​*** ACTION ALERT ***
 
In a recent conversation with Legislative Leaders about legislation that could harm the business community, they remarked that they don't hear enough from business owners like you at the State House. The Chamber realizes that it is difficult to come to the state house and sit through a hearing because you are busy facing the challenges of running a business. However, you do have a unique opportunity to come to the state house Tuesday 4:30-6:30 PM for a legislative reception where you can talk to legislators.
 
If you are unable to attend the reception, we need legislative leaders to hear from you by communicating your concern via email, phone call or personal visit to your elected officials to show them you are aware of bills being considered for passage this session. 
In a state like Rhode Island, standing up for your business can seem like a daunting task. But that is exactly why we need voices like yours to tell lawmakers in Providence the real-world impact of certain policy choices. If they do not hear your story, they cannot be expected to understand the impacts legislation can have on your business.
Below you will find a list of this session's policies that will impact your business, many of which are moving with strong support from lawmakers. We urge you to take five minutes to tell your elected officials, Speaker Shekarchi and Senate President Ruggerio that your business will be harmed if these bills pass into law.
Time Off 

• Proposals nearly doubling the amount of time workers can use for Temporary Caregiver Insurance (from 6 weeks to 12 weeks) and expanding the program to allow employees to take time to care for “a person for whom the employee is responsible for providing or arranging health or safety related care, including, but not limited to, helping the person obtain diagnostic, preventive, routine, or therapeutic health treatment.”
• A bill to increase parental and family medical leave from 13 weeks to 24 weeks.

 
Labor

• Bills prohibiting employers from mandating workers attend meetings to discuss legislation and the impact of unionization on the business.
• A bill giving striking workers unemployment benefits while on strike, increasing the drain from the UI Trust Fund
• A bill banning biweekly pay exemptions.

Taxes

• Proposals decreasing the SALT tax exemption for Pass through entities from 100% to 90%.

 
 
Health Care

• New health insurance coverage mandates add to the cost of health insurance premiums.  There are thirty-three (33) Senate bills that seek to add mandated benefits to the health care system.  There are twenty-six (26) House bills introduced this year. According to KFF, An Independent Source for Health Policy Research, Rhode Island currently ranks 6th highest for average annual single premium per enrolled employee for employer-based health insurance. For Enrollee plus one premium, Rhode Island is 10th highest, although the difference between 10th and 7th is $128 a year (interestingly, the employer contribution rate was 5th highest in the country in this category). In Rhode Island, KFF found that 51.2% of the population is insured through an employer (6.5% through non-group; 22% Medicaid; 15.4% Medicare; .7% Military; 4.1% uninsured).

Energy

• Legislation requiring buildings over 25,000 square feet to annually disclose energy usage to the state.
• Demands that newly built buildings must be prepared to go all-electric, and that existing buildings retro-fit over time to all-electric

 
NOW IS YOUR TIME TO ASK LEGISLATORS TO HELP BUSINESSES THIS YEAR BY NOT PASSING LEGISLATION THAT WILL PLACE FURTHER BURDENS AND COSTS ON BUSINESS
Senators - https://www.rilegislature.gov/senators/default.aspx
 
Representatives - https://www.rilegislature.gov/representatives/default.aspx
 
 
 
The following new bills have been filed:
 
Senate Bill No. 2813  (Dept. of Revenue)  Britto, Tikoian, Lawson, DiPalma, LaMountain, Ciccone, Burke, AN ACT RELATING TO CORPORATIONS, ASSOCIATIONS, AND PARTNERSHIPS -- RHODE ISLAND BUSINESS CORPORATION ACT (Makes numerous technical amendments to the statutes on taxes and corporations, associations and partnerships.)
http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2813.pdf
 
Senate Bill No. 2840  McKenney, LaMountain, Burke, Raptakis, Euer, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- CONSUMER ENFORCEMENT OF ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY DEVICE WARRANTIES (Requires manufacturers of assisting technology devices to make available to independent repair providers/the owner of the device, any documentation/parts, software/other items intended for use with the equipment/parts, including updates to software.)
http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2840.pdf
 
Senate Bill No. 2848  DiMario, Gu, Kallman, Valverde, AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- THE RHODE ISLAND CLEAN HEAT STANDARD ACT (Created the Rhode Island clean heat standards act to implement a system of tradeable clean heat credits earned from the delivery of clean heat measures that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.)
http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2848.pdf
 
Senate Bill No. 2850  Valverde, Murray, LaMountain, Kallman, Britto, Gu, DiMario, Miller, AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- TOXIC PACKAGING REDUCTION ACT (Updates the existing Toxic Packaging Act by delaying the ban on PFAS in processing agents, until July 1, 2027, and also expands the law by banning PVC and polystyrene in packaging.)
http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2850.pdf
 
Senate Bill No. 2888  DiPalma, Gu, Picard, Gallo, Lawson, Bissaillon, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- AUTOMATED DECISION TOOLS (Requires companies that develop or deploy high-risk AI systems to conduct impact assessments and adopt risk management programs, would apply to both developers and deployers of AI systems with different obligations based on their role in AI ecosystem.)
http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2888.pdf
 
Senate Bill No. 2900  DiPalma, F. Lombardi, Miller, Ciccone, Sosnowski, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- EXTREME TEMPERATURE WORKER PROTECTION ACT (Directs employers to take certain actions to protect their employees who are exposed to extreme hot and cold temperatures.)
http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2900.pdf
 
Senate Bill No. 2901  Ciccone, DiPalma, Raptakis, F. Lombardi, Burke, LaMountain, AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC PROPERTY AND WORKS -- LABOR AND PAYMENT OF DEBTS BY CONTRACTORS (Prohibits contractors and subcontractors from paying employees the cash equivalent of any applicable healthcare benefit in lieu of actually purchasing the healthcare benefit. Violations would be subject to civil fines.)
http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2901.pdf
 
Senate Bill No. 2902  Cano, Mack, DiPalma, Pearson, DiMario, Zurier, McKenney, Lawson, AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC PROPERTY AND WORKS -- CONTRACTORS BONDS (Provides that upon application, and good cause, the state may waive the bonding requirement for certified minority business enterprises or women owned businesses.)
http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2902.pdf
 
 

​Senate Labor Committee Passes Family Leave Bill
 
On a 4-2 vote, the Senate Labor Committee recommended passage of S.2467, An Act Relating to Labor Relations – Rhode Island Parental and Family Medical Leave Act.  The bill increases the number of benefit weeks provided to employees from thirteen weeks every two years, to twenty-four weeks every two years. While the Chamber understands that this is unpaid leave, the employer must still keep the employee’s job waiting for the person’s return.  The Chamber wishes to thank Senator Roger Picard and Minority Leader Jessica de la Cruz for voting against passage of the bill.  Voting in favor was Chairman Frank Ciccone, Senator Frank Lombardi, Senator John Burke and Senator Melissa Murray.  S.2467 is now headed to the Senate floor for a vote March 21st.
 
 
 
This Week At the State House
 
Tuesday March 12th
 
Senate Commerce Committee
 
Self-service check outs, data privacy and deceptive trade practices are all on the agenda for the Senate Commerce Committee hearing at the Rise in room 212.  S.2268, An Act Relating to Commercial Law – Grocery Stores limits the number of customer self-checkout stations to six, requires grocery stores to maintain one manual check-out station for every self-checkout station in use, and gives the Attorney General’s office the authority to impose penalties for noncompliance.  The self-service check-out limitation provision in S.2268 could bring under its umbrella grocery stores, pharmacies, and certain retail stores that offer a wide array of goods.  Written testimony can be forwarded to [email protected]
 
S.2500, An Act Relating to Commercial Law – Rhode Island Data Transparency and Privacy Protection Act establishes rules for Rhode Island companies that sell or provide information to third parties for marketing purposes.  S.2500 is a seventeen-page bill that is different than bills introduced in previous years. The employee responsible for collecting data for a company must provide certain information in a customer agreement or on a website.  The information must include:  categories of personal data collected, categories of third parties to whom the information is disclosed, explanation concerning how customers may exercise rights provided under the law, the purposes for collecting the personal data, categories of personal data shared with third parties, and an active email address or online avenue to contact the person in charge of data collection. Customers have a right to correct inaccuracies in the customer’s personal data and to delete data.  They have the right to obtain a copy of the data processed and to opt out of data collected for targeted advertising purposes.  If your business sells or provides information to third parties, we encourage you to carefully read the bill and submit comments. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2500.pdf
 
S.2503, An Act Relating to Commercial Law – General Regulatory Provisions – Deceptive Trade Practices attempts to address what is often referred to as “junk fees.”  The legislation creates a new section to the unfair deceptive practices act, stating it is an unfair practice to offer goods or services to the public and to fail to include a notification disclosing any mandatory fees including the “nature and purpose” of those fees. S.2503 creates significant ambiguity by using language that does not distinguish between fees that are fixed and determinable upfront versus fees that vary based on consumer choices during the ordering process.   For example, some web-based companies will charge fees based on the amount of items purchased, or a percentage of the cost of an item or service.  These fees are eventually disclosed to the consumer, but cannot be calculated until the order is about to be completed.  The language in the legislation would cause this practice to be declared illegal. Additionally, there is no language in the bill to clarify a length of time between the displaying of a price and the customer’s purchase triggering an unfair practice violation.  It is possible for a business to advertise a price for an item, and then the corresponding fees change prior to the customer ultimately making a purchase.  Lastly, The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is working on this very issue now. The Chamber believes it is prudent to allow that process to move forward before the State promulgates proposed regulations covering the same subject matter.  https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2503.pdf
 
S.2505, An Act Relating to Commercial Law – Deceptive Trade Practices, is another difficult bill to dissect for meaning.  This one-sentence bill states, “Any term or condition in any agreement which unnecessarily burdens a person's effective vindication of rights under this chapter [the Deceptive Trade Practices Law] shall be null and void.”  If passed, the bill will provide business to attorneys, as the courts attempt to determine what activities are covered under the new provision. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2505.pdf
 
 
Senate Judiciary Committee
 
The Senate Judiciary Committee is also meeting at the Rise on Tuesday to hear testimony on S.2672, An Act Relating to Criminal Procedure – Identification and Apprehension of Criminals.  The bill prohibits the state or any agency, from denying any person employment based on a prior criminal conviction and prohibits the state from disqualifying any person from engaging in any occupation for which a license, permit or certificate of registration is required based on a prior conviction.  Unless a particular state law or federal law requires an employer to ask about prior convictions, any state or private employer may not ask about criminal history “until such prospective employee has been deemed otherwise qualified for the position.”  At that point, a state entity or agency can deny employment or licensure, registration or permit if the crime is related to the occupation and after taking into consideration the degree of rehabilitation and the time that has elapsed since the conviction.  The bill does not specifically state that a private employer cannot deny employment; but it does say “If a conviction of a crime is used as a basis for rejection of an applicant, such rejection shall be in writing and specifically state the grounds presented and reasons for rejection. A copy of such rejection shall be sent by registered mail to the applicant.”  One last provision of the bill states that once an individual completes a suspended sentence, a probationary sentence or deferred or suspended sentence, and that person is not subject to sexual offender registration, then the Department of Probation and Parole must issue to the person a certificate of rehabilitation which can be used when applying for employment. 
 
S.2203, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations - Fair Employment Practices Act creates individual liability for any person, employer, or employees who directly or indirectly commit any act declared to be an unlawful employment practice.  This bill seems to be aimed at overturning a 2017 Rhode Island Supreme Court decision - Mancini vs City of Providence. The case involved a Providence Police Sergeant who alleged he was illegally denied a promotion based on discriminatory factors; and he attempted to sue then Chief of Police, Hugh Clements, Jr. personally.  The Rhode Island Supreme Court stated, “allowing for the possibility of individual li­ability would have a predictably chilling effect on the discretionary management decisions of supervisory em­ployees.”  The Chamber encourages members of human resource staffs to submit testimony for the Tuesday hearing at [email protected]
 
 
Wednesday, March 13th
 
The Senate Labor Committee
 
H.2121, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Temporary Disability Insurance, increases the weekly dependance allowance provided under TDI/TCI to increase from $10 to $20 or 7% of the benefit rate, whichever is greater.  The bill also expands the TCI benefit to cover employees who wish to take time to care for a sibling (including half-siblings and foster siblings), a grandchild or a “care recipient.”  A “care recipient” is defined as “a person for whom the employee is responsible for providing or arranging health or safety related care, including, but not limited to, helping the person obtain diagnostic, preventive, routine, or therapeutic health treatment.” Lastly, the TCI benefit increases to 12 weeks in a benefit year beginning January 1, 2025.  This benefit was first extended to employees in 2014 at 4 weeks.  It increased to 5 weeks in 2022 and to 6 weeks in 2023.  The employer is required to hold the job for the employee that is on leave.  The Chamber strongly encourages you to contact your legislators on this bill, as well as the House version – H.7171.  Both bills are being pushed heavily by the advocates and are under consideration.  https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2121.pdf
 
S.2783, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Employment Security – Benefits proposes to change who is entitled to unemployment benefits during a labor strike.  Under current law, an employee is not entitled to unemployment benefits during a strike unless the individual is not a member of the striking union.  If an employer locks out striking employees, those employees are entitled to benefits unless the employer is a member of a multi-employer collective bargaining group and the lockout is in response to a strike at another member’s location.  S.2783 allows all striking workers to collect unemployment benefits during a strike, meaning an employer is ultimately paying its employees to refuse to work during contract negotiations.  S.2783 upsets the delicate balance of power during negotiations which is designed to encourage both sides to work toward compromise.  https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2783.pdf
 
S.2785, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Labor Relations Act, proposes to protect the free speech rights of employees in the workplace, but it also limits the first amendment rights of employers.  S.2785 would prohibit employers from requiring non-managerial employees to attend a meeting to learn about legislative proposals or regulatory matters as well as meetings to provide information concerning labor organization efforts. If enacted, this legislation would severely limit an employer’s ability to educate employees about legislation, including legislation that would materially impact the business’ operations or the employee’s day-to-day job responsibilities.  The bill can be viewed at: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2785.pdf
 
S.2473, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Workplace Psychological Safety Act will be heard once again.  The bill begins by stating that employees have a right to a physically safe work environment and to a psychologically safe workplace.  Employers have a “general duty” to provide a work environment free from all forms of psychological abuse and to ensure that all employees are treated respectfully and with dignity. “Psychological abuse” is defined as “mentally provocative harassment.  Mistreatment that has the effect of hurting, weakening, confusing, or frightening a person mentally or emotionally.”  Within six months of enactment, all employers must adopt policy procedures to comply with the law and train managers and supervisors to handle complaints.  S.2473 includes an annual reporting process.  Employers are liable for failing to take appropriate measures to provide employees with a psychologically safe work environment. Penalties include economic, compensatory and punitive damages.  Any person who aids, abets, incites, or coerces another person in an action not permitted under the legislation is also guilty.  A person who experiences psychological abuse may present a case using direct and circumstantial evidence, and if successful may request public notification of the case outcome without disclosing the plaintiff’s name.  The bill can be read in its entirety at: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2473.pdf 
 
Testimony concerning bills on the Senate Labor agenda can be emailed to [email protected]
 
 
Thursday, March 14th
 
House Environment & Natural Resources
 
H.7617, An Act Relating to Health and Safety – Building Decarbonization Act of 2024, is an 18- page bill that addresses new residential and commercial buildings, renovations to certain properties and the collection of energy and water use data from commercial entities including housing properties.  Beginning March 31, 2026, a single building with more than 25,000 sq. ft., condominium properties with more than 25,000 sq. ft., or two buildings served by the same electric or gas meter that together have more than 25,000 sq. ft. will be required to submit energy information to the Office of Energy Resources (OER) on an annual basis.  The information will be used by OER to create benchmarks for meeting the Act on Climate requirements. As benchmarks are adopted, buildings will have to be renovated to meet the benchmarks.  H.7617 bans municipalities from issuing permits for the new construction or the alteration of residential, commercial, or mixed-use buildings that are not “electric-ready” if the application or the permit was submitted after December 31, 2024.  An exemption can be issued by the municipality if it is determined that the requirement is physically or technically infeasible.  Financial considerations are not sufficient to allow for an exemption.  No permits for new commercial, residential or mixed-use buildings would be issued after December 31, 2026, unless the building is all-electric.  The bill can be viewed at https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText24/HouseText24/H7617.pdf  Testimony should be submitted to [email protected]
 
 
The following new bills have been filed:
 
House Bill No. 8055  (Secretary of State)  Voas, Giraldo, Stewart, Solomon, Casimiro, Kazarian, AN ACT RELATING TO CORPORATIONS, ASSOCIATIONS, AND PARTNERSHIPS -- RHODE ISLAND BUSINESS CORPORATION ACT (Allows the sharing of certain information between the division of taxation and the secretary of state's office regarding an entity's tax status as compliant or non-compliant.)
http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/HouseText24/H8055.pdf
 
House Bill No. 8059  Baginski, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- RHODE ISLAND NONCOMPETITION AGREEMENT ACT (Prohibits noncompete agreements except for noncompete agreements between a seller and buyer of a business; creates civil action for an employer for the violation of an agreement by employee regarding disclosure or wrongful utilization of trade secrets.)
http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/HouseText24/H8059.pdf
 
 

This Week At the State House
Tuesday March 12th
House Committee on Health & Human Services
H.7694, An Act Relating to State Affairs and Government – RI Individual Market Affordability Act of 2024 will be heard in room 135 at the Rise (approximately 4:30pm). H.7694 establishes a new program entitled “The Rhode Island Individual Market Affordability Program” and funds it through a 2% assessment on private insurance premiums starting in 2025. The funds can be used to reduce cost sharing for individuals (eligible for subsidies) enrolled in health insurance coverage through the RI Health Exchange; provide payments to carriers to increase affordability of insurance on the individual market for lower household income families; and pay for administrative costs related to the new program. A 2022 study by KFF revealed our state has the 6th highest average employer-paid health insurance premium costs in the United States. New York is highest in cost, followed by Washington DC, Alaska, Vermont, Connecticut and then Rhode Island. Massachusetts ranked 11th. https://www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/single-coverage/?currentTimeframe=0&sortModel=%7B%22colId%22:%22Total%20Annual%20Premium%22,%22sort%22:%22desc%22%7D
As premiums increase, it becomes more difficult for businesses to provide health insurance benefits to employees; it makes our state less competitive in attracting economic development to the state and pushes current employees into the individual marketplace. The Chamber, together with other business organizations, have been advocating for the creation of a health care mandated benefits review committee. The committee would be charged with evaluating, on a use and cost basis, all proposed new health care mandates and programs, and then providing that information to the General Assembly before the legislature votes to change the system. Other states have independent bodies, agencies, or designated entities to perform such studies. Certain states require proponents to submit a complete study (contents of the study are stated in statute) with the request to introduce legislation. So far in 2024, sixty-two bills have been introduced in the House and Senate to add new benefits to the health care system. It is an increasing trend that is detrimental to the state’s economy.
Wednesday, March 13th
Senate Labor Committee
Three bills of interest will be heard in the Senate Labor Committee at 4:00 in room 212.
S.2467, An Act Relating to Labor Relations – Rhode Island Parental and Family Medical Leave Act increases the number of benefit weeks provided to employees from thirteen weeks every two years, to twenty-four weeks every two years. While the Chamber understands that this is unpaid leave, the employer must still keep the employee’s job waiting for the person’s return. Employers are having an extremely difficult time attracting employees. Finding temporary workers can be even more challenging. Should S.2467 pass, employers will be looking for replacements for almost six months, at a time when they cannot find employees for a full year. This is a very high burden at a time when businesses are least able to adapt. Additionally, should the proponents of the expansion of the state’s Temporary Caregiver Insurance (TCI) program be
successful, the expansion of Family Leave, together with the expansion of TCI would leave employers trying to find replacement employees for up to nine months. The Chamber strongly encourages you to contact your legislators about this proposal as well as the proposal to expand the TCI program (S.2121 and H.7171). Testimony on S.2467 can be emailed to [email protected] The bill can be reviewed in its entirety at https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2467.pdf


S.2123, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Payment of Wages, changes an employer’s responsibilities as it relates to providing employees with statements of earnings. Today employers must include the hours worked, deductions from gross earnings and an explanation of those deductions. The legislation adds items such as the last four digits of the social security number, deduction explanations in the employee’s preferred language, the employer’s address and name, and output information if pay is based on quantity. It also requires employers to keep these records for an undisclosed period of time. Today, employers must keep records for three years. S.2123 eliminates that provision in its entirety, suggesting the employer must keep the records until it winds up its business activity. S.2123 also requires employers to provide a type of “mini employee handbook” to employees in each employee’s primary language. The information includes items such as: wage information, benefits, holiday information, sick time, and travel and expense policies. DataUSA reports that 22.4% of Rhode Island households report speaking a primary language other than English. While the most common non-English language spoken in Rhode Island is Spanish followed by Portuguese, there are reportedly forty-one languages spoken as a primary language in the State. Some families are fluent in both their primary language and English, others are not. This bill would require employers to be prepared to provide information in multiple languages, a very high burden for Rhode Island businesses. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2123.pdf
Businesses in the warehouse industry are encouraged to submit testimony on S.2478, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Warehouse Worker Protection Act. S.2478 requires employers in the warehousing industry to provide employees with a written description of quotas an employee is required to meet within a defined period and any penalties that could be levied as a result of failing to meet the quota. If the quota changes, employees must be notified within two business days of the change. Each time a penalty is levied, the employer must provide the employee with “an applicable quota.” It is unclear whether this last provision mentioned, refers to a written description of the failure to meet the quota established, or if an existing quota will have to be adjusted to meet the employee’s “under performance.” Section 28-60-4 of the bill states, “An employee shall not be required to meet a quota that prevents compliance with meal or rest periods or use of bathroom facilities, including reasonable travel time to and from bathroom facilities.” This language seems to imply that the employer must go to each station and attempt to determine how long a “reasonable person” would need to walk to the bathroom and back. As employees move around the warehouse, the employer would have to keep track of the constant location of the employee and re-calculate the time needed in order to avoid the penalties that are contained in S.2478 and to keep the necessary records outlined in S.2478. Under the bill, employers are required to keep records on the following items: (1) Each employee's own personal work speed data; (2) The aggregated work speed data for similar employees at the same
establishment; and (3) The written descriptions of the quota such employee was provided. Lastly, S.2478 provides a private right of action by an employee for injunctive relief, costs and attorney’s fees. If the employer took any action that might be deemed to be retaliatory by the employee, the employer could be subject to penalties of $10,000 or three times the unpaid wages and benefits, whichever is greater. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2478.pdf




Thursday, March 14th
Senate Committee on Housing & Municipal Government
Owners of certain multi-family residential properties should take note of S.2631, An Act Relating to property-Community Opportunity to Purchase Act. S.2631 will be heard in committee Thursday, at the Rise in room 212. This legislation creates a right of first offer for non-profit organizations wishing to purchase certain privately-owned real property with five or more residential rental units (whether or not the property also includes non-residential uses). Rhode Island Housing would be responsible for determining which nonprofit organizations qualify for this special treatment, and for posting a list of those entities on a website. Private owners of multi-family residential properties that were constructed twenty (20) years ago or more, would be required to notify eligible non-profits of the desire to sell the property prior to notifying the general public. The normal sales process could not begin until the initial notification is complete. Those non-profits are given at least sixty (60) days to submit offers to purchase. Every seller must submit a signed declaration of compliance with this proposed law within fifteen (15) days of the sale of the building. It is signed under penalty of perjury. Should the seller fail to file the declaration, the seller is subject to a fine of up to $5,000. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2631.pdf Testimony should be emailed to [email protected]
The following new bills have been filed:
Senate Bill No. 2711 Bissaillon, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES (Prohibits credit reporting, executions, attachments against a principal residence for judgments based on medical debt. Defines medical debt as an amount for the receipt of health care services, products, or devices.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2711.pdf
Senate Bill No. 2738 Kallman, Gu, DiMario, Miller, Valverde, LaMountain, Acosta, McKenney, Burke, AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS -- TERMINATION OF SERVICE TO PERSONS WHO ARE DISABLED, SERIOUSLY ILL, OR IN ARREARS OF PAYMENT (Extends the forbearance of utility terminations for customers with serious illness certifications and
would amend various provisions related to the termination of utility services for persons who are disabled, seriously ill, or in arrears.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2738.pdf
Senate Bill No. 2772 (Secretary of State) Quezada, Mack, Zurier, Lauria, Tikoian, Ujifusa, AN ACT RELATING TO CORPORATIONS, ASSOCIATIONS AND PARTNERSHIPS -- UNIFORM PARTNERSHIP ACT (Requires certain limited liability partnership providing professional services to carry liability insurance.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2772.pdf
Senate Bill No. 2783 Bissaillon, Burke, Mack, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- EMPLOYMENT SECURITY -- BENEFITS (Allows unemployment benefits for workers who are on strike or are locked out of their workplaces by their employer due to a labor dispute.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2783.pdf
Senate Bill No. 2785 LaMountain, Bissaillon, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- LABOR RELATIONS ACT -- EMPLOYEE FREE SPEECH RIGHTS (Protects employees free speech regarding political or religious matters.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2785.pdf
House Bill No. 7927 Solomon, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- TAXATION OF BANKS (Provides banks with an election to use the allocation and apportionment method of income for purposes of taxation.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/HouseText24/H7927.pdf
House Bill No. 7928 Casey, Finkelman, Solomon, Phillips, Fenton-Fung, J. Brien, Chippendale, Dawson, Costantino, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- BUSINESS CORPORATION TAX (Repeals the corporation minimum tax.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/HouseText24/H7928.pdf
House Bill No. 7929 Casey, Finkelman, Solomon, Phillips, J. Brien, Chippendale, Dawson, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- PERSONAL INCOME TAX (Authorizes a retroactive tax credit for tax yr 2022/thereafter/allowing investment tax credits to be passed through to the personal income tax returns of eligible Sub-S corporation shareholders/limited liability company members who meet certain conditions) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/HouseText24/H7929.pdf
House Bill No. 7940 Voas, Alzate, Potter, Kazarian, Hull, Marszalkowski, DeSimone, Finkelman, Caldwell, Slater, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- SENIOR SAVINGS PROTECTION ACT (Prohibits the charging of any fees to a senior citizen who is 65
years of age or older for a hard-copy paper bill, invoice or statement. The violation of this provision would be a deceptive trade practice subject to a ($500) fine.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/HouseText24/H7940.pdf
House Bill No. 7942 Craven, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES (Makes any term or condition in any agreement that unnecessarily burdens a person's vindication of rights under this section null and void.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/HouseText24/H7942.pdf
House Bill No. 7981 Giraldo, Speakman, Biah, Henries, Voas, Kislak, Batista, Diaz, Alzate, Kazarian, AN ACT RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- ZONING ORDINANCES (Amends the provisions relative to permitted uses within residential, industrial and commercial zoning use districts.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/HouseText24/H7981.pdf
House Bill No. 8044 Hull, J. Lombardi, Fogarty, Handy, Shallcross Smith, Ajello, Ackerman, Slater, Azzinaro, Bennett, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- WORKPLACE PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY ACT (Protects bullying/psychological abuse in workplace inflicted upon employees by employers/co-employees/provides civil remedies to affected employees/fines against employers/imprisonment/fines against co-employees.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/HouseText24/H8044.pdf

​This Week At the State House
 
Tuesday, March 5th
 
House Finance Committee
 
The House Finance Committee has scheduled several hearings on the Governor’s proposed budget.  As reported last week, the committee is scheduled to take testimony on sections of Article 6 – Tax Article at the Rise (approximately 4:30).  Article 6 sections 3, 6 and 16-20 affect businesses engaging in the sale of e-cigarette and vaping products.  The budget includes a tax on these products equal to 80% of the wholesale cost (an exemption exists for research products).  Article 6 sections 14 and 15 propose to increase the cigarette tax by $.25 a pack for a total tax of $4.50 per pack.  The language also calls for an age verification process to be adopted by online retailers of tobacco and electronic nicotine delivery systems.
 
Article 6 section 11 – Under current law, each year, the Tax Administrator is required to prepare and publish a list of the top 100 delinquent taxpayers in the state.  The Governor’s budget expands the requirement so that the annual list will include all taxpayers who owe at least $50,000 in state taxes.
 
Article 6, section 21 eliminates the $50 filing fee for estates of decedents with a death on or after January 1, 2025
 
Written testimony can be emailed to [email protected] by 1:00, March 5th.
 
 
House Labor Committee
 
The House Labor Committee is meeting in Room 135 of the State House at the Rise (approximately 4:30 p.m.) with many bills of interest on the list.
 
H.7457, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Payment of Wages – Frequency of Payment, requires all employers to pay employees on a weekly basis unless an employee’s wages are fixed at a biweekly, semi-monthly, monthly or annual rate.  H.7457 provides an exemption for state and municipalities as well as any nonprofit organization with less than 25 employees.  In 2013, the business community fought hard to pass biweekly pay for all employees.  The compromise reached allowed the Department of Labor and Training to authorize biweekly pay for businesses with an average payroll equal to 200% of the state’s minimum wage, a surety bond equal to the highest two weeks payroll exposure, and no history of labor violations.  H.7457 removes the 2013 compromise language.  Today, Rhode Island has one of the strictest “frequency of payment” laws in the country. (CA requires weekly pay for agricultural workers; NY requires weekly pay for manual workers although large employers may apply for an exemption; VT requires weekly pay although permits biweekly pay if employers provide written notice of the policy change).  https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText24/HouseText24/H7457.pdf
 
H.7319, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Healthy and Safe Families and Workplaces Act, creates a new definition of “workweek” for employers with more than 500 employees.  Any employee of a large employer must be paid time and a half if that employee works more than thirty-two hours in a week.  The employer must also pay the same amount to the employee for the thirty-two hours as the employee received for forty hours prior to the passage of the bill.  After seeming to create an exemption for businesses with less than 500 employees, H.7319 goes on to specifically define the work week as 32 hours for employees in food establishments and individuals under the age of 18, employees paid on a biweekly basis, employees of a national voluntary health nonprofit, mechanics, and vehicle and farm equipment salespersons. The bill can be read in its entirety at: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText24/HouseText24/H7319.pdf
 
H.7580, An Act Relating to Corporations – Workers’ Cooperatives, provides exclusive benefits to cooperatives.  Established in 2017, the General Assembly passed a law allowing the creation of an entity where individuals could complete a probationary period as a part-time or full-time employee and become a voting member of the company.  The entity is taxed as a corporation.  The law also states, “To the extent that a workers’ cooperative has shareholders (owners) who are employees (members), the workers’ cooperative shall 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.”  H.7580 adds a new operational model for cooperatives.  It allows co-ops to adopt, in its bylaws, the ability to furnish skilled labor from its members to other entities and to treat those members as independent contractors for that purpose – not as an employee of the co-op.  https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText24/HouseText24/H7580.pdf
 
H.7650, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Fair Employment Practices – Extreme Temperature Employee Protection, requires employers to take special precautions when employees are working in temperatures above 90 degrees or below 32 degrees, including employees that are required to stay in vehicles under these conditions. Employees would be entitled to paid rest breaks, adequate shade, warming or cooling stations, drinking water, protective equipment and clothing.  An employer found in noncompliance would be subject to compensatory damages and in some cases punitive damages. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText24/HouseText24/H7650.pdf
 
H.7790, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Payment of Wages changes an employer’s responsibilities as it relates to providing for employees with statements of earnings.  Today employers must include the hours worked, deductions from gross earnings and an explanation of those deductions.  H.7790 adds items such as the last four digits of the social security number, deduction explanations in the employee’s “understandable” language, the employer’s address and name, and output information if pay is based on quantity.  H.7790 also requires employers to provide a type of “mini employee handbook” to employees in English (this is a change from last year’s bill). The information includes items such as: wage information, benefits, holiday information, sick time, and travel and expense policies.   https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText24/HouseText24/H7790.pdf
 
If you wish to submit written testimony on any of these bills, the appropriate email address is [email protected]
 
 
Senate Commerce Committee
 
Self check-out lines at grocery stores are once again on a hearing schedule – this time in the Senate.  S.2268, An Act Relating to Commercial Law – Grocery Stores, limits the number of customer self-checkout stations to six, requires grocery stores to maintain one manual check-out station for every self-checkout station in use, and gives the Attorney General’s office the authority to impose penalties for noncompliance.  The penalty amount is not defined.  The self-service check-out limitation provision in S.2268 could bring under its umbrella grocery stores, pharmacies, and certain retail stores that offer a wide array of goods.  Written testimony can be forwarded to [email protected]
 
 
Data Breach, Cryptocurrency, Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence Legislation
 
If your company has any expertise in these areas, we want to hear from you.  Many bills have been recently introduced (see the list below) and the Chamber is looking for input. Please contact the Chamber by email at: ____________
 
 
The following new bills have been filed:
 
Senate Bill No. 2500  DiPalma, Euer, DiMario, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- RHODE ISLAND DATA TRANSPARENCY AND PRIVACY PROTECTION ACT (Creates the Rhode Island Data Transparency and Privacy Protect Act for data privacy protections for the personal data of the citizens of Rhode Island.)
http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2500.pdf
 
Senate Resolution No. 2502  DiPalma, Zurier, JOINT RESOLUTION CREATING A SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION TO STUDY BLOCKCHAIN AND CRYPTOCURRENCY
http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2502.pdf
 
Senate Bill No. 2503  LaMountain, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES (Prohibits misrepresentation of the total costs of goods and services by omission of notification to consumers of any mandatory fees from advertised prices and failure to disclose the nature and purpose of any fees.)
http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2503.pdf
 
Senate Bill No. 2504  Gu, DiPalma, Valverde, Miller, Murray, AN ACT RELATING TO FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS -- CURRENCY TRANSMISSIONS -- VIRTUAL CURRENCY KIOSKS (Establishes guidelines for the operation of virtual currency (crypto) kiosks.)  http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2504.pdf
 
Senate Bill No. 2505  Gallo, Cano, Lawson, LaMountain, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES (Makes any term or condition in any agreement that unnecessarily burdens a person's vindication of rights under this section null and void.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2505.pdf
 
Senate Bill No. 2506  de la Cruz, Rogers, DeLuca, AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS -- PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION (Requires the public utilities commission (PUC) to produce a report by January 1, 2025 and each January 1 thereafter, on the ability for the current electric grid to handle the electrification load need to power cars, buildings, and heating of homes.)  http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2506.pdf
 
Senate Bill No. 2507  Paolino, de la Cruz, AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- SMALL BUSINESS REGULATORY FAIRNESS IN ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES (Expands the duties of the small business ombudsman, by also having the ombudsman serve as the Rhode Island commerce corporation's small business advocate.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2507.pdf
 
Senate Bill No. 2535  Euer, Mack, Miller, Cano, DiMario, Murray, Quezada, Lauria, Bissaillon, Zurier, AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ACT (Establishes requirements which would have to be met by an applicant prior to the issuing of permits for an activity that would have an environmental impact on or would increase the cumulative impacts on an environmental justice area.)
http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2535.pdf
Senate Bill No. 2548  Ujifusa, DiPalma, Acosta, Ciccone, Mack, Kallman, Valverde, Murray, Bell, Quezada, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- RHODE ISLAND NEW QUALIFIED JOBS INCENTIVE ACT 2015 (Sunsets/discontinues the Jobs Development Act rate reduction as of July 1, 2024.)
http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2548.pdf
Senate Bill No. 2591  DiMario, Miller, Lauria, Cano, Valverde, Lawson, AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION -- STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM (Creates the Rhode Island Student Loan Authority which would allow eligible individual to discharge student loan debt.)
http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2591.pdf
Senate Bill No. 2596  Kallman, Acosta, DiMario, Miller, Gu, Cano, Ujifusa, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- PERSONAL INCOME TAX -- CAPITAL GAINS (Amends the capital gains tax rates and holding period from 5 years to 1 year. Imposes a non-owner occupied tax on homes assessed at more than $1,000,000.)
http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/SenateText24/S2596.pdf
House Bill No. 7759  Kazarian, Dawson, Boylan, Knight, Speakman, Donovan, Cortvriend, McGaw, AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (Directs the department of transportation to prepare a monthly snapshot report on the progress of repairs and other actions pertaining to the Washington Bridge.)
http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/HouseText24/H7759.pdf
House Bill No. 7782  Cortvriend, Carson, Boylan, Speakman, McGaw, Fogarty, Kislak, Handy, Tanzi, Bennett, AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- THE RHODE ISLAND CLEAN HEAT STANDARD ACT (Created the Rhode Island clean heat standards act to implement a system of tradeable clean heat credits earned from the delivery of clean heat measures that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.)
http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/HouseText24/H7782.pdf
House Bill No. 7785  Noret, Casey, Phillips, J. Brien, Chippendale, Dawson, AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- DIGITAL ASSET KEYS--PROHIBITION OF PRODUCTION OF PRIVATE KEYS (Prohibits the compelled production of a private key as it relates to a digital asset, digital identity or other interest or right.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/HouseText24/H7785.pdf
 
House Bill No. 7786  Baginski, Finkelman, Boylan, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- AUTOMATED DECISION TOOLS (Requires companies that develop or deploy high-risk AI systems to conduct impact assessments and adopt risk management programs, would apply to both developers and deployers of AI systems with different obligations based on their role in AI ecosystem.)
http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/HouseText24/H7786.pdf
 
House Bill No. 7787  Shanley, Batista, Donovan, Edwards, Solomon, Voas, Dawson, Craven, Vella-Wilkinson, Handy, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- RHODE ISLAND DATA TRANSPARENCY AND PRIVACY PROTECTION ACT (Creates the Rhode Island Data Transparency and Privacy Protect Act for data privacy protections for the personal data of the citizens of Rhode Island.)
http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/HouseText24/H7787.pdf
House Bill No. 7788  Shanley, Batista, Voas, Dawson, Craven, Vella-Wilkinson, Handy, Cardillo, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- MINIMUM WAGES (Creates new definition for the term "employee", for purposes of wages, workers' compensation, temporary disability and unemployment insurance benefits, which deems a worker to be an employee, as opposed to an independent contractor.)
http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/HouseText24/H7788.pdf
House Bill No. 7793  Giraldo, Morales, Stewart, Alzate, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- RHODE ISLAND PARENTAL AND FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE ACT (Increases the amount of unpaid parental or family leave available to an employee, from thirteen (13) weeks to twenty-six (26) weeks, in any two (2) calendar years.)
http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/HouseText24/H7793.pdf
House Resolution No. 7817  Casey, Noret, Phillips, J. Brien, Chippendale, Finkelman, Marszalkowski, Dawson, JOINT RESOLUTION CREATING A SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION TO STUDY BLOCKCHAIN AND CRYPTOCURRENCY (Creates a 5 member commission to recommend legislative proposals for blockchain and cryptocurrency, and submit an interim progress report by January 5, 2025, and a final report by January 5, 2026, and expire on February 5, 2026.)
http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/HouseText24/H7817.pdf
House Bill No. 7851  (General Treasurer) Giraldo, Alzate, Morales, Stewart, Henries, Cruz, Voas, AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC FINANCE -- RHODE ISLAND BABY BOND TRUST (Creates the Rhode Island baby bond trust to provide investment funds to children born to families with public health insurance or no insurance living in Rhode Island.)
http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText24/HouseText24/H7851.pdf