bill No. 7661  Blazejewski, Caldwell, Slater, Alzate, Casimiro, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- TEMPORARY DISABILITY INSURANCE--GENERAL PROVISIONS (Increases taxable wage base for TDI/TCI contributions/coverage/maximum weeks for TC leave/provides fines/penalties for non-reinstatement of employee/creates tax credit for low wage employees.)
 
House Bill No. 7663  McNamara, Alzate, Casimiro, Jackson, Ackerman, AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- STATE BUILDING CODE (Increases the levy on total construction costs that cities and towns may charge for building permits and directs that fifty percent (50%) each of the levy be transmitted monthly to the department of labor and training for workforce training.)
 
House Bill No. 7684  Walsh, Ranglin-Vassell, AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM (Repeals the “Rhode Island Health Care Reform Act of 2004 – Health Insurance Oversight” and the “Rhode Island Health Benefit Exchange.” Establishes a universal, comprehensive, affordable single-payer health care insurance program to cut health care costs.)
 
House Bill No. 7695  Chippendale, Price, Roberts, Place, Nardone, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- TAX CREDITS FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO SCHOLARSHIP ORGANIZATIONS (Increases the total aggregate amount of tax credits for contributions to scholarship organizations by a business entity meeting the requisite criteria to five million dollars in fiscal year 2021 and includes definition for an "eligible business entity".)
 
House Bill No. 7699   Ruggiero, Shanley, Shekarchi, Barros, McEntee, AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE - ACCIDENT AND SICKNESS INSURANCE POLICIES (Requires Medicare option after 11/1/21 allowing employee to elect Medicare coverage with family members retaining coverage under employer's policy plan only with employer's approval.)
 
House Bill No. 7723  Edwards, Shanley, Barros, Cassar, Carson, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- ESTABLISHING THE "CONSUMER PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION ACT OF 2020" (Regulates data brokers. Data brokers would be required to annually register; to provide substantive notifications to consumers; and to adopt comprehensive data security programs.)
 
House Bill No. 7725  Marszalkowski, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- PAYMENT OF WAGES (Increases the criminal penalties for wage theft and employee misclassification.)
 
House Bill No. 7783  Place, Quattrocchi, Nardone, Filippi, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- RIGHT TO EARN A LIVING ACT (Establishes procedures to ensure that agency regulations do not unjustly restrict individuals from entering into businesses, professions and public services requiring articulable, legitimate public health, safety and welfare objectives.)
 
House Bill No. 7802  Bennett, Slater, Amore, Blazejewski, Mendez, AN ACT RELATING TO FOOD AND DRUGS -- SANITATION IN FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS (Defines what constitutes a multi-use food and beverage storage container and provides for sanitary use of said containers.)
 
House Bill No. 7807  (by request)  Solomon, Ranglin-Vassell, AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- LIFE-SAVING ALLERGY MEDICATION--STOCK SYRINGE EPINEPHRINE AUTO-INJECTORS--EMERGENCY ADMINISTRATION (Requires the owner's or operators of any public place, which is an area capable of holding 300 people or more and to which the public is invited or permitted to have available epinephrine auto-injectors and trained personnel to administer it.)
 
House Bill No. 7850  Ruggiero, Carson, Vella-Wilkinson, Knight, Craven, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- LEVY AND ASSESSMENT OF LOCAL TAXES (Authorizes cities and towns to classify residential property that is rented for more than thirty (30) non-consecutive days in a calendar year as a Class 2 property.)
 
House Bill No. 7872  Kazarian, Carson, McEntee, Fogarty, Shekarchi, AN ACT RELATING TO FOOD AND DRUGS -- PLASTIC RECYCLING AND LITTER ACT (Creates voluntary, no charge program for caterers/mobile food vendors/restaurants for reduction of plastic/other disposal waste with successful completion resulting in year exemption from payment for litter control permit.)
 
House Bill No. 7877  Amore, Serodio, Blazejewski, Slater, Kazarian, AN ACT RELATING TO HOLIDAYS AND DAYS OF SPECIAL OBSERVANCE -- WORK ON HOLIDAYS AND SUNDAYS (Requires an individual employer to meet certain criteria in order to qualify for class exemption from the increased pay requirement for work on holidays and Sundays.
 
House Bill No. 7914  Shanley, Barros, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS - MINIMUM WAGES (Requires employers with 5 or more persons with developmental disabilities to pay employees no less than $15.00/hr and to have state and general revenue/federal funds appropriated to BHDDH programs to adjust minimum wage increase.)
 
House Bill No. 7916  Ucci, AN ACT RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE - PROCEDURES GENERALLY (Provides an employer that completed a reasonable background investigation of an employee prior to hiring with a presumption that the employer was not negligent in hiring that employee.)
 
House Bill No. 7921   Alzate, Amore, Williams, Blazejewski, Jackson, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- PERSONAL INCOME TAX (Adds one new income tax bracket for purposes of state income taxation.)
 
House Bill No. 7935   Tanzi, Alzate, Ranglin-Vassell, Handy, Cortvriend, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- UNLAWFUL EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES (Prohibits employer/employment agency/labor organization/employer to directly/indirectly commit unlawful employment practice.)
 
House Bill No. 7936   Tanzi, Walsh, Ajello, Cassar, Kislak, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- FAIR EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES (Forbids an employer to require an employee to execute a nondisclosure agreement; or non-disparagement agreement regarding alleged violations of civil rights or criminal conduct as a condition of employment.)
 

​This Week At The State House
With the first of two General Assembly breaks behind us, the legislature is expected to be in full swing for the next six weeks.  Over 150 bills were filed during the break; and we anticipate hundreds more to be filed by the end of this week. 
 
On Tuesday, February 25th, at the Rise (approximately 4:30 pm), in Room 35 the House Finance Committee will take testimony concerning Article 6 of the budget.  This Article increases the civil penalty for the misclassification of employees.  In 2012 the business community supported an increase in this penalty to $1500 - $3000 per misclassified employee.  The Governor proposes to increase the penalty to $3000 - $4000 per misclassified employee.  The Article establishes a penalty for construction companies working on state projects that violate labor payment rules.  The penalty would be equal to two to three times the amount agreed due and payable if the company enters into a settlement agreement with the Department of Labor.  This Article also changes the hearing date timeframe for DLT from 10 days to 30 days, with a DLT timeframe to enter a decision after the hearing from 10 days to 30 days.  This increase in timeframe guarantees that if a violation (innocent or deliberate) occurs, it will cost the company more in penalties as the amount due and payable adds up over the additional time allotted to DLT to respond.  Article 6 also increases Fire Marshall fees for building permits and Fire Marshall fees for inspections It adds a new $15 late fee for the renewal of a driver’s license, chauffeur’s license, CDL license and car registrations that have expired.
 
On Wednesday, February 26th, at the Rise, in Room 135, the House Health, Education and Welfare Committee will hear H.7468.  This bill requires retail establishments with more than three employees, who do not have public restrooms, to allow certain customers to use the employee restroom.  Eligible customers include those with the following medical conditions: Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, pregnancy, cancer or any other medical condition that requires immediate access to a restroom facility.  The retail establishment is NOT required to make any changes to the employee restroom to accommodate the eligible customers.
The House Labor Committee is slated to vote on S.2147 – the $1 increase in the minimum wage bill, Wednesday, February 26th.  The bill is expected to pass the committee and to be voted on by the full House this week.
House Finance will take testimony on Article 11 of the Governor’s budget Wednesday, February 26th, at the Rise, in Room 35.  Article 11 – Relating to Economic Development seeks to accomplish the following:

• Gives the Commerce Corporation the ability to establish a site readiness committee that could step in to assist municipalities in creating sites ready and available to companies wishing to move into the state, including permitting processes, regulations and parcel planning.  Municipalities can opt into the program, but once a municipality opts in, the rules cannot be changed.  In the event a hope community opts in and provides a tax stabilization program agreement in connection with a project, then that community can apply to the commerce corporation for a partial reimbursement of up to 25% of the forgone tax revenue.  The Commerce Corporation may only grant five certifications in any calendar year.
• Changes the Rebuild RI Tax Credit Act which is meant as a gap fund to help get projects over the success line.  Current law calls for a maximum credit of 20% of the project cost.  The Governor’s budget reduces the maximum credit to 15% unless the building involves a “recognized historic structure” or infrastructure costs that exceed 20% of the project costs, at which point the maximum would remain at 20%.
• Increases the maximum aggregate credits that can be issued from $210 million to $250 million
• Extends the sunset provision for the Rebuild RI Tax Credit, RI Tax Increment Financing, Tax Stabilization Incentive, Wave Closing Fund, I-195 Fund, Small Business Assistance Program, Main Street Program, Innovation Initiative, Industry Cluster Grant, High School Employer Partnership, RI Jobs Incentive and the Air Service Fund.  All of these programs will sunset as of December 31, 2020, unless legislative action is taken.  The Governor is asking for a 3-year extension. 

The Finance Committee members will likely be requesting information on the effectiveness of each program at this hearing.
 
On Thursday, February 27th, at the Rise in Room 211, the Senate Finance Committee will hear testimony on Article 9 of the Governor’s budget.  Article 9 – Relating to Local Aid seeks to provide an incentive to municipalities to decrease the tangible tax.  This opt-in program would provide communities with an opportunity to reduce the tangible property tax on the business community in an effort to attract more businesses to that municipality.  In Northern RI rates like $31.25 per thousand to $46.58 per thousand are common place which ultimately stifles incentives for businesses to modernize and to grow.  The Tangible Personal Property Tax Competitiveness Program works as follows:  if a municipality reduces its tangible property tax rate by 6.5% or more, then it can qualify to receive 50% of the revenue lost through the tax rate reduction from a state fund; if the rate reduction is between 5% and 6.5% then the municipality is eligible to receive 25% of the levy loss resulting from the reduction in tax; if the rate is cut between 2.15% and 5% then the municipality can receive 10% of the lost revenue from the state fund.  The Chamber submitted testimony at the House Finance Hearing to support this program if funds are available.
Article 9 also allows municipalities to tax hospitals and higher education facilities on real estate that is not used for the core mission of the entity.  Vacant lots for these entities would be considered taxable.  Any Payment in Lieu of Tax (PILOT) monies received from these non-profit institutions would offset any taxes owed under the new real estate tax program.
The Governor calls for an extension of the car tax phase out to 2028 instead of 2024.
The following bills were filed last week:
Senate Bill No. 2349   Sosnowski, Sheehan, Crowley, McCaffrey, Goodwin, AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION - TEACHERS RETIREMENT [SEE TITLE 16 CHAPTER 97-THE RHODE ISLAND BOARD OF EDUCATION ACT] (Provides for a stipend to be paid to certain retired state employees, municipal employees, and teachers or their beneficiaries during years when a cost of living adjustment is not scheduled.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2352  Bell, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- DEFINITION OF CORPORATE NET INCOME (Repeals a state corporate income tax deduction to allowable income for federal tax purposes for investment property held for at least seven (7) years.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2354  Felag, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION - PROPERTY SUBJECT TO TAXATION (Permits manufacturing or commercial concerns to apply to commerce corporation for exemption or stabilization of taxes when moving to another municipality if could reasonably and efficiently relocate outside state and that relocation would be advantageous.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2357  Gallo, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- SALES AND USE TAXES -- LIABILITY AND COMPUTATION (Exempts certain equipment procured or rented by a contractor performing construction work for the state, any city or town or any quasi-public entity from the sales and use tax.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2362   Pearson, Seveney, Cano, Paolino, Satchell, AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT - THE RHODE ISLAND MUNICIPAL INFRASTRUCTURE GRANT PROGRAM (Removes the prohibition on state appropriations to the municipal infrastructure grant program, and authorize the state planning council to evaluate, approve and issue such grants, subject to the appropriations provided to the program.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2363  Conley, Miller, Satchell, Cano, Pearson, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- HISTORIC PRESERVATION TAX CREDITS 2013 (Repeals the sunset provision of chapter 33.6 of title 44 which grants tax credits to individuals or companies redeveloping historic structures.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2380  Cano, Gallo, Goodwin, McCaffrey, Quezada, AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION -- FINANCIAL LITERACY (Develops statewide academic standards for the instruction of consumer education in public high schools by no later than December 31, 2020.)
 
Senate Resolution No. 2383  Bell, Quezada, Goldin, Euer, Nesselbush, SENATE RESOLUTION RESPECTFULLY URGING THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO PASS LEGISLATION ESTABLISHING AN IMPROVED "MEDICARE FOR ALL" SINGLE PAYER PROGRAM THAT WOULD PROVIDE UNIVERSAL, COMPREHENSIVE AND AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE
 
Senate Resolution No. 2385   Bell, Quezada, Goldin, Euer, Nesselbush, SENATE RESOLUTION CREATING A SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION TO STUDY AND ASSESS THE IMPLEMENTATION OF MEDICARE-FOR-ALL SINGLE PAYER PROGRAM IN RHODE ISLAND (Creates an 11 member commission to study and assess the implementation of Medicare-For-All Single Payer in Rhode Island, and report back to the Senate one year from the date of passage, and expire two years from the date of passage.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2389  Bell, Quezada, Goldin, Euer, Nesselbush, AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM (Establishes single-payer universal health care for Rhode Island residents.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2391  McKenney, AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE -- INSURANCE CONSUMER PROTECTION SALES ACT (Prevents businesses from selling tangible property on a condition that consumer purchases insurance prohibits businesses from using non-public information to sell insurance.)
 
Senate Resolution No. 2406  Raptakis, Lombardo, Ciccone, Lombardi, Paolino, SENATE RESOLUTION CREATING A SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION TO STUDY AND REVIEW RHODE ISLAND'S MINIMUM WAGE (Creates an 11 member commission whose purpose it would be to study Rhode Island’s minimum wage, and who would report back to the Senate no later than March 1, 2021, and whose life would expire on June 1, 2021.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2417  de la Cruz, Morgan, Paolino, Euer, Lombardi, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW - GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS - ESTABLISHING THE ELECTRONIC INFORMATION OR DATA PRIVACY ACT (Electronic Information or Data Privacy Act. Limits law enforcement access to electronic data and information.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2425  Lombardo, Archambault, McCaffrey, Goodwin, Conley, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW - GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS - DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES (Amends the Deceptive Trade Practices Act to clarify the law's exemptions/enables individuals subject to unfair or deceptive acts and practices to recover increased damages/permits attorney general to seek civil penalties for initial violations of law.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2430  Conley, Gallo, McKenney, McCaffrey, Coyne, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW--GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- CONSUMER PRIVACY PROTECTION (Creates "Consumer Privacy Protection Act.")
 
Senate Bill No. 2437  Raptakis, Rogers, Morgan, McKenney, Lombardi, AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- REGISTRATION OF VEHICLES (Permits the division of motor vehicles to suspend the registration privileges of motor carriers upon receipt of notice from the department of labor and training that the motor carrier has not secured workers' compensation insurance.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2440  Lombardo, Lombardi, McKenney, Coyne, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW--GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES (Amends the deceptive trade practices chapter to clarify the law's exemptions and enhances the attorney general's authority to seek civil penalties for violations of the law.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2477  Morgan, Rogers, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS (Requires most employers in Rhode Island to participate in the E/Verify employment authorization program and establishes deadlines to do so.)
 

​Last Week At The State House
 
Minimum Wage Activity
The House passed H.7157 SubA last Thursday on a vote of 62-5.  As expected, the bill was amended to mirror the Senate version – an increase to $11.50 effective October 1, 2020.  The General Assembly is on legislative break this week, so the bills will not get to the Governor’s desk until the last week of February at the earliest.  However, businesses should begin to plan accordingly.
 
This Week At the State House
The House and Senate are on legislative break this week.  No hearings will be held.  The session will resume February 25th.
 
What’s In the Governor FY2021 Budget?
 
Article 15 – Relating to Human Services
This Article starts off with the creation of a “Geriatric parole” program.  Anyone serving time (where the sentence was not “life without parole”) would be eligible for geriatric parole consideration after serving 10 years or 75% of the total sentence.  A second parole option would be given to those who suffer from a cognitive incapacity such as dementia, or are severely or terminally ill.  Those incarcerated still have to have their cases reviewed by the parole board.
The Substance Abuse Prevention Program under the purview of the Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals (BHDDH) is assigned some new responsibilities including identifying funding distribution criteria for the program.  Municipalities that receive substance abuse prevention grants would have to file written reports to BHDDH proving that monies received were spent in accordance with program requirements.  BHDDH would also add high schools to the program target audience.
Under current law, $30 of each speeding fine issued in the state goes to the substance abuse program.  Article 15 proposes to transfer certain other fines to this program.  A civil penalty of $150 for the possession of 1 oz. or less of marijuana – first and second offense – would be transferred to the substance abuse program as would the civil penalty of $150 for a 17 year old possessing 1 oz. or less of marijuana and the additional $300 penalty if that 17 year old does not complete a drug awareness program.
The Rhode Island Works Program, which assists families while they train for careers, is changed to allow for a little more flexibility when determining income.  The earned income of any adult family member who gains employment while the family is in the program can exclude the first 6 months of his/her earned income until the household reaches its 48 month time limit or until the household’s total gross income exceeds 185% of the federal poverty level, whichever comes first.  The Governor also proposes to provide child care to families attending a Rhode Island college if the income of the family is below 180% of federal poverty level.
Lastly, Article 15 proposes a number of changes to the state subsidies for childcare.  To view the changes go to http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText20/HouseText20/Article-015.pdf
 
Article 16 – Relating to Veterans Affairs
Under current law, Veteran’s Affairs performs a calculation at the end of each year to determine a net per diem expense of the residents of the Veterans Home.  That per diem is then charged to each resident, although a resident could only be charged up to 80% of the person’s net income.  A Veteran’s net come is also considered the total amount of income minus $150 per month and only 50% of monies received due to wounds incurred in battle conditions for which the resident received a purple heart.  The Governor’s proposal changes the amount a resident can be charged to 100% of the person’s net income, but also increases the monthly reduction to $300 per month when calculating net income.  If a resident has no stipend for battle wounds, that resident could pay less to the state for an income of $10,000 a year, but could pay more for an income of $15,000 a year.
 
Article 19 – Relating to Workforce Development
This 52 page Article focuses on the construction industry and a few other areas of policy.  If you are a member of the construction industry, the Chamber strongly urges you to read the Article which can be found at http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText20/HouseText20/Article-019.pdf
Electrician (Class B) apprenticeship programs still require 8000 hours of on-the-job learning but it appears to eliminate the requirement to complete that training within 4 years.  Maintenance electrician (Class M) still have 6000 hours but no longer within 3 years; and Lightning Protection Installers still need 4000 hours but no longer within 2 years.  If an electrical apprentice obtained an associate degree in electrical technology, that person can get credit for 288 hours of academic instruction toward the apprenticeship requirement.  The Electrician’s Board can also grant 144 hours of credit to apprentices that completed a high school electrical technology program.
Changes to the apprenticeship requirements are also made for electrical sign installers, plumbers, telecommunications, refrigeration technicians, pipefitters, and oil burnerpersons.
Of interest to all Rhode Island taxpayers is a section in Article 19 that only allows construction companies with apprenticeship programs, in every trade needed to build a school, to bid on a school construction project valued at $5 million or more.  The Article states that 10% of the workers in each trade on the job must be apprentices, and that the company bidding must verify that it can meet this requirement at the time of bidding – not at the time the job begins.  What does this mean in the real world?  It means that only union construction companies will be able to bid on these projects, thus reducing the number of competitive bidders on school projects over $5 million.  The Article does provide an out for the winning bidder if they determine there is a lack of apprentices in a specific field as long as the company demonstrated a good faith effort to comply.  This allowance comes after the bid has been awarded, however.  In a merit shop construction company (non-union), apprentices are full time employees of the individual company.  The apprentice attends night classes and the individual company provides the on-the-job training requirement with approval by the Department of Labor.  If the merit shop company does not have enough work for that apprentice, then – like most businesses – that employee will likely be laid off or terminated.  A union construction company is different.  The company calls the union hall and relays how many apprentices the company needs for a job.  Joe Smith may work for one company one week and a different union company another week.  Union construction companies can claim all of the union hall members as potential employees when attempting to qualify for bids.  Merit shops can only claim their own full time employees.  For this reason, it is extremely unlikely that any merit shop company will be able to bid on school buildings valued at $5 million or more should Article 19 pass.
Article 19 adds a provision to include nonprofit organizations with more than 1000 employees in the Job Development Assessment fee.  In 2020, the taxable wage base for this fee is $24,000 per employee ($25,500 for those employers that have an unemployment experience rate of 9.19 or higher); and the tax rate is .21% (.0021).
Finally, this Article increases the earned-income tax credit.  The Rhode Island tax credit would remain at 15% of the federal earned-income tax credit until December 31, 2020.  The credit would increase to 16% from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021; 17% from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022; 18% from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023; 19% from January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024; and to 20% effective January 1, 2025.
 
The following bills were filed last week:
House Bill No. 7440   Kazarian, Casimiro, Blazejewski, Williams, Alzate, AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE -- ACCIDENT AND SICKNESS INSURANCE POLICIES (Prohibits insurance companies from varying the premium rates charged for a health coverage plan based on the gender of the individual policy holder, enrollee, subscriber, or member.)
 
House Bill No. 7466   Walsh, Ajello, Lombardi, Hull, Fogarty, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS - MINIMUM WAGE--GRATUITIES (Raises the minimum wage for tipped workers by fifty cents ($.50) per year commencing on January 1, 2021 until the tipped minimum wage is not less than two-thirds (2/3) of the regular minimum wage.)
 
House Bill No. 7467   Walsh, Ajello, Lombardi, Hull, Fogarty, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- TIP PROTECTION (Prohibits employers from receiving any portion of the tips given by customers to their tipped employees, with limited exceptions for credit card service charges.)
 
House Bill No. 7468   Ackerman, Hawkins, Shekarchi, McNamara, Chippendale, AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- RESTROOM ACCESS ACT (Requires retail establishments with 3 or more employees on the premises without accessible public restroom to allow customers suffering from eligible conditions access to their employee restrooms.)
 
House Bill No. 7469   Casimiro, Alzate, McNamara, Jackson, Mendez, AN ACT RELATING TO FOOD AND DRUGS -- HEALTHY BEVERAGE ACT (Creates the "Healthy Beverage Act" which requires that children's meals offered by restaurants include certain healthy beverage options if beverage is automatically included in the meal.)
 
House Bill No. 7491   Tobon, Barros, Alzate, Costantino, McKiernan, AN ACT RELATING TO CORPORATIONS, ASSOCIATIONS, AND PARTNERSHIPS -- RHODE ISLAND BUSINESS CORPORATION ACT (Imposes a fee of one hundred sixty dollars ($160) for all domestic and foreign corporations for a certificate of authority to transact business in this state.)
 
House Bill No. 7500   Cortvriend, Shekarchi, Amore, Carson, Nardone, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION - STATE TAX OFFICIALS - SALES AND USE TAXES -- ENFORCEMENT AND COLLECTION (Allows any tax payments to be paid by midnight of the date the tax is due and also provides for a twenty-four (24) hour extension of time to pay the tax.)
 
House Bill No. 7532   Kennedy, Abney, Edwards, Azzinaro, O'Brien, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- SALES AND USE TAXES -- LIABILITY AND COMPUTATION (Expands the definition of sales to include any license, lease, or rental of prewritten or vendor-hosted computer software and specified digital products. This act would also define "end-user" for specified digital products.)
 
House Bill No. 7533   Carson, Cortvriend, Amore, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- STATE TAX OFFICIALS -- SALES AND USE TAXES -- ENFORCEMENT AND COLLECTION (Provides that a tax payment shall be paid by midnight on the date in which the tax becomes due and payable, and reduces the amount of penalty for taxes unpaid from a maximum of twenty-one percent (21%) to ten percent (10%).)
 
House Bill No. 7539   Craven, McEntee, McKiernan, Millea, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- PAYMENT OF WAGES (Makes failure to pay employees wages amounting to $1,500 or more a felony punishable by fines or imprisonment or both.)
 
House Bill No. 7549  Jacquard, Kennedy, Azzinaro, AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS -- TAXI CABS AND LIMITED PUBLIC MOTOR VEHICLES (Requires national and state background checks for certain drivers transporting passengers for hire.)
 
House Bill No. 7576   Casey, Solomon, Ruggiero, Canario, Shekarchi, AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE - ACCIDENT AND SICKNESS INSURANCE POLICIES (Prohibits any health insurer, medical service corporation, hospital service corporation and health maintenance organization from making prescription drug formulary changes in a contract year.)
 
House Bill No. 7604  Blazejewski, Kislak, Cassar, Ajello, Barros, AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- STATE BUILDING CODE (Requires any single-user toilet facility in a public building or place of public accommodation that exists or is constructed on or after July 1, 2020, be available to persons of any gender.)
 
House Bill No. 7611  McEntee, Bennett, Ajello, Abney, Speakman, AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- BEVERAGE CONTAINER DEPOSIT RECYCLING ACT OF 2020 (Creates a refundable five cent ($0.05) deposit for non-reusable beverage containers. A one cent ($0.01) handling fee would be paid by distributors.)
 
House Bill No. 7615   Ruggiero, Bennett, Slater, Cortvriend, Chippendale, AN ACT AN ACT RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- RHODE ISLAND COMMUNITY RESILIENCY AND PRESERVATION ACT (Establishes the Rhode Island Community Resiliency and Preservation Act to provide cities and towns with the authority to propose, for consideration and decision by their voters, a reliable source of capital funding for investing in their community.)
 
House Bill No. 7627  Phillips, Edwards, Millea, Hawkins, Shanley, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW--GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES (Amends the deceptive trade practices chapter to clarify the law's exemptions and enhances the attorney general's authority to seek civil penalties for violations of the law.)
 
 

​Last Week At The State House
 
Minimum Wage Activity
Last week the Senate passed a minimum wage hike (S.2147 SubA) on the Senate floor 30-6.  The SubA calls for an increase to $11.50 per hour starting October 1, 2020.  This is more palatable than the proposal to raise the wage to $15 per hour.  The implementation date is still problematic.  The Chamber continues to advocate for a January 1 implementation date of any increase in the minimum wage.  The House Labor Committee took testimony last week on H.7157 which calls for a wage increase to $15 by 2024.  The Sponsor – Rep. Bennett – testified that he would be willing to amend his bill to mirror the Senate version.
 
This Week At the State House
This week promises to be a very busy week.  This Thursday is the deadline for filing bills without going through extra hoops.  Also, the week of February 17th is the first recess for the General Assembly.
Today, the House Labor Committee is expected to pass a minimum wage bill identical to the bill passed by the Senate.  This would call for a $1 per hour increase effective October 1, 2020.
The Senate Finance Committee will take testimony today in room 211 at around 4:30 pm on the Governor’s FY2020 supplemental budget proposal to scoop, from the current year budget, $5 million from the Resource Recovery Fund, $1 million from the Oil Spill Prevention Administration and Response Fund, $1 million from the Underground Storage Tank fund, and $12.8 million from the Municipal Road and Bridge Revolving Loan Fund.  The scoops appear to be more about next year’s fiscal budget than closing a deficit for the current year.  According to the House Fiscal Staff report, all of the Governor’s proposed changes to the current fiscal year budget – including the scoops – would leave the State with a $24.4 million surplus which could then be used for programs next year.
On Wednesday, the House Finance Committee will hear testimony in room 35 at around 4:30 pm on a 27-page budget Article that addresses tobacco and vaping issues.  The Article raises the legal age to purchase tobacco to 21 which is already federal law following President Trump’s signing of a bill December 19, 2019.  The Article raises the tax on a pack of cigarettes and additional $.35 (to $4.60 per pack) and gives municipalities the authority to regulate the sale of tobacco within their jurisdiction – giving rise to many different rules.  The Article bans the sale of flavored vape products (other than tobacco) in the State of Rhode Island and restricts the nicotine content in tobacco flavored vaping products.  The nicotine content is lower than the content in the current market products – effectively banning the products for adults.  This Article has been called a response to the health outbreak from vaping.  However, studies so far have shown that the vaping illnesses were linked to the use of black market vaping products – most laced with TCH (a marijuana component).  The FDA is undertaking studies on specific products.  Starting May, 2020, the FDA is expected to begin releasing rulings on products that can be sold on the market. Should Article 21 pass without amendment, products permitted to be sold under the FDA ruling would not be permitted to be sold in Rhode Island.
On Thursday, the House Environment Committee will take testimony on H.7362 which would increase the bio requirement in heating fuel.  Rhode Island was the first state in the country with a state-wide requirement (5%) that was implemented. New York has a 5% requirement for a portion of the state.  Massachusetts suspended its requirement opting instead for a financial incentive to those that use a bio component.   H.7362 requires increasing requirements of biobased product. The percentage requirement would increase to 10% July 1, 2023, and would continue increasing until July 1, 2030, when the percentage would reach fifty percent (50%).  At this time, biofuel is more expensive to purchase than non-biofuel.  The other question is the availability of the quantity of the bio component.  Proponents of the bill – the oil heat industry – included a waiver provision in the language should the Governor determine product is not available or too costly, and they have testified that the addition of bio saves money on cleaning of heating systems.
 
Governor FY2021 Budget
Article 5 – Relating to Capital Development Program
Article 5 is the “bond question” Article.  If passed, the following questions would go before the voters in November:

• $117.3 million for capital improvements to higher education facilities - $57.3 to URI for a Fine Arts Center, $38 million to RI College Clarke Science Building renovation, $12 million to CCRI to renovate and modernize academic and student support areas, and $10 million to URI for a Center for Ocean Innovation  (This issue will be heard in the House Finance Committee Thursday, February 13th At the Rise – approximately 4:30 in Room 35)
• $64 million for Beach, Clean Water and Green Bond - $35 million for state beaches, parks and campground improvements; $4 million to rehabilitate local recreational facilities; $3 million for the purchase of forest conservation easements; $15 million for wastewater collection and treatment upgrades and storm water projects; and $7 million for vulnerable coastal habitats and restoring floodplains
• $87.5 million Housing and Infrastructure Bond - $25 million to increase availability of affordable housing, $20 million for a new Pier Five at Davisville in Quonset to accommodate offshore wind project needs, $21.5 million to prepare sites to be ready for industrial uses, $15 million for physical improvements to early childhood care facilities, $5 million for a matching grant program to cultural entities such as Trinity Repertory Company ($2.5 million), RI Philharmonic ($1.5 million) and other RI State Council on the Arts projects ($1 million) and $1 million to municipalities for historic sites, museums and cultural art centers.

 
 
The following bills were filed last week:
House Bill No. 7397   Jackson, Shekarchi, Noret, Serodio, Ackerman, AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY - LICENSING OF SWIMMING POOLS (Removes the requirement to have a person trained in first aid in close proximity to operate a swimming pool without a lifeguard.)
 
House Bill No. 7399   Blazejewski, Abney, Bennett, Carson, Ruggiero, AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT - RESILIENT RHODE ISLAND ACT OF 2014 - CLIMATE CHANGE COORDINATING COUNCIL (Establishes a statewide greenhouse gas emission reduction mandate.)
 
House Bill No. 7414  Craven, Caldwell, McEntee, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS (Prohibits delivery service from using merchant's likeness/trademark or intellectual property on its website or delivery vehicles without written merchant consent. Requires delivery service to register to do business in Rhode Island.)
 
House Bill No. 7435   Speakman, Knight, Donovan, Cassar, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION - PROPERTY SUBJECT TO TAXATION (Permits manufacturing or commercial concerns to apply to commerce corporation for exemption or stabilization of taxes when moving to another municipality if could reasonably and efficiently relocate outside state and that relocation would be advantageous.)
 
House Bill No. 7436   Kislak, Barros, Shanley, Vella-Wilkinson, Williams, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION - PERSONAL INCOME TAX (Adds 3 new income tax brackets for purposes of Rhode Island income taxation.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2171  Quezada, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW - GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS (Requires a person or persons who transact business under a trade name to register with a municipality, provide more extensive information when filing and to notify the municipality when the trade name is changed or discontinued.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2204  Pearson, Cano, Valverde, Satchell, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION - STAY INVESTED IN RI WAVEMAKER FELLOWSHIP (Repeals the provisions of the Stay Invested in RI Wavemaker Fellowship, and establish the Stay Invested in RI Tax Credit to provide eligible taxpayers with a tax credit for educational loan repayment expenses.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2230  Crowley, Quezada, Nesselbush, Metts, Euer, AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE -- INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR MENTAL ILLNESS AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE (Requires insurance coverage for at least ninety (90) days of residential or inpatient services for mental health and/or substance-use disorders for American Society of Addiction Medicine levels of care 3.1 and 3.3.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2236   Felag, Lombardo, Ciccone, Conley, Gallo, AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE-ACCESSIBLE RESIDENCE MODIFICATIONS (Allows health insurance plans to provide coverage for accessible residence modifications determined to be medically necessary.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2287   Quezada, Crowley, Metts, Bell, Euer, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- WRONGFUL DISCHARGE FROM EMPLOYMENT (Ends Rhode Island's "employment-at-will" legal doctrine, and would provide job protection for employees that satisfactorily perform their duties. The act would also provide specific remedies for wrongful discharge.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2295   Goldin, Lynch Prata, Goodwin, McCaffrey, Murray, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- FAIR EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES ACT (Changes the definition of employee and employer for purposes of the fair employment practices act, while expanding personal liability for violations.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2296   Goldin, Ruggerio, Goodwin, Cano, Lawson, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- FAIR EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES (Comprehensively addresses wage discrimination by expanding employee protections and the scope of the remedies available to employees who have experienced wage discrimination.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2297   Raptakis, Ciccone, Lombardi, Paolino, Lombardo, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- MINIMUM WAGES (Increases the hourly minimum wage to $11.10 on January 1, 2021, and commencing January 1, 2022, the hourly wage would increase in accordance with the Consumer Price Index for the Northeast Region for the four (4) previous fiscal years.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2301   Ciccone, Lombardi, Goodwin, Felag, Bell, AN ACT RELATING TO HOLIDAYS AND DAYS OF SPECIAL OBSERVANCE -- WORK ON HOLIDAYS AND SUNDAYS (Requires an individual employer to meet certain criteria in order to qualify for class exemption from the increased pay requirement for work on holidays and Sundays.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2304   Lombardi, Lombardo, McCaffrey, Lynch Prata, Ciccone, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- FAIR EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES (Amends the fair employment practices act by clearly establishing that employees of a defendant employer may be individually liable for unfair employment practices.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2305  Lombardi, Lombardo, McCaffrey, Lynch Prata, Ciccone, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS (Prohibits delivery service from using merchant's likeness/trademark or intellectual property on its website or delivery vehicles without written merchant consent. Requires delivery service to register to do business in Rhode Island.)
 
Senate Bill No. 2308  Quezada, Crowley, Metts, Bell, AN ACT RELATING TO HOLIDAYS AND DAYS OF SPECIAL OBSERVANCE -- HOLIDAY AND SUNDAY WORK (Removes health care and maintenance workers from the definition of employees not entitled to overtime pay, for purposes of overtime pay on Sundays and holidays, enabling them to collect overtime pay.)

​Last Week At The State House
Last week the Senate Labor Committee replaced S.2092 (the workplace bullying bill) with an amended version that further expanded actions of employees for which an employer could be held liable.  The amended version included acts such as: pestering, ignoring to the point of isolation, harming another’s emotional tranquility, and overbearing supervision.  The Chamber pointed out that this bill is actually more troublesome than the original bill.  S.2092 SubA was held for further study.  Chairman Ciccone asked all parties to provide written comments to aid the Committee in its deliberation.  S.2147, was amended to call for a one time raise of $1 per hour in the minimum wage starting October 1, 2020.  The wage would go to $11.50 per hour.  S.2147 passed the Committee on a 4-2 vote.  It will be sent to the full Senate for consideration.
 
This Week At the State House
The House Finance Committee will meet on Tuesday At the Rise (around 4:30pm) in Room 35 to receive a briefing from the House Fiscal Staff on the Governor’s budget.  The meeting will be televised on the local access channel.  No public testimony will be accepted at this meeting.
The House Environment and Natural Resources Committee will meet on Thursday At the Rise to discuss a number of packaging bills and to accept public testimony.  H.7163 bans the use of plastic straws unless specifically requested by the customers and does not allow businesses to supply a dispenser on counters.  H.7164 bans the use of polystyrene containers.  H.7306 bans the use of plastic bags.
 
Governor FY2021 Budget
Article 3 – Relating to Government Reform and Reorganization
This Article starts out addressing the licensing of home inspectors.  The passage of a licensing test was required up to July, 2019.  Article 3 moves the test requirement date to December 31 2019.  It also provides an alternative avenue for licensing of two years in the practice of conducting home inspections and 150 home inspections completed prior to December 31, 2019.  Under current law, the inspections had to be complete prior to July 1, 2013.  This may be a clean-up section to address those who failed to achieve the hours or inspection requirements by the July 2019 date.
The Article has similar language for well-drilling contractors.   Current law calls for the implementation of a test requirement starting January 1, 2018.  This Article changes the written testing date to July 1, 2020.
Licensing for roofing contractors would become a two-year license instead of a one-year license and would allow them to spread the ten continuing roofing education requirements over two years.  The Article eliminates the need to obtain a $100,000 bond for each single project undertaken but would increase the insurance certificate amount from $1.5 million to $2 million.  Lastly, the Article extends the testing grandfather clause (no test required) if the roofer was registered and in good standing by July 1, 2015 (current law says July 1, 2003).
Article 3 changes the way payments made by individuals convicted of a crime are distributed.  Current law calls for restitution to the victim first, then court cost, fees and fines.  This proposal calls for the court costs and expenses related to prosecution to be paid first, then restitution, then court fines and fees. The State has the right to sell seized property that was obtained illegally if that property would otherwise be destroyed and the property is not harmful to the public.  Ten percent (10%) of the funds raised through the sale of the property currently goes to the Department of Health.  Article 3 proposed to divert that 10% to the Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals (BHDDH) for substance abuse prevention and treatment programs.
Commercial Drivers’ License (CDL) skills tests would be transferred from CCRI to DMV with the fee set at $100 per test.
Last year’s budget established a pilot program for the collection of debts owed to the State.  This budget Article requires all agencies and quasi-public agencies to participate in the debt collection program by October 1, 2020.  It gives the Department of Revenue the ability to negotiate settlements.  If less than 50% of the debt is collected, the new collection unit keeps 15%.
Article 3 also addresses municipal debts owed to state agencies.  Under current law, municipalities have 180 days to pay bills of state agencies and quasi-public corporations. The budget Article changes the timeframe to 90 days and then allows the state to withhold sales tax revenue or public service corporation taxes due to the municipality if the debt is not paid within the 90 day period.
The last portion of Article 3 places the constitutional question of a line item veto before the voters in Rhode Island.  A line item veto would allow the Governor to veto specific items in the budget, and allow the reminder to pass into law.  It would also allow the Governor to reduce the sum of a specific item.  The General Assembly could then choose to take votes to override the veto or restore funding levels with a 2/3 majority vote of both the House and Senate. 
 
Article 4 – Relating to Debt Management Act Joint Resolutions
Article 4 calls for the following:

• $54.8 million for information technology investments.  This would be funded through two certificates of participation.  This type of financing allows investors to purchase shares of the lease revenues of a program rather than a bond being secured by those revenues.
• $17 million for a new Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System for case management.
• $61.85 million for closing the Adolph Meyer Building at Eleanor Slater Hospital and renovating the Regan Building at the Hospital to accommodate the needs of individuals.  $27.85 million would come from the RI Capital Plan Fund, $22 million from previous Certificates of Participation and a new issuance of a $12 million Certificate of Participation
• $35 million for a consolidated modern southern barracks for the RI state police
• $70 million for renovation of the Henderson Bridge and other facilities within the transportation system.  This would be done through revenue bonds with two cents of the existing gas tax used as collateral for the bond.

 
The following bills were filed last week:
 
House Bill No. 7333  Edwards, Canario, Williams, Bennett, Shekarchi, AN ACT RELATING TO BUSINESSES AND PROFESSIONS -- ELECTRICIANS (Allows 288 hours of trade school training to qualify for the journeyperson "B" electrical exam. Increases the period of indentured apprenticeship with the department of labor and training and a licensed electrician master to 4 years.)
 
House Bill No. 7339   Edwards, Newberry, Canario, Vella-Wilkinson, Kennedy, AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE -- ACCIDENT AND SICKNESS INSURANCE POLICIES (Requires that a participant or beneficiary incur no greater out-of-pocket costs for emergency services than they would have incurred with an in-network provider other than in-network cost sharing.)
 
House Bill No. 7344  Place, Quattrocchi, Nardone, Chippendale, Roberts, AN ACT RELATING TO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES -- MANUFACTURING AND WHOLESALE LICENSES (Increases the amount of malt beverages that a manufacturer can sell for offsite consumption from twenty-four 12 oz. And Twenty-four 16 oz. bottles or cans to Fifty-five 12 oz. and forty-one 16 oz. bottles and cans respectively.)
 
House Bill No. 7362   Ruggiero, Bennett, Kennedy, Handy, Blazejewski, AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY - BIODIESEL HEATING OIL ACT OF 2013 (This act would require ever increasing requirements of biobased product in No. 2 distillate heating oil. By July 1, 2023, ten percent (B10 - 9.5 - 10.5%) of No. 2 distillate heating oil would be biobased product. This would increase on a set schedule until until July 1, 2030 when fifty percent (B50 - 49.5 - 50.5%) would be biodiesel and/or renewable hydrocarbon diesel product in No. 2 heating oil.)
 
House Bill No. 7363   Jacquard, Cassar, AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE -- INSURER RECEIVERSHIP MODEL ACT (Establishes a process for insurers who wish to utilize receivership rather than the other processes of liquidation or rehabilitation.)
 
House Bill No. 7367   McNamara, Ruggiero, Bennett, Jackson, AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE-ACCESSIBLE RESIDENCE MODIFICATIONS (Allows health insurance plans to provide coverage for accessible residence modifications determined to be medically necessary.)
 
House Bill No. 7372    Edwards, Diaz, Canario, Blazejewski, Shekarchi, AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC PROPERTY AND WORKS -- LABOR AND PAYMENT OF DEBTS (Amends the definition of public works so that it would include any public works projects performed for any city or town or quasi-municipal entity and the state and any quasi-state entity.)
 
House Bill No. 7384   Edwards, Canario, AN ACT RELATING TO HOLIDAYS AND DAYS OF SPECIAL OBSERVANCE (Expands the definition of "employee" to add any individual employed in a food service establishment, which would include a caterer licensed by the department of health and division of taxation, and a food truck