|
This Week at the State House
Attorney General Authority Over Businesses The breadth of the Attorney General’s authority is a topic of discussion for the House Committee on State Government & Elections Committee at the Rise on Tuesday. H.7993, An Act Relating to State Affairs and Government – Department of Attorney General, creates a bureau of public protection within the AG’s office. The bill gives the AG authority to appoint special assistant attorneys general, experts, consultants, and other assistants as required. The bureau is designed to have four divisions: consumer protection and antitrust enforcement, health care regulation and access, environmental protection and energy regulation and civil rights protection. If the AG believes anyone or any business has engaged in repeated illegal acts (meaning multiple illegal acts or one illegal act that affects more than one person) the AG can file for an order in superior court, and can direct restitution, damages and penalties and can cancel any certificate filed with the secretary of state. This means the AG could rescind the right of a business to operate and he would have the right to issue civil investigative demands which is a form of subpoena to obtain information without a court order. The language contains an exemption for businesses subject to regulation by a state agency - if the action(s) in question taken by the business fall within the jurisdiction of that agency. The bill includes a requirement to annually report to the House and Senate the number of investigations conducted, the number of applications to the superior court submitted and the outcomes of such actions. H.7993 was submitted at the request of Attorney General Peter Neronha. The bill can be viewed at https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7993.pdf Testimony can be emailed to [email protected] Electricity Cost Increase to Certain Customers The House Corporations Committee is meeting at the Rise to discuss H.7880, An Act Relating to Public Utilities and Carriers. The bill creates a tiered rate system for electricity and natural gas customers whose household income level is below 150% of the federal poverty level. For these households, the plan envisions capping electric rates to ensure that they pay no more than 3% of their income on electricity or 6% of their income if the house utilizes electricity as a sole source of heat. The program will be funded by increasing rates on all other customers. Rhode Island customers currently pay the fifth highest residential electricity rates in the country, third highest commercial rates, and second highest industrial rates according to the Energy Information Agency’s most recent data. (U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, January, 2026, Average Price of Electricity to Ultimate Consumers by End-Use Sector. https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.php?t=epmt_5_6_a) It is a challenge the state faces as it tries to attract businesses which bring with them jobs that help lift people out of poverty. Testimony can be sent to [email protected] Wednesday, April 8th Paid Time Off For Blood Donation The Senate Labor Committee is meeting at 4:00 and will hear testimony on two bills of interest. S.2928, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Healthy and Safe Families and Workplaces Act requires employers to provide full-time employees four hours of paid leave once a year to donate blood through any approved blood donation program. The bill stipulates that the employee is to be paid at the regular rate of pay and the employer can require proof of the donation. An employee may only use this benefit once a year. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2928.pdf AI in the Workplace S.2499, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Artificial Intelligence Use and Fair Employment Practices, creates a comprehensive statutory framework to address and regulate the use of artificial intelligence in the workplace. The legislation: (1) Sets rules for “inputs and outputs” generated by AI when used to make significant decisions about workers, (2) Addresses the collection of data through electronic monitoring and time-tracking tools by banning such use unless the collection purpose meets specific needs set in the legislation (3) Covers “work process information” related to an individual’s productivity. This 11-page bill can be viewed at https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2499.pdf Testimony for either bill can be sent to the committee at [email protected] AI Generated Material The House Committee on Innovation, Internet & Technology is meeting at 4:00 on Wednesday. H.7543, An Act Relating to Commercial Law – Internet Access and Advertising by Facsimile, requires video or photography generated by artificial intelligence that is posted on a public platform and that is viewable in Rhode Island must contain a marking disclosing that the video or photo has been generated by AI. Any violation of this provision by a for-profit entity would constitute a deceptive trade practice. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7543.pdf Testimony can be sent to [email protected] Commerce Corporation, Qualified Jobs Incentives, Interest on Judgments and Tax Treatments The House Finance Committee will meet at 4:00 to discuss four economic development initiatives. H.7311, An Act Relating to State Affairs and Government – RI Commerce Corporation, limits the authority of the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation to finance any transaction to $5,000,000 for any one individual, business entity or project. The Commerce Corporation must come to the General Assembly for approval for projects requiring an amount over that threshold. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7311.pdf H.7505, An Act Relating to Taxation – RI New Qualified Jobs Incentive Act 2015, sunsets/discontinues the Jobs Development Act rate reduction as of July 1, 2026. This program currently offers businesses an opportunity to expand their workforce while reducing costs. Companies that create new positions or relocate jobs to the state can receive annual, redeemable tax credits for up to 10 years, with credits of up to $7,500 per job per year. Businesses must create a minimum number of new full-time jobs, varying by industry and company size, with a minimum threshold of 10 new jobs in most cases. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7505.pdf H.7810, An Act Relating to Taxation – State Tax Officials, caps the interest rate for all delinquent taxes at twelve percent. It also limits the tax administrator’s authority to audit taxpayers to three years from the date of the tax filing. For fraudulent returns, the audit period would cover up to seven years, but in no event, could an audit be performed beyond ten years. The bill proposes an effective date of January 1, 2027, and applies to all assessments, audits and tax payments, including delinquent taxes, initiated on or after that date. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7810.pdf H.8195, An Act Relating to Taxation – RI Local Investment Tax Credit Act, provides an investment tax credit to a taxpayer that makes a qualified investment in a local qualified business of ninety-nine employees or less. The program would be funded by a Rhode Island Commerce Corporation strategic fund. The bill also anticipates the use of annual general revenue appropriations. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8195.pdf Testimony on any of these bills can be sent to [email protected] Thursday, April 9th Business Identity Fraud The House Judiciary Committee will meet at the Rise on Thursday. H.8060, An Act Relating to Criminal Offenses – Impersonation and Identity Fraud, aims to modernize the state's identity fraud laws to include protections against digital forgery and the impersonation of businesses or government agencies. H.8060 clarifies that it is a crime to knowingly impersonate an entity with the intent to facilitate fraud. It introduces protections against the creation or distribution of a fake digital likeness of a person or entity intended to deceive without consent. It expands the definition of "means of identification" to include logos and trademarks. A person or entity that is found in violation of the law would be subject to three years in prison and/or a fine up to $5000 for the first offense; three to five years in prison and/or a fine up to $10,000 for a second offense; and five to ten years in prison and/or a fine of at least $15,000 for subsequent offenses. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8060.pdf Testimony can be submitted at: [email protected] Employee Ownership Tax Credit The House Finance Committee will meet at the Rise on Thursday. On the agenda is the Lt. Governor’s bill, H.7696, An Act Relating to Taxation – Employee Ownership Tax Credit. The bill is designed to encourage businesses to transition to employee-owned models like Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) or worker cooperatives. Businesses can claim a credit of up to 50% of "conversion costs" (legal, accounting, etc.) for transitioning to an ESOP/employee trust (capped at $100,000) or other equity structures (capped at $25,000). Existing employee-owned firms can receive a 50% credit (up to $25,000) for expanding ownership by at least 20%. The program is to be administered by the Office of Business Development with a total cap of $1,000,000 in annual credits, which are refundable. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7696.pdf Testimony can be submitted at: [email protected] New Introductions Senate Bill No. 3190 Famiglietti, LaMountain, Dimitri, Bissaillon, Patalano, AN ACT RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE -- PROCEDURE GENERALLY -- DECISIONS, SPECIAL FINDINGS AND ASSESSMENT OF DAMAGES (Adds the doctrine of assumption of risk to the current comparative negligence statute.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S3190.pdf Senate Bill No. 3193 LaMountain, Burke, Famiglietti, Bissaillon, Dimitri, AN ACT RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE -- PROCEDURE GENERALLY -- CAUSES OF ACTION (Provides for punitive damages in civil actions where there is willful or wanton conduct or a reckless disregard for health, safety and welfare.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S3193.pdf Senate Bill No. 3200 McKenney, LaMountain, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- FAIR EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES (Prohibits an employer, employment agency, labor organization, or employee, to commit any act declared to be an unlawful employment practice; individuals would be held personally liable for such conduct.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S3200.pdf
0 Comments
This Week at the State House
Monday, March 30th At 4pm today in the House Lounge, the House Labor Committee will conduct hearings of concern to the Chamber. To submit testimony on these bills, please email: [email protected]. Employee Ownership Opportunity H 7964 would create the Rhode Island Opportunity for Employee Ownership Act, requiring a right-of-first opportunity for employees to purchase qualified businesses when it is being sold or transferred. It would apply to privately held, non-publicly traded, businesses operating in Rhode island for at least one year with at least three employees and meeting certain Small Business Administration industry size standards. However, it would exempt businesses being sold or transferred to a family member, due to medical necessity or death, compelled by court order, or necessitated by emergency circumstance or natural disaster. To sell or transfer a qualifying businesses the owner must provide notice to employees of the intent to sell the business and give a 30 day period for employees to organize and initiate a potential purchase effort including by forming a worker cooperative. The legislation injects procedural delays and uncertainty for potential purchasers that reduce owner’s valuation and jeopardizes transactions, undermines confidentiality in a manner that could expose strategic decisions to competitors, and can disrupt operations, morale, and create employee anxiety and turnover. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7964.pdf Extreme Temperatures The committee will also hear legislation imposing new standards on employers for the protections of workers when temperatures fall below 32 degrees and rise above 90 degrees. H 8311 amends the state’s Occupational health laws to require employers to implement plans that prevent and reduce exposure of employees to extreme temperatures, including paid rest breaks, adequate shade, working/cooling stations, drinking water, and personal protective equipment, and for quarterly training of supervisors on temperature related risks. Additional requirements are also required to be established for vehicle drivers, warehouse workers, and those working construction, farming, recreation and other outdoor venues. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8311.pdf H 7966 creates the Extreme Temperature Worker Protection Act, includes many of the provisions in H 8311, with additional regulatory requirements and compliance protocols, including written safety plans and recordkeeping obligations. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7966.pdf Tuesday, March 31st NRICC’s Arbitration Facilitation Bill On Tuesday at the Rise in Room 313, the Senate Judiciary Committee conduct a hearing on legislation introduced at the request of the Northern RI Chamber of Commerce. S 2396 seeks to amend a 2024 law that creates obstacles for businesses seeking to use arbitration agreements as a means to settle disputes. The current law requires businesses, under most circumstances, to pay certain fees and costs before the arbitration can proceed. These fees must be paid “within 30 days” of the “due date” otherwise the business is considered to be in breach of the arbitration agreement and the employee or consumer may choose to (1) withdraw the claim from arbitration and proceed to court (the court must impose sanctions on the business) or (2) compel arbitration and subject the business to attorneys’ fees and costs related to the arbitration. California passed this same law and is now fighting because a company was three days late, subjecting it to large expenses and a court proceeding. A business might send the payment on time, but it may arrive late, or sit on the arbitrator’s desk by mistake, leaving the business with costly ramifications. If the arbitration ends up withdrawn, the business is also subject to penalties such as attorneys’ fees and costs, an evidence sanction prohibiting the business from conducting discovery in the civil action, an order striking out pleadings or parts of the pleadings, or an order rendering a judgment by default against the business and contempt sanction by an order. These penalties make it harder for the business to defend itself in court. The new law also states that if an arbitration agreement contains a provision that deters a party from hiring a lawyer, the entire arbitration agreement is deemed illegal. The Chamber’s bill makes four changes to the existing law:
The Chamber is asking for your help. Please consider sending testimony in favor of S 2396 to the Senate Judiciary Committee at: [email protected]. Identity Theft Protection, Data Deletion Also on Tuesday, the Senate Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technology Committee will meet at 3pm in Room 212. Testimony on these matters can be sent to: [email protected]. S 2638 would amend the Identify Theft Protection Act of 2015 to amend definitions impacting the scope of regulated data that could include routine business records and digital identifiers, which would increase compliance burdens. It would also require any entity that stores or processes personally identifiable information to implement and maintain “risk-based information security program” that aligns with an “approved and industry recognized cybersecurity framework” without guidance regarding what satisfies such requirement, potentially exposing good faith compliance efforts to liability. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2638.pdf S 2766 would create the Rhode Island Delete Act, requiring data brokers that collect, share or sell to third parties the personal data of consumers with whom they do not have a direct relationship to register with the department of business regulation. It would provide consumers to request the deletion of their personal information through a mechanism to be established by DBR. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2766.pdf Thursday, April 2nd The House Corporations Committee will meet at the Rise in the House Lounge. Testimony can be submitted on the bills below by emailing: [email protected]. Vehicle Barriers H 7179 would require the installation of vehicle barrier safety devices at retail establishments, including restaurants as part of any new construction, while ensuring sufficient space for wheelchair access and ADA compliance. The bill suggests insurers may consider offering premium discounts, but there is no guarantee that such savings would offset the installation and engineering costs associated with these barriers. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7179.pdf Escrow Gift Card Funds H 8264 would requires retailers to put money received for gift certificates into a separate account until the certificates are redeemed, at which point funds can be transferred into the retailer’s business account. It would exempt gift certificates given without exchange for value. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8264.pdf New Introductions Senate Bill No. 3154 BY Kallman, Lauria, Valverde, Ujifusa, DiMario, Mack, Vargas, Britto, Sosnowski AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- WEALTH PROCEEDS TAX (Imposes a tax equal to four percent (4%) on net investment income, such as interest, dividends, annuities, royalties, capital gains and rental income, of high-income households, estates and trusts, based upon federal guidelines.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S3154.pdf This Week at the State House
Tuesday, March 24th A number of bills will be heard in the Senate Commerce Committee at the Rise (approximately 4:30 pm) in Room 212. Testimony regarding these matters can be submitted to: [email protected] Credit Card Fees S.2344 prohibits the charging of interchange fees, also known as “swipe fees,” on the portions of a credit card transaction related to taxes and gratuities. This bill is being promoted by hospitality businesses and local merchants, and is similar to legislation adopted in Illinois that recently withstood legal challenge. S.2344 is identical to H.7607 that was heard in the House on March 3rd. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2344.pdf S.2522 prohibits the charging of interchange fees on sales and use tax or excise tax when payment is made with a credit or debit card. If a fee is charged, it is deemed to be a violation of the deceptive trade practices act and is subject to a penalty of $1,000 per electronic transaction. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2522.pdf Grocery Store and Retailer Restrictions S.2342 limits grocery stores by capping the number of self-service checkout stations they can operate to eight, and mandating a minimum ratio of manual checkout stations to self-service checkout stations. Stores would be required to operate one manual checkout station for every two self-check-out stations operating. Lastly, S.2342 states that “No more than two (2) self-service checkout stations may be simultaneously monitored by any one employee.” Any store having multiple violations is subject to a fine equal to the wages paid to the highest paid retail clerk during an eight-hour shift. If the violation is not rectified within thirty days, the business could be subject to a deceptive trade practice violation. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2342.pdf S.2642 (submitted on behalf of Lt. Governor Matos) places restrictions on covered suppliers from offering different terms of sale to covered retailers. Covered retailer is defined as a person that sells products to end consumers at one or more locations in Rhode Island. A covered supplier is a supplier that sells, either directly or through an agent, over $6 billion in products annually. Under S.2642, suppliers are restricted from offering different pricing or terms to different retailers. The act requires suppliers to provide anonymized terms of sale upon request to all covered retailers and wholesalers and allows the Attorney General or affected parties to sue for violations. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2642.pdf S.2643 (also submitted on behalf of the Lt. Governor) requires retailers that offer electronic coupons for food items covered under SNAP, to offer the same discounts to in-person customers who do not have electronic coupons. Covered retailers can set up kiosks to offer the coupons, provide paper alternatives or provide the discount directly at the point of sale. Failure to comply results in a fine up to $500. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2643.pdf The Senate Committee on Artificial Intelligence & Emerging Technology is meeting in Room 313 at 2:30 Tuesday. Testimony can be submitted to: [email protected] AI Regulations for Business Use S.2195 introduces new regulations for businesses that provide AI chatbot or virtual companion services by mandating specific safety protocols and notifications. The bill prohibits operators from providing an AI companion unless it contains a protocol for addressing potential user-expressed risks, like suicidal ideation, self-harm, physical harm to others, or financial harm. Businesses providing these services must provide a recurring notification (at the start and at least every three hours) that the companion is a computer program, not a human, and cannot feel emotions. The warning must be conveyed verbally or via text in bold, capitalized letters of at least 16-point type. S.2195 gives the Attorney General the power to investigate complaints, sue, seek injunctions and bring a suit under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act. The bill can be found at: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2195.pdf Wednesday, March 25th The House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources is hearing two bills of interest to the business community. The hearing is scheduled for 4:00 in the House Lounge (behind the House session floor). Testimony on either of these bills can be emailed to [email protected] Retroactive Liability H.7004 requires the state and municipalities to add up all of the costs expended in the last twenty-five years related to items the bill deems a result of climate change (“sea level rise, flooding, storm surge, extreme heat, drought, erosion, and other climate-driven hazards) including items such as “coastal and flood protection and resilience projects; Stormwater management, drainage, and water infrastructure upgrades; Heat mitigation, air quality improvement, emergency preparedness, and other hazard protection measures that safeguard public health; Resilient transportation, housing, and community infrastructure; Energy system resilience, including grid modernization and distributed energy resources; Ecosystem, agricultural, forest, watershed, and fisheries restoration or protection projects; and Hazard mitigation planning, modeling, monitoring, and early warning systems.” Once the total is calculated, an invoice would be sent to “responsible parties” defined as large businesses that extract and refine fossil fuels (a legal activity under federal and state laws). A ten percent daily penalty is added to late payments. This legislation, passed in Vermont, is being challenged by the US Chamber of Commerce in the federal district court for Vermont. Vermont allocated $600,000 in FY25 to set up the fund and prepare for a legal fight. In FY26, an additional $300,000 was allocated to defend the case. The state’s Agency of Natural Resources and Treasurer’s Office requested an additional $1.5 million in 2025 to hire outside experts to defend against lawsuits. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7004.pdf Clean Heat Standard H.7912 directs the Department of Environmental Management (DEM) to implement a program to force the phase out of fossil fuels, used for heating purposes, by setting targets the heating sector must meet. Starting July 1, 2028, obligated parties – the gas company, petroleum terminals, and companies such as heating fuel delivery companies that pick up fuel in MA or CT for delivery in RI – would be required to reduce their carbon fuel use by switching clients to alternative fuels (for which they receive credit), or buying credits from another entity that has excess credits. Renewable natural gas and hydrogen are not permitted to be used as an alternative fuel. The cost of the credit is set by the DEM. If the obligated party fails to comply, that party may have to pay a noncompliance payment of three times the amount established by the DEM for timely credit payments. To date, no cost analysis has been completed for this program. Massachusetts passed a similar program that was set to take effect in 2026; however, Governor Healy delayed the implementation date to prevent increases in home heating bills estimated to be $450 per year. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7912.pdf The House Small Business Committee is scheduled to take testimony on H.7499 at 4:00pm in Room 101. Testimony can be submitted at: [email protected] Small Business Regulatory Fairness H.7499 requires agencies preparing economic impact statements for proposed rules applying to small businesses to includes a finding that the anticipated compliance costs of the proposed rule scale proportionally with the business size, and do not impose fixed costs that larger businesses are able to absorb more easily. Without such a finding, adoption of the rule is more difficult, requiring more justification. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7449.pdf The Senate Labor & Gaming Committee is meeting at 4:00pm in Room 212. Testimony can be submitted to: [email protected] State to Head Off Any OSHA Changes S.2736 seeks to take action before the federal government adopts any changes to the regulatory authority of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, whether through repeal, defunding, reduction in force, rulemaking, executive order, or any other federal action. The bill requires the Director of Labor and Training to notify the legislature if any such changes occur. In the event such action does take place, the bill requires the legislature to appropriate funds and authorize additional full-time equivalent positions necessary to enable the department of labor to effectively administer and enforce the standards previously in place. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2736.pdf New Introductions House Bill No. 8311 BY Dawson, AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- DIVISION OF OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH (Requires employers to protect employees from extreme temperatures through rest breaks, PPE, training, and equipment, and mandates quarterly supervisor training, to recognize and mitigate heat- and cold-related risks.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8311.pdf House Bill No. 8324 (Secretary of State) Shallcross Smith, Casey, Fogarty, Hull, Azzinaro, DeSimone, Casimiro, Solomon, Furtado, Messier ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO UNIFORM COMMERCIAL CODE -- SECURED TRANSACTIONS (Makes a series of amendments and adds new provisions of law to address business identity theft and deceptive solicitations sent to businesses and the unauthorized formation of entities.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8324.pdf House Bill No. 8330 BY Alzate, Kazarian, Casimiro, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- HEALTHY AND SAFE FAMILIES AND WORKPLACES ACT (Requires employers to provide full-time employees four (4) hours of paid leave once a year to donate blood through and any approved blood donation program.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8330.pdf This Week at the State House
Wednesday, March 18th Payment of Wages On Wednesday at 4pm in Room 101, the House Labor Committee will convene for hearings on a few bills impacting payment of wages, including changes to minimum wage. Testimony regarding these matters can be submitted to: [email protected]. Minimum Wage & Overtime H 7490 would make additional salaried employees eligible for overtime pay. Small employers of 1-50 employees and large employers of 50 or more would be required to pay overtime to currently exempt workers if their salary falls below 1.5 times or 2 times, respectively, the minimum hourly wage for a forty hour workweek. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7490.pdf H 7769 would amend the minimum wage on January 1, 2027 from $17 to $20 per hour. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7769.pdf H 7771would amend the minimum wage on January 1, 2027 from $17 to $24 per hour. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7771.pdf H 7770 would provide that the $17 per hour minimum wage continue from January 1, 2027 until January 1, 2029, where it would then be increased by the total percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the Northeast Region for calendar year 2027, but not subject to any decrease. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7770.pdf Sunday & Holiday Pay H 7772 would provide that all healthcare and medical direct support professionals employed in a healthcare facility would be compensate on Sundays and holidays at time and one-half. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7772.pdf H 7973 would exempt catering, commissary, and food establishments from the requirement to pay wages at time and one-half on Sundays and holidays, by adding them to the exemptions for restaurants and hotels. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7973.pdf Pay Stubs H 7959 would require employers to furnish employees itemized statement of earnings each payday, detailing gross wages, hours worked, deductions, and applicable rates. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7959.pdf Vicarious Liability for Construction Contractors H 7961 would make construction contractors performing work under the International Building Code (IBC) liable for up to 120 days of any claims related to nonpayment or wage theft by any subcontractors within a chain of construction contracts at any tier upon notice of violations within 45 days of the alleged wage theft. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7961.pdf Landlord-Tenant The House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to meet at 4:30pm in the House Lounge to hear a large number of bills impacting landlords and tenants, including bills impacting: background checks, security deposits, lead registry, evictions, and rent control. The full agenda can be viewed here: https://status.rilegislature.gov/documents/agenda-21394.pdf. Testimony regarding these matters can be submitted to: [email protected] Thursday, March 19th Decoupling from R&D Expensing On Thursday, the Senate Finance Committee will meet at 3pm in Room 211 regarding portions of Governor’s Budget Article 5 relative to decoupling from changes to the federal tax code for research and development expensing. HR1 allows the expensing of qualified R&D costs in the year they occurred. In the FY26 Budget, the state decoupled from this provision for tax year 2025, preserving pre-HR1 treatment for R&D expenses. Section 2 & Section 6 of Article 5 seek to preserve the tax year 2025 treatment and further decouple the state from the R&D expensing provisions for tax years 2026 and beyond. It is estimated to save the State $22.6M in each of FY26 and FY27, $10.9M in FY28, $8M in FY29, and $2.8M in FY30. Testimony regarding these matters can be submitted to: [email protected]. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText26/HouseText26/Article-005.pdf New Introductions Senate Bill No. 2638 BY Gu, Zurier, Urso, DiPalma, Paolino, Vargas, Burke AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- IDENTITY THEFT PROTECTION ACT OF 2015 (Amends the Identity Theft Protection Act by eliminating current definitions and establishing new definitions. This act also raises the penalty provisions for violations.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2638.pdf Senate Bill No. 2642 (Lieutenant Governor) BY Britto, Gu, DiMario, McKenney, Zurier, Bissaillon, Urso AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- PROTECTING RHODE ISLANDERS FROM COERCIVE ECONOMIC TACTICS AT GROCERY STORES (Creates a new chapter to protect Rhode Island consumers from coercive tactics at grocery stores.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2642.pdf Senate Bill No. 2643 (Lieutenant Governor) BY Gu, Britto, Tikoian, Kallman AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- UNFAIR SALES PRACTICES (Provides that stores offering food product discounts must provide the same discounts to in-store customers that are offered to customers using electronic digital coupons.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2643.pdf Senate Bill No. 2644 (Lieutenant Governor) BY Murray, Thompson AN ACT RELATING TO PROPERTY -- ESTATES IN REAL PROPERTY (Prohibits restrictive covenants related to grocery stores.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2644.pdf Senate Bill No. 2662 BY DiMario, Lauria, Gallo, Valverde, Mack, Murray, Kallman AN ACT RELATING TO EDUCATION -- STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM (Allows Rhode Island employers can help pay employees’ student loans in high-need fields if they work full-time for 2 years in undeserved areas and are in an income driven repayment plan. RISLA must provide annual reporting.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2662.pdf Senate Bill No. 2665 BY Dimitri, LaMountain, Raptakis, Thompson, Famiglietti, Paolino, de la Cruz, Rogers, Morgan AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- SMALL BUSINESS REGULATORY FAIRNESS IN ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES-ECONOMIC IMPACT STATEMENTS (Requires agencies preparing economic impact statements for small businesses contain findings that the anticipated compliance costs of a proposed rule scale proportionally with the business size, and do not impose fixed costs that favor larger businesses.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2665.pdf Senate Bill No. 2672 BY de la Cruz, Rogers, Dimitri, Thompson, Patalano, Famiglietti, Burke, Tikoian AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- PERSONAL INCOME TAX (Establishes phased reduction of personal income tax rates.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2672.pdf Senate Bill No. 2703 BY Raptakis, Burke, Tikoian, Patalano, Famiglietti, Thompson, Rogers, Dimitri, McKenney, de la Cruz AN ACT RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- PROPERTY TAX/RENT FREEZE BILL (Prohibits cities or towns that implement a rent control ordinance from raising property taxes and such prohibition would last for as long as the rent control ordinance is in effect.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2703.pdf Senate Bill No. 2709 BY Raptakis, Burke, de la Cruz, Bell, Ciccone, Famiglietti, Appollonio, Dimitri, Rogers, Thompson AN ACT RELATING TO GENERAL ASSEMBLY -- COMMITTEES AND STAFF (Requires nonprofit entities who receive grants or other funding, to provide a detailed list of their ten highest paid directors, officers or employees’ salaries and benefits, including the names of said individuals.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2709.pdf Senate Bill No. 2736 BY Burke, Bissaillon, Thompson, Famiglietti, Patalano, Raptakis AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- DIVISION OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY (Ensures that the State of Rhode Island adopt the protections afforded under the Occupational Safety and Health Act if its scope or enforcement capacity is diminished.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2736.pdf Senate Bill No. 2737 BY Lawson, Ciccone, Tikoian, Burke, Bissaillon, LaMountain, Murray, Britto, McKenney, Felag AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- TEMPORARY DISABILITY INSURANCE -- GENERAL PROVISIONS (Expands the benefit definitions to include a grandchild and care recipient and increases benefits period to 10 weeks for 2027 and 12 weeks for 2028 and provides a TDI/TCI opt-in option for self-employed workers.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2737.pdf Senate Bill No. 2739 BY Famiglietti, Dimitri, Euer, McKenney, Zurier, Bissaillon, Thompson, Bell, Raptakis, Burke AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- WORKERS' COMPENSATION -- PROCEDURE (Amends the workers' compensation reimbursement provisions related to the liability of third person for damages.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2739.pdf Senate Bill No. 2744 BY Ciccone, Burke, Felag, Acosta AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- THE RHODE ISLAND OPPORTUNITY FOR EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP ACT (Establishes an opportunity for employee ownership where the owner notifies all current full-time and part-time employees and provides them with a 30-day window in which to initiate a process to potentially purchase the business as a workers' cooperative.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2744.pdf Senate Bill No. 2761 BY de la Cruz, Rogers AN ACT RELATING TO CORPORATIONS, ASSOCIATIONS AND PARTNERSHIPS -- RHODE ISLAND BUSINESS CORPORATION ACT -- THE RHODE ISLAND BUSINESS CLIMATE REFORM ACT https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2761.pdf Senate Bill No. 2766 BY Gu, DiPalma, Urso, Vargas, Zurier, Paolino, Burke AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- RHODE ISLAND DELETE ACT (Requires any entity that knowingly collects, shares or sells to third parties the personal data of a consumer to register with the department of business regulations and permits for the consumer to request deletion of the personal data.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2766.pdf Senate Bill No. 2768 BY Thompson, Murray AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- UNFAIR SALES PRACTICES (Requires any business entity that makes automatic renewal offers or memberships or subscriptions that are available on-line, also make the canceling such agreements for goods, services, memberships or subscriptions equally accessible on-line.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2768.pdf Senate Bill No. 2773 BY Gu, Paolino, Murray, Urso, Valverde, Appollonio, McKenney, Ujifusa, Thompson AN ACT RELATING TO FOOD AND DRUGS -- CONSUMER-PROVIDED TAKEOUT CONTAINERS (Permits eating and drinking establishments to accept consumer-provided containers to fill or refill with takeout food or beverages.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2773.pdf Senate Bill No. 2809 (Lieutenant Governor) BY Ciccone, DiPalma AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP TAX CREDIT (Establishes a tax credit for businesses transitioning to employee ownership.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2809.pdf Senate Bill No. 2811 BY DiPalma, DiMario, Murray, Thompson, Zurier, Vargas AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- RHODE ISLAND PROTECT OUR HEALTHCARE ACT OF 2026 (Creates a publicly funded program for uninsured individuals requiring on an appropriation of $53,200,000 for fiscal year 2027 and an appropriation of 109,600,000 for fiscal year 2028 and every fiscal year thereafter.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2811.pdf Senate Bill No. 2833 BY Valverde, Ciccone, Lauria, DiPalma, Acosta, Bissaillon, Kallman, Felag, Pearson, Quezada AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- RHODE ISLAND LOCAL INVESTMENT TAX CREDIT ACT (Provides a tax credit to a taxpayer that makes a qualified investment in a qualified business.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2833.pdf Senate Bill No. 2847 BY Thompson, DiPalma, Murray AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- STATE TAX OFFICIALS (Caps delinquent tax interest rate at 12%. Prohibits audits beyond 3 years from date of tax filing, 7 years for fraudulent filings, and in no event beyond 10 years from date of filing or required filing date, whichever is later.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2847.pdf Senate Bill No. 2884 BY de la Cruz, Rogers AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- THE RHODE ISLAND HEALTH CARE REFORM ACT OF 2004--HEALTH INSURANCE OVERSIGHT (Requires health insurance commissioner to conduct a review of health insurance benefit mandates, including an analysis of the impact on premium costs, conducted every 5 yrs and report findings and recommendations to governor, senate president and speaker.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2884.pdf Senate Bill No. 2903 BY Gu, DiMario, Urso, Kallman, McKenney, Euer, Thompson, DiPalma AN ACT RELATING TO WATERS AND NAVIGATION -- RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL PROPERTY ACQUISITION PROGRAM ACT (Establishes the Residential and Commercial Property Acquisition Program Act to implement residential or commercial property acquisitions, paired with funding for relocation costs within or proximate to the current community.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2903.pdf Senate Bill No. 2923 BY Thompson, Raptakis, Burke, Ciccone, Tikoian, Morgan, Dimitri, Appollonio, Murray AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- MINIMUM WAGES (Increases the minimum hourly wage commencing January 1, 2029, by an amount equal to the total percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the Northeast Region for the calendar year 2027.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2923.pdf Senate Bill No. 2924 BY Thompson, Patalano, Murray AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- LABOR RELATIONS ACT (Allows employees, not represented by a union, to create a group to collectively bargain with employers.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2924.pdf Senate Bill No. 2928 BY Vargas, Quezada, Lauria, Bell, Appollonio, Urso, Thompson AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- HEALTHY AND SAFE FAMILIES AND WORKPLACES ACT (Requires employers to provide full-time employees four (4) hours of paid leave once a year to donate blood through and any approved blood donation program.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2928.pdf Senate Bill No. 2929 (Dept. of Labor and Training) BY Burke, Felag, Tikoian, Patalano, Thompson AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- EMPLOYMENT SECURITY (Eliminates the "until June 30, 2026" sunset on the increase in the total amount of earnings a partial-unemployment insurance claimant can receive before being entirely disqualified for unemployment insurance benefits.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2929.pdf Senate Bill No. 2930 BY Mack, Quezada, Acosta, Bell, Vargas AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- MINIMUM WAGES (Provides that commencing January 1, 2027, the minimum wage shall be twenty-four dollars ($24.00) per hour.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2930.pdf Senate Bill No. 2944 BY Thompson, Famiglietti AN ACT RELATING TO CORPORATIONS, ASSOCIATIONS, AND PARTNERSHIPS -- RHODE ISLAND BUSINESS CORPORATION ACT (Requires businesses that conduct business to register and maintain required filings with the secretary of state so that consumers and small businesses may readily identify responsible parties, verify good standing, and effectuate service of process.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2944.pdf Senate Bill No. 2959 BY Thompson AN ACT RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE -- PROCEDURE GENERALLY -- CAUSES OF ACTION (Tolls the statute of limitations for causes of action arising out of business activities conducted in this state by a person or entity required to register with the secretary of state but failing to do so, until such person or entity becomes registered.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2959.pdf Senate Bill No. 2965 BY Lauria, DiMario, Valverde, Murray, Vargas, Ujifusa, Urso, Mack, Acosta, Kallman, Pearson AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- UNIFORM ELECTRONIC TRANSACTIONS ACT (Allows a party to condition a transaction by electronic means on their stated desire to obtain and receive a written copy of the document in English or Spanish before electronic execution of the agreement or performance is required of the party.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2965.pdf Senate Bill No. 3017 BY Dimitri, Famiglietti, Raptakis, Tikoian, Thompson AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- PERSONAL INCOME TAX (Allows a modification to federal adjusted gross income for personal income tax for qualified tips and overtime income consistent with the federal tax treatment.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S3017.pdf Senate Bill No. 3032 BY Tikoian, Ciccone, Gallo, Rogers AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- STATE BUILDING CODE (Establishes a moratorium on changes to the state energy conservation code from the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code until January 1, 2031, unless approved by the legislature and made effective by the governor.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S3032.pdf Senate Bill No. 3086 (General Treasurer) BY Kallman, DiMario, DiPalma AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC FINANCE -- RHODE ISLAND SECURE CHOICE RETIREMENT SAVINGS PROGRAM ACT (Makes several technical amendments to the Rhode Island secure choice retirement savings program act necessary for continued administration and inter-state partnership.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S3086.pdf Senate Bill No. 3104 (Attorney General) BY LaMountain, McKenney AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- DEPARTMENT OF ATTORNEY GENERAL (Establishes a bureau of public protection within the department of attorney general.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S3104.pdf House Bill No. 7844 BY Casey AN ACT RELATING TO CORPORATIONS, ASSOCIATIONS, AND PARTNERSHIPS -- RHODE ISLAND BUSINESS CORPORATION ACT (Requires businesses that conduct business to register and maintain required filings with the secretary of state so that consumers and small businesses may readily identify responsible parties, verify good standing, and effectuate service of process.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7844.pdf House Bill No. 7849 BY Marszalkowski AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- FILING OF TRADE NAME (Creates the surveillance pricing and online retailing act that would prohibit algorithmic price increases for online purchases.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7849.pdf House Bill No. 7880 BY Slater, Kislak, Stewart, Ajello, Handy, Cruz AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS -- DUTIES OF UTILITIES AND CARRIERS (Creates an income-sensitive tiered subsidy program to ensure that home energy utility costs are affordable for eligible low-income households.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7880.pdf House Bill No. 7884 BY Handy, McGaw, Stewart, Tanzi, Hull, Edwards, Caldwell, Cruz, Potter, Furtado AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS -- FEDERAL BACKSTOP LANGUAGE (Establishes federal back stop language for any provisions of federal law relating to any of the energy or water conservation standards issued or approved for publication by the office of the United States Secretary of Energy as of January 19, 2025) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7884.pdf House Resolution No. 7891 BY Cortvriend, McGaw, Kazarian, Spears, Boylan HOUSE RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE RHODE ISLAND PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION TO TERMINATE GAS LINE EXTENSION ALLOWANCES AS PART OF DOCKET 25-45-GE https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7891.pdf House Bill No. 7910 BY Bennett, McEntee, Speakman, McNamara, Handy, Hull, Carson, Shallcross Smith, Casimiro, Diaz AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY FOR PACKAGING AND PAPER ACT (Creates the extended producer responsibility for packaging and paper program for the recycling of packaging and paper products.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7910.pdf House Bill No. 7911 BY McEntee, Spears, Bennett, Knight, Boylan, Caldwell, Carson, Handy, Speakman, Donovan AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY FOR PACKAGING AND PAPER ACT (Creates multiple chapters to provide and establish a comprehensive program for extended producer responsibility for packaging and paper, and for recycling of beverage containers.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7911.pdf House Bill No. 7959 BY Giraldo, Alzate, Cruz, Morales AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- PAYMENT OF WAGES (Requires the employer, at the time of hiring, to furnish to their employees an itemized list of the terms and conditions of the employment and mandates that each payday a pay stub explaining how their wages were calculated is provided.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7959.pdf House Bill No. 7960 (Dept. of Labor and Training) BY Corvese AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- PAYMENT OF WAGES (Eliminates prescribed timelines for hearing and determination in certain enforcement actions before the department labor and training to align with reasonable practice.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7960.pdf House Bill No. 7962 (Dept. of Labor and Training) BY McEntee, Caldwell, Spears, O'Brien, Bennett AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- EMPLOYMENT SECURITY (Eliminates the "until June 30, 2026" sunset on the increase in the total amount of earnings a partial-unemployment insurance claimant can receive before being entirely disqualified for unemployment insurance benefits.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7962.pdf House Bill No. 7964 BY Stewart, Potter, Cruz, Kislak, Cotter, Morales, Furtado, McEntee, Tanzi, Donovan AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- THE RHODE ISLAND OPPORTUNITY FOR EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP ACT (Establishes an opportunity for employee ownership where the owner notifies all current full-time and part-time employees and provides them with a 30-day window in which to initiate a process to potentially purchase the business as a workers' cooperative.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7964.pdf House Bill No. 7965 BY Dawson 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.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7965.pdf House Bill No. 7968 BY Giraldo, Alzate, Cruz, Donovan, Morales AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- TEMPORARY DISABILITY INSURANCE -- GENERAL PROVISIONS (Expands the benefit definitions to include a grandchild and care recipient and increases benefits period to 10 weeks for 2027 and 12 weeks for 2028 and provides a TDI/TCI opt-in option for self-employed workers.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7968.pdf House Bill No. 7969 BY Fellela, Serpa, Hull, Edwards, Corvese AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- DIVISION OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY (Ensures that the State of Rhode Island adopt the protections afforded under the Occupational Safety and Health Act if its scope or enforcement capacity is diminished.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7969.pdf House Bill No. 7993 (Attorney General) BY Morales, Stewart, Cotter, Potter, Sanchez, Giraldo, Cruz, Tanzi ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- DEPARTMENT OF ATTORNEY GENERAL (Establishes a bureau of public protection within the department of attorney general.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7993.pdf House Bill No. 8035 BY Santucci, Chippendale, Nardone, Newberry, Costantino, Place, Roberts, Hopkins AN ACT RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- PROPERTY TAX/RENT FREEZE BILL (Prohibits cities or towns that implement a rent control ordinance from raising property taxes and such prohibition would last for as long as the rent control ordinance is in effect.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8035.pdf House Bill No. 8044 BY Baginski, Read, Casimiro AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- GIFT CARD FRAUD (Makes offenses against gift card holders subject to the penalties for larceny.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8044.pdf House Bill No. 8047 BY Dawson AN ACT RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE -- PROCEDURE GENERALLY -- DECISIONS, SPECIAL FINDINGS AND ASSESSMENT OF DAMAGES (Adds the doctrine of assumption of risk to the current comparative negligence statute.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8047.pdf House Bill No. 8051 BY Casey AN ACT RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE -- PROCEDURE GENERALLY -- CAUSES OF ACTION (Tolls the statute of limitations for causes of action arising out of business activities conducted in this state by a person or entity required to register with the secretary of state but failing to do so, until such person or entity becomes registered.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8051.pdf House Bill No. 8060 BY Solomon AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- IMPERSONATION AND IDENTITY FRAUD (Protects individuals and businesses from those who knowingly impersonate an entity with the intent of facilitating fraud. This act would also protect individuals and businesses from digital forgery.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8060.pdf House Bill No. 8106 (Lieutenant Governor) BY Casey AN ACT RELATING TO PROPERTY -- ESTATES IN REAL PROPERTY (Prohibits restrictive covenants related to grocery stores.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8106.pdf House Bill No. 8108 BY Potter, Cruz, Handy, DeSimone, Alzate, Stewart, Morales, Kislak, Giraldo, Batista AN ACT RELATING TO PROPERTY -- RESIDENTIAL LANDLORD AND TENANT ACT (Limits rent increases to 4% annually, but allows an additional increase for taxes, insurance, or health and safety costs if the landlord gets an exemption from the secretary of housing, and provides tenants civil remedies for violations.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8108.pdf House Bill No. 8126 BY Morales, Sanchez, Cruz, Voas, Giraldo, Potter, Tanzi, Cotter AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- THE RHODE ISLAND COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM (Establishes a universal, comprehensive, affordable single-payer health care insurance program and help control health care costs, which would be referred to as, "the Rhode Island Comprehensive Health Insurance Program" (RICHIP).) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8126.pdf House Bill No. 8137 BY Donovan, Tanzi, Alzate, McGaw, Boylan, Speakman, Casimiro, Cruz, Diaz, Furtado AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- RHODE ISLAND PROTECT OUR HEALTHCARE ACT OF 2026 (Creates a publicly funded program for uninsured individuals requiring on an appropriation of $53,200,000 for fiscal year 2027 and an appropriation of 109,600,000 for fiscal year 2028 and every fiscal year thereafter.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8137.pdf House Bill No. 8169 BY Cortvriend, Spears, McGaw, Speakman, Boylan AN ACT RELATING TO WATERS AND NAVIGATION -- RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL PROPERTY ACQUISITION PROGRAM ACT (Establishes the Residential and Commercial Property Acquisition Program Act to implement residential or commercial property acquisitions, paired with funding for relocation costs within or proximate to the current community.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8169.pdf House Bill No. 8187 BY Shallcross Smith, Casey AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- BUSINESS CORPORATION TAX (Provides that credits issued pursuant to § 44-11-2.3 relating to pass through entities would be refundable.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8187.pdf House Bill No. 8189 BY Finkelman AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- EMPLOYER TAX CREDITS FOR RETIREMENT PLAN ESTABLISHMENT, PARTICIPATION AND AUTO-ENROLLMENT (Establishes employer tax credits for establishing a retirement plan for employee participation with auto-enrollment.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8189.pdf House Bill No. 8190 BY Phillips, Corvese, Noret, Newberry, Santucci, Hopkins, Casey, Voas, Azzinaro, Brien AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- ESTATE AND TRANSFER TAXES -- LIABILITY AND COMPUTATION (Increase the estate exemption to $5,000,000 for January 1, 2027, $7,500,000 for January 1, 2029, $10,000,000 for January 1, 2031. This act would eliminate the estate tax for decedents whose death occurs on or after January 1, 2033.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8190.pdf House Bill No. 8195 BY Shallcross Smith, Casey AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- RHODE ISLAND LOCAL INVESTMENT TAX CREDIT ACT (Provides a tax credit to a taxpayer that makes a qualified investment in a qualified business.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8195.pdf House Bill No. 8198 BY Cortvriend, Tanzi, Kazarian, Boylan, Cruz, Kislak AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- SALES AND USE TAXES -- LIABILITY AND COMPUTATION (Imposes a sales tax on digital advertising services.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8198.pdf House Bill No. 8200 BY Tanzi, Alzate, Potter, McGaw, Batista, Shanley, Stewart, Kislak, Handy, Ajello AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- WEALTH PROCEEDS TAX (Imposes a tax equal to four percent (4%) on net investment income, such as interest, dividends, annuities, royalties, capital gains and rental income, of high-income households, estates and trusts, based upon federal guidelines.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8200.pdf House Bill No. 8212 BY Serpa AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW--GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- INTERCHANGE FEE RESTRICTION ACT (Creates the interchange fee restriction act prohibiting interchange fees on sales and use tax or excise tax when payment is made with a credit or debit card.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8212.pdf House Bill No. 8264 BY Phillips, Batista, Brien, Casey, Corvese, Noret, Read AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- UNFAIR SALES PRACTICES (Requires that retailers retain money received for gift certificates in a separate account, until the gift certificate is used or redeemed.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8264.pdf This Week at the State House
Tuesday, March 10th New Employer Tax Proposal The companion bill to last week’s H.7965 is scheduled for hearing in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee at the Rise (approximately 4:30 p.m.) in the Senate Lounge. S.2110 establishes a fund to aid families of children with serious illnesses by paying medical expenses not covered by state or federal programs or insurance. Monies for the fund are raised through a $1.50 per employee tax on businesses. According to the Department of Labor and Training’s January report, Rhode Island has approximately 513,100 nonfarm employees, including 66,200 government employees. Based on these figures, the proposed assessment should generate more than $670,000 annually. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2110.pdf Testimony can be submitted to: [email protected] Gift Card Fraud House Judiciary will meet at the Rise in the House Lounge. Gift card fraud is on the agenda. H.8044 creates penalties for using gift cards fraudulently. Using such cards with a value of less and $1500 would be larceny, subject to a fine of $1000, imprisonment up to one year, and restitution. If the card is worth $1500 to $5000, the fine is $1500 and potential imprisonment of three years. For cards worth $5000 to $10,000, the fine is up to $3000 and possible imprisonment up to six years. If the card is more than $10,000, the prison sentence could be ten years and a fine of $5000. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8044.pdf Safety Barrier Installation Requirement for Retail Establishment The Senate Commerce Committee has on its agenda for Tuesday at the Rise in Room 212, S.2523 which would require commercial property owners to install vehicle barriers at their retail establishments: (1) when new construction is underway, (2) within three years after the passage of the act, or (3) when undertaking renovations subject to a building permit. The bill allows insurers to consider the installation to provide a discount on the owner's insurance policy. Failure to comply with the barrier requirement results in a civil penalty up to $5000 and a possible suspension of the occupancy permit. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2523.pdf Testimony may be submitted at: [email protected] Wednesday, March 11th Building Benchmarking, Building Performance Standards, Carbon Emission Reductions On Wednesday at 4pm in the House Lounge, the House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources will convene for hearings on a few bills impacting commercial buildings. Last year, one of these bills passed the House during the last night of session and was getting a great deal of attention as proponents pushed to pass it in the Senate. Testimony regarding these matters can be submitted to: [email protected] H.7183 – Building Benchmarking and Reporting Act of 2026 - creates a new statute – Chapter 27.5 – to facilitate an energy reporting requirement for residential, commercial and industrial buildings with twenty-five thousand gross square feet or more. The following information must be provided to the Office of Energy Resources (OER): property address, primary use, gross floor area, annual energy use, source of energy use, annual greenhouse gas emissions, and a statement of compliance or noncompliance with the statute. Buildings with 50,000 sq ft or more begin reporting May 15, 2028. Building between 25,000 – 49.999 sq. ft. begin reporting May 15, 2030. Exemptions are available for vacant buildings, buildings possessing a demolition permit and buildings with no energy services provided. OER is required to collect the data and to post building specific information on its website, as well as “Progress against baseline year data for intervening years for both energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.” H.7183, under the enforcement provision, allows OER to withhold grants and Infrastructure Bank monies from buildings that fail to comply with reporting requirements or “decarbonization efforts.” No other sections of the bill provide OER with the ability to implement decarbonization requirements based on the results of the benchmarking reports. Bills in previous years have included such explicit authority. Lastly, any municipality currently implementing a reporting program (Providence) may continue to do so and submit its information to OER - relieving building owners from a double reporting requirement. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7183.pdf H.7184 – Building Performance Standards – is sponsored by the same Representative Kislak that sponsored H.7183. Like H.7183, it creates Chapter 27.5 but provides an alternative avenue to addressing building emissions. H.7184 requires the Office of Energy Resources (OER) to work with the Department of Environmental Management (DEM) to create building performance metrices for buildings with more than 25,000 gross sq. ft. of space. This applies to residential and commercial buildings, but not to buildings where a majority of energy is used for manufacturing, electricity generating, or thermal energy generating purposes. The bill does not establish a specific reporting requirement like H.7183; but it does give OER explicit authority to adopt energy use and greenhouse gas emission standards for covered buildings based on use types. Starting December 31, 2028, OER and DEM would adopt the metrics and set standards that would eventually lead to a net zero emissions standard. The standards would be updated every five years between 2028 and 2050 and are expected to be adopted in such a way to establish a straight-line trajectory to the net zero target. Interim standards can be adopted for certain property types if it is deemed necessary. Starting June 30, 2035, and every five years thereafter, property owners must demonstrate progress toward the performance standards. The bill provides the ability to apply for waivers for hardship for a five-year period or to propose an alternative action plan for consideration. OER must establish penalties for violations of the law. Monies raised through the penalties are deposited in a “Building Performance Standard Fund” overseen by a newly established Environmental Justice Advisor Board comprised of nonprofits, public agencies, housing advocates, small businesses, experts in racial and social equity and the AFL-CIO. Board members receive a stipend for their service as well as reimbursement for childcare needs to attend meetings. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7184.pdf H.7484 – Buildings Carbon Emissions Reduction Act – bans municipalities from issuing a permit, after December 31, 2026, for construction of any new large development (over 50,000 sq.ft gross space) unless it will likely meet 100% clean energy use by 2050. An exemption does exist for buildings in the event it is deemed unfeasible, although financial considerations are not acceptable. Modification can only be issued if the building is unable to meet building code requirements, cannot operate without gas or oil piping systems, is a commercial food service establishment or is built all-electric ready. Hospitals, medical facilities, laboratories for biological research and restaurants are exempt from the ban. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7484.pdf Thursday, March 12h Digital Right to Repair, Credit Card Transaction Fees On Thursday, the House Corporations Committee will meet at the Rise in Room 101 regarding a digital right to repair bill and credit card transaction fees. Testimony regarding these matters can be submitted to: [email protected] H.7180 establishes a “digital electronics right to repair” act, which would allow for digital electronic equipment and parts that are sold in this state on or after January 1, 2027, to be repaired at an independent repair provider. Additionally, it requires an original equipment manufacturer to make available to any independent repair facility any documentation, parts, and tools required for diagnosis, maintenance, or other repairs. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7180.pdf H.8121 prohibits the charging of interchange fees on sales and use tax or excise tax when payment is made with a credit or debit card. If a fee is charged, it is deemed to be a violation of the deceptive trade practices act and is subject to a penalty of $1,000 per electronic transaction. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8212.pdf Non-compete Agreement S.2160, – Rhode Island Noncompetition Agreement Act, will be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee, at the Rise in Room 313. Current law bans businesses from entering into noncompete agreements with individuals that make 250% of the federal poverty level or less ($39,125 for a single person). S.2160 strikes this language, making noncompete agreements illegal unless it is entered into as part of a sale of the business or is made with an employee making under $125,000 a year. An exemption also exists for businesses governed by the federal Gramm Leach-Bliley Act. The bill adds a provision allowing businesses to enter into agreements with employees not to share customer lists and future business plans. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2160.pdf New Introductions The House and Senate introduced 319 bills last week. This edition of Advocacy in Action includes a portion of the bills of interest to the business community. The remainder will be included in future weeks’ editions. Senate Bill No. 2736 Burke, Bissaillon, Thompson, Famiglietti, Patalano, Raptakis, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- DIVISION OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY (Ensures that the State of Rhode Island adopt the protections afforded under the Occupational Safety and Health Act if its scope or enforcement capacity is diminished.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2736.pdf Senate Bill No. 2737 Lawson, Ciccone, Tikoian, Burke, Bissaillon, LaMountain, Murray, Britto, McKenney, Felag, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- TEMPORARY DISABILITY INSURANCE -- GENERAL PROVISIONS (Expands the benefit definitions to include a grandchild and care recipient and increases benefits period to 10 weeks for 2027 and 12 weeks for 2028 and provides a TDI/TCI opt-in option for self-employed workers.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2737.pdf Senate Bill No. 2739 Famiglietti, Dimitri, Euer, McKenney, Zurier, Bissaillon, Thompson, Bell, Raptakis, Burke, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- WORKERS' COMPENSATION -- PROCEDURE (Amends the workers' compensation reimbursement provisions related to the liability of third person for damages.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2739.pdf Senate Bill No. 2744 Ciccone, Burke, Felag, Acosta, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- THE RHODE ISLAND OPPORTUNITY FOR EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP ACT (Establishes an opportunity for employee ownership where the owner notifies all current full-time and part-time employees and provides them with a 30-day window in which to initiate a process to potentially purchase the business as a workers' cooperative.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2744.pdf Senate Bill No. 2766 Gu, DiPalma, Urso, Vargas, Zurier, Paolino, Burke, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- RHODE ISLAND DELETE ACT (Requires any entity that knowingly collects, shares or sells to third parties the personal data of a consumer to register with the department of business regulations and permits for the consumer to request deletion of the personal data.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2766.pdf Senate Bill No. 2768 Thompson, Murray, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- UNFAIR SALES PRACTICES (Requires any business entity that makes automatic renewal offers or memberships or subscriptions that are available on-line, also make the canceling such agreements for goods, services, memberships or subscriptions equally accessible on-line.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2768.pdf Senate Bill No. 2809 (Lieutenant Governor) Ciccone, DiPalma, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP TAX CREDIT (Establishes a tax credit for businesses transitioning to employee ownership.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2809.pdf Senate Bill No. 2833 Valverde, Ciccone, Lauria, DiPalma, Acosta, Bissaillon, Kallman, Felag, Pearson, Quezada, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- RHODE ISLAND LOCAL INVESTMENT TAX CREDIT ACT (Provides a tax credit to a taxpayer that makes a qualified investment in a qualified business.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2833.pdf Senate Bill No. 2847 Thompson, DiPalma, Murray, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- STATE TAX OFFICIALS (Caps delinquent tax interest rate at 12%. Prohibits audits beyond 3 years from date of tax filing, 7 years for fraudulent filings, and in no event beyond 10 years from date of filing or required filing date, whichever is later.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2847.pdf Senate Bill No. 2903 Gu, DiMario, Urso, Kallman, McKenney, Euer, Thompson, DiPalma, AN ACT RELATING TO WATERS AND NAVIGATION -- RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL PROPERTY ACQUISITION PROGRAM ACT (Establishes the Residential and Commercial Property Acquisition Program Act to implement residential or commercial property acquisitions, paired with funding for relocation costs within or proximate to the current community.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2903.pdf House Bill No. 7960 (Dept. of Labor and Training) Corvese, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- PAYMENT OF WAGES (Eliminates prescribed timelines for hearing and determination in certain enforcement actions before the department labor and training to align with reasonable practice.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7960.pdf House Bill No. 7964 Stewart, Potter, Cruz, Kislak, Cotter, Morales, Furtado, McEntee, Tanzi, Donovan, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- THE RHODE ISLAND OPPORTUNITY FOR EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP ACT (Establishes an opportunity for employee ownership where the owner notifies all current full-time and part-time employees and provides them with a 30-day window in which to initiate a process to potentially purchase the business as a workers' cooperative.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7964.pdf House Bill No. 7966 Morales, Sanchez, Cruz, Potter, Tanzi, Cotter, AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- THE EXTREME TEMPERATURE WORKER PROTECTION ACT (Requires employers to protect workers from extreme heat and cold by implementing safety plans, providing paid rest breaks, shade or warmth, drinking water, and protective equipment, ensuring training, and recordkeeping.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7966.pdf House Bill No. 7969 Fellela, Serpa, Hull, Edwards, Corvese, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- DIVISION OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY (Ensures that the State of Rhode Island adopt the protections afforded under the Occupational Safety and Health Act if its scope or enforcement capacity is diminished.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7969.pdf House Bill No. 7993 (Attorney General) Morales, Stewart, Cotter, Potter, Sanchez, Giraldo, Cruz, Tanzi, AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- DEPARTMENT OF ATTORNEY GENERAL (Establishes a bureau of public protection within the department of attorney general.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7993.pdf House Bill No. 8035 Santucci, Chippendale, Nardone, Newberry, Costantino, Place, Roberts, Hopkins, AN ACT RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- PROPERTY TAX/RENT FREEZE BILL (Prohibits cities or towns that implement a rent control ordinance from raising property taxes and such prohibition would last for as long as the rent control ordinance is in effect.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8035.pdf House Bill No. 8047 Dawson, AN ACT RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE -- PROCEDURE GENERALLY -- DECISIONS, SPECIAL FINDINGS AND ASSESSMENT OF DAMAGES (Adds the doctrine of assumption of risk to the current comparative negligence statute.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8047.pdf House Bill No. 8051 Casey, AN ACT RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE -- PROCEDURE GENERALLY -- CAUSES OF ACTION (Tolls the statute of limitations for causes of action arising out of business activities conducted in this state by a person or entity required to register with the secretary of state but failing to do so, until such person or entity becomes registered.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8051.pdf House Bill No. 8060 Solomon, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- IMPERSONATION AND IDENTITY FRAUD (Protects individuals and businesses from those who knowingly impersonate an entity with the intent of facilitating fraud. This act would also protect individuals and businesses from digital forgery.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8060.pdf House Bill No. 8106 (Lieutenant Governor) Casey, AN ACT RELATING TO PROPERTY -- ESTATES IN REAL PROPERTY (Prohibits restrictive covenants related to grocery stores.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8106.pdf House Bill No. 8108 Potter, Cruz, Handy, DeSimone, Alzate, Stewart, Morales, Kislak, Giraldo, Batista, AN ACT RELATING TO PROPERTY -- RESIDENTIAL LANDLORD AND TENANT ACT (Limits rent increases to 4% annually, but allows an additional increase for taxes, insurance, or health and safety costs if the landlord gets an exemption from the secretary of housing, and provides tenants civil remedies for violations.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H8108.pdf This Week at the State House
Tuesday, March 3rd Tax Amnesty; Tax Rates The House Finance Committee will convene at the Rise (approximately 4:30 p.m.) in Room 35. The agenda includes the Governor’s tax amnesty program as well as the increase in the personal income tax rate for higher income earners, that are contained in Article 5:
This will be an important hearing. If these provisions impact you as an individual, or as the owner of a pass-through entity, the Chamber encourages you to attend the hearing and testify, or to submit written testimony at: [email protected] Also on Tuesday at the Rise in the House Lounge, the House Corporations Committee will be taking testimony on a few bills that may be of interest to Chamber Members. Testimony regarding these matters can be submitted to: [email protected]. No Swipe Fees on Taxes or Gratuities H 7607 would prohibit the charging of interchange fees, also known as “swipe fees”, on the portions of a credit card transactions related to taxes and gratuities. This is being promoted by hospitality businesses and local merchants, and is similar to legislation adopted in Illinois that recently withstood legal challenge. Grocery Store Sales Practices Spearheaded by Lt. Governor Sabina Matos, two bills impacting business activity at grocery stores will be heard by the Committee. H 7514 would prohibit covered suppliers from offering different terms of sale to covered retailers and wholesalers for the same goods. H 7719 would require retailers offering food product discounts through digital coupons to also provide them to in-store customers. Wednesday, March 4th Extreme Temperatures; Employment Records; Bullying; Warehouse Workers On Wednesday at 4pm in Room 313, the Senate Labor & Gaming Committee will convene for hearings on a few bills impacting employment protocols. Testimony regarding these matters can be submitted to: [email protected]. S 2320 requires employers to conduct training and implement plans to prevent and reduce exposure of employees to temperatures above 90 degrees or at or below 32 degrees. Plans should include paid breaks, access to warming/cooling stations, and the use of personal protective equipment. S 2498 expands the obligations of employers to create, maintain and retain employment records for 3 years post termination. S 2502 exposes employers to liability for workplace bullying. This legislation establishes an obligation on employers to create a work environment free from what “a reasonable person would consider threatening, hostile, or abusive and that unreasonably interferes with the target’s ability to perform job duties. Conduct may include false accusations, sabotage of work performance, consistent ignoring or ostracism, removal of major responsibilities, consistent unreasonable workloads, excessive monitoring…persistent hypercriticism, impossible deadlines…” These words can mean different things to different people, leaving everyone wondering what they can and cannot do or say in the workplace. S.2502 is not identical to H.7121 which also addresses psychological bullying in the workplace. S 2504 requires employers to provide each employee of a warehouse distribution center, upon hire, with written description of quotas applicable to the employee within defined time periods; and also requires employers to provide information concerning adverse employment actions that an employee might face for failure to meet the quota. Thursday, March 5th Modifications to TDI/TCI, UI, and Maternity Leave; New Employer Tax On Thursday, the House Labor Committee will meet at the Rise in the House Lounge regarding various proposals modifying benefits under TDI/TCI, Unemployment Insurance, maternity leave, and imposing a new employer tax to fund a catastrophic illness relief fund for children. Testimony regarding these matters can be submitted to: [email protected]. H 7968 would expand temporary care giver leave to include a grandchild and care recipient (defined as a person for whom the employee is responsible for providing or arranging health or safety related care), increases the benefit period from 8 weeks to 10 weeks for 2027 and 12 weeks for 2028 and provides a TDI/TCI opt-in option for self-employed workers. H 7962 would eliminate the 6/30/26 sunset on the increase in the total amount of earnings a partial-unemployment insurance claimant can receive before being entirely disqualified for unemployment insurance benefits. The earnings increase was originally established during the COVID pandemic to address the limited job market. H 7440 would allow unemployment benefits for workers who are on strike or are locked out of their workplaces by their employer due to a labor dispute. Strikes and lockouts are part of the labor negotiation process, often arising from disagreements over wages, working conditions, or other terms of employment. These actions are typically voluntary on the part of the employees and should not be viewed as a situation of involuntary unemployment. H 7561 would prohibit employers from requiring employees to use sick, vacation, or personal leave, or other paid time off as a condition of maternity leave. The bill also allows employees to voluntarily choose to use accrued leave concurrently with TDI benefits. H 7965 would establish a fund to aid families of children with serious illnesses by paying medical expenses not covered by state or federal programs or insurance. Monies for the fund are raised through a $1.50 per employee tax on businesses. New Introductions The House and Senate introduced 506 bills last Friday. This edition of Advocacy in Action includes a portion of the bills of interest to the business community. The remainder will be included in next week’s edition. Senate Bill No. 2638 BY Gu, Zurier, Urso, DiPalma, Paolino, Vargas, Burke Amends the Identity Theft Protection Act by eliminating current definitions and establishing new definitions. This act also raises the penalty provisions for violations. Senate Bill No. 2642 (Lieutenant Governor) BY Britto, Gu, DiMario, McKenney, Zurier, Bissaillon, Urso Creates a new chapter to protect Rhode Island consumers from coercive tactics at grocery stores. Senate Bill No. 2643 (Lieutenant Governor) BY Gu, Britto, Tikoian, Kallman Provides that stores offering food product discounts must provide the same discounts to in-store customers that are offered to customers using electronic digital coupons. Senate Bill No. 2644 (Lieutenant Governor) BY Murray, Thompson Prohibits restrictive covenants related to grocery stores. Senate Bill No. 2647 BY Appollonio Establishes the commercial kitchen exhaust system inspection and cleaning licensing and certification act. It also requires entities inspecting or cleaning commercial exhaust systems be licensed and insured. Senate Bill No. 2662 BY DiMario, Lauria, Gallo, Valverde, Mack, Murray, Kallman Allows Rhode Island employers can help pay employees’ student loans in high-need fields if they work full-time for 2 years in undeserved areas and are in an income driven repayment plan. RISLA must provide annual reporting. Senate Bill No. 2664 BY Britto, Dimitri, DiMario, Zurier, Bissaillon, Urso Removes the requirement that 5% of the hotel tax generated from the South County tourism district be paid to the Greater Providence-Warwick Convention and Visitors Bureau. Senate Bill No. 2665 BY Dimitri, LaMountain, Raptakis, Thompson, Famiglietti, Paolino, de la Cruz, Rogers, Morgan Requires agencies preparing economic impact statements for small businesses contain findings that the anticipated compliance costs of a proposed rule scale proportionally with the business size, and do not impose fixed costs that favor larger businesses. Senate Bill No. 2672 BY de la Cruz, Rogers, Dimitri, Thompson, Patalano, Famiglietti, Burke Establishes phased reduction of personal income tax rates. Senate Bill No. 2684 BY Burke, Bissaillon, Thompson, Famiglietti, Patalano, Raptakis Exempts from sales tax the amount paid for a parking space to a patron for one hour or less, in or on a parking facility on which a commercial establishment is located. Senate Bill No. 2709 BY Raptakis, Burke, de la Cruz, Bell, Ciccone, Famiglietti, Appollonio, Dimitri, Rogers, Thompson Requires nonprofit entities who receive grants or other funding, to provide a detailed list of their ten highest paid directors, officers or employees’ salaries and benefits, including the names of said individuals. House Bill No. 7844 BY Casey Requires businesses that conduct business to register and maintain required filings with the secretary of state so that consumers and small businesses may readily identify responsible parties, verify good standing, and effectuate service of process. House Bill No. 7849 BY Marszalkowski Creates the surveillance pricing and online retailing act that would prohibit algorithmic price increases for online purchases. House Bill No. 7880 BY Slater, Kislak, Stewart, Ajello, Handy, Cruz Creates an income-sensitive tiered subsidy program to ensure that home energy utility costs are affordable for eligible low-income households. House Bill No. 7882 BY Casey, Phillips, Brien Requires any public utility company that needs to close any state or municipal roadway for work to provide notice to all residential and business property owners located within 1,000 ft of the closed highway at least 48 hrs before the road closure. House Bill No. 7884 BY Handy, McGaw, Stewart, Tanzi, Hull, Edwards, Caldwell, Cruz, Potter, Furtado Establishes federal back stop language for any provisions of federal law relating to any of the energy or water conservation standards issued or approved for publication by the office of the United States Secretary of Energy as of January 19, 2025. House Bill No. 7888 BY Cotter, Kazarian, Potter, Tanzi, McGaw, Morales, Stewart, Handy, Casimiro, Cruz Provides that effective July 1, 2026, the profit margin of any electric distribution company or distributor of natural gas, would not exceed four percent (4%), in any given calendar year. House Resolution No. 7891 BY Cortvriend, McGaw, Kazarian, Spears, Boylan HOUSE RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE RHODE ISLAND PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION TO TERMINATE GAS LINE EXTENSION ALLOWANCES AS PART OF DOCKET 25-45-GE House Bill No. 7910 BY Bennett, McEntee, Speakman, McNamara, Handy, Hull, Carson, Shallcross Smith, Casimiro, Diaz Creates the extended producer responsibility for packaging and paper program for the recycling of packaging and paper products. House Bill No. 7911 BY McEntee, Spears, Bennett, Knight, Boylan, Caldwell, Carson, Handy, Speakman, Donovan Creates multiple chapters to provide and establish a comprehensive program for extended producer responsibility for packaging and paper, and for recycling of beverage containers. House Bill No. 7959 BY Giraldo, Alzate, Cruz, Morales Requires the employer, at the time of hiring, to furnish to their employees an itemized list of the terms and conditions of the employment and mandates that each payday a pay stub explaining how their wages were calculated is provided. Link to the RIPEC report on the Governor’s Budget: https://ripec.org/fy2027_budget_proposal_highlights/
Last Week at the State House The Chamber provided testimony on four bills last week. Prohibiting Credit Card Surcharges – Opposed Passage H 7409 would make it a deceptive trade practice for any retail establishment to impose a surcharge fee on a customer for the use of a credit card. The Chamber articulated, “Credit card processing fees are not optional or discretionary costs. They are imposed by card networks and payment processors and can represent a significant expense, particularly for businesses operating on thin margins. Today, credit card companies charge between 1.5% - 3.5% per transaction depending upon the card (plus flat transaction fees in some cases). Preventing businesses from transparently passing along these costs forces them to absorb fees they did not create and cannot control. In practice, this either raises overall prices for all customers—including those who pay with cash—or threatens the financial viability of the business itself. ...penalizing businesses for passing through credit card processing fees is economically unsound and counterproductive. A fair approach recognizes these fees as a legitimate cost of doing business and allows merchants to address them openly and transparently.” The bill was held for further study. Workplace Bullying – Opposed Passage H 7121 would prohibit any type of psychological abuse in the workplace. It would also provide an employee, subject psychological abuse with protections in the workplace and civil remedies against perpetrators of any prohibited activity. This act would further assess civil penalties upon employers. The Chamber explained, “While well meaning, this legislation would place employers in an extremely difficult position and would result in many lawsuits as well as endless investigations. The definition of "psychological abuse" under this bill includes actions such as “mistreatment that has the effect of hurting, weakening, confusing, or frightening a person mentally or emotionally.” These terms are very subjective. They can mean different things to different people, leaving everyone wondering what they can and cannot do or say in the workplace. This bill will curtail the ability of any individuals to work together without fear of being sued and will leave businesses conducting endless investigations. The Committee held the bill for further study. Restricting Self Service Checkouts – Oppose Passage H 7290 would limit grocery stores by capping the number of self-service checkout stations they can operate and mandating a minimum ratio of manual checkout stations to self-service checkout stations. Further, it limits the workload and additional duties an employer can assign to an employee that monitors self-service checkout stations. The Chamber conveyed the message that “Businesses must continually adapt to the marketplace. Following the “great resignation,” our business community experienced difficulties finding employees, and it still continues to struggle in this area. One way for the retail industry to adapt is to provide customers with an opportunity to self-check their purchases. Many customers actually prefer this option. H.7290 discourages the use of such technology, thus placing a business in a difficult situation of being unable to serve the majority of its customers. Additionally, and perhaps more disturbingly, the state proposes to enter a particular business and mandate day-to-day operations that are not related to health and safety. From the business perspective, this is state overreach and creates an environment companies will not want to enter.” The bill was held for further consideration 32 Hour Work Week – Opposed Passage H 7362 would reduce the workweek to 32 hours without reduction in pay from a 40 hour week, and require that work in excess of 32 hours in any workweek to qualify for overtime pay. H 7367 seeks to create a nine member study commission to evaluate reducing the 40 hour workweek to 32 hours. The sponsor of the bill began her testimony by stating that the study commission (H.7367) is her priority, not H.7362. She is searching for a way to encourage employers to provide flexibility to employees with the goal of striking a better “work/life balance.” That could mean consideration of a four-day work week of ten hours a day, or other alternatives. The chamber told Committee members that, in essence, H.7362 requires large employers to give Rhode Island employees 52 additional days of paid vacation or be subject to overtime premium payments. The Chamber reminded the committee CNBC released a ranking entitled “America’s Top States for Business 2025. It applied 135 metrics across 10 key categories. Rhode Island ranked 46th for the cost of doing business, and 46th for business friendly. The Chamber believes the passage of H.7362 will definitely move Rhode Island further down the list, perhaps to the bottom. Both bills were held for further study. This Week at the State House The legislature will be in session Tuesday and Wednesday this week, followed by the first of two breaks – February 16th – 20th. The second break week is scheduled for April 20th -24th. Wednesday, February 11th Interest on Overdue The House Municipal and Government Committee has on its agenda for Wednesday at the Rise (approximately 4:30pm) in Room 135, H.7568 https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7568.pdf The bill allows municipalities to waive up to $500 in interest on overdue taxes for commercial properties. Since 2003, cities and towns have had the authority to waive interest on residential properties. H.7568 adds commercial properties that fall into the same category: (1) The property subject to the overdue payment is the property of the taxpayer and has been for the five (5) years immediately preceding the tax payment which is overdue; (2) The request for a waiver of interest is in writing, signed and dated by the taxpayer; and (3) The taxpayer has made timely payments of taxes to the city or town for the five (5) years immediately preceding the tax payment, which is overdue. Testimony can be submitted at: [email protected] What is in the Governor’s Budget? Article 11 – Affordability Article 11 addresses a variety of issues intended to save certain residents and the state money. The summary below is provided by the House Fiscal staff as part of their report to the Finance Committee Section 1. Pharmacy Benefit Managers. This section creates new requirements for pharmacy benefit managers to disclose to the Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner: the percentage of rebates received from manufacturers, the value of rebates passed on to clients, administrative fees received, and information on pricing, operating practices, and utilization. It requires the Office to publish online transparency information on each manager, although the entities may request that the Office designate certain information as trade secrets. This section also requires the Office to analyze the collected information to produce a report on the role of pharmacy benefit managers by October 1, 2027, including comparisons to regulations in other states and recommendations to improve oversight. It authorizes the Office to levy up to $175,000 on health insurance companies for contractors to produce the report. Section 2. Motor Fuel Tax. This section reduces the total gas tax by two cents, with the reduction coming from the allocation to the Department of Transportation. Currently, two cents of the gas tax was pledged by the 2003 Assembly to provide the state match for projects financed through the Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicle Program. The bonds have been retired, making the proceeds available for other uses as planned through the Transportation Improvement Program. The Governor’s budget assumes $8.6 million less from gas tax revenues. Sections 3 and 5. Energy Efficiency Programs. Energy efficiency programs are currently funded through surcharges on gas and electric customers. The surcharges are based on a least-cost procurement provision, which allows the Public Utilities Commission to determine the funding level for investments based on the annual plans for energy efficiency programs that have been reviewed and approved by the Energy Efficiency and Resource Management Council. These surcharges generated $125.1 million in calendar year 2024, including $93.8 million from electric and $31.2 million from gas. The article extends the least-cost procurement provision by ten years through 2038, changes the annual planning process every three years, and caps the annual amount customers can be charged to $75.0 million for calendar years 2027 through 2029. Subsequent plans can be adjusted for inflation from the new limit. The Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank currently receives an annual allocation of $5.0 million from the funds for clean energy efficiency, energy storage, and other uses. Section 5 reduces that amount to $2.5 million. Section 4. Electric Distribution Companies. This section requires electric distribution companies that own or operate transmission facilities within the state to be members of ISO New England, Inc., or its successor organization. The Governor’s budget assumes that this will lower ratepayer costs by eliminating a financial incentive for distribution companies, which is available only when membership is voluntary. Sections 5, 7 and 8. Renewable Energy Fund. These sections extend the Renewable Energy Fund, administered by the Commerce Corporation, for three years to the end of 2031. The fund is supported by a surcharge of 0.3 mills per kilowatt-hour on all customers and an alternative compliance payment of $90 per megawatt-hour for renewable energy obligations. The alternative compliance payments are made by entities that sell electrical energy to end-use consumers in the state in lieu of obtaining renewable energy from the electric grid. These sections define zero-emission resources to include nuclear resources and largescale hydroelectric facilities, establish a tier alternative compliance payment fee of $40 for new renewable resources and $11 for existing resources, and expand the use of the funds to include clean transportation and energy storage. Effective January 1, 2027, 50.0 percent of the revenues from alternative compliance payments must be used to provide rate relief, subject to oversight and approval of the Office of Energy Resources. The fund income in 2024 was $11.8 million, including $3.6 million from energy charges and $0.6 million from alternative compliance payments. Section 8 delays the schedule and rate of meeting renewable energy standards of 100 percent from 2033 to 2050. (The Chamber testified against the 2033 date sharing concerns about the ability to meet the requirements in a cost-effective manner. Rhode Island adopted the most aggressive timeline target in the country.) Section 6. Road Repair by Public Utility Companies. This section requires any public utility or utility facility to recover all costs associated with road repair in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. This amortizes these capital costs over a longer time. This minimizes the impact on rate payers. Sections 9 and 11. Financial Incentives. These sections repeal the long-term contracting incentive to electric distribution companies for newly developed renewable energy resources. Section 10. Net Metering. Net metering allows customers with eligible renewable energy systems to receive bill credits for all power generated up to 125 percent of the on-site consumption during a billing period. Public entities, including municipalities and quasi-state entities, are allowed to enter into virtual net metering arrangements with renewable energy developers for up to 10 megawatts per project site. This section of the article establishes a monthly tiered grid access fee to be determined by the Public Utilities Commission. The funds would be used by the electric distribution company to offset costs associated with the net metering systems. Sections 12 and 13. Health Spending Accountability and Transparency Program. These sections codify the Health Insurance Commissioner’s authority to set annual healthcare cost growth targets, currently authorized under Executive Order 19-03, as well as all-payer primary care investment targets. Annual targets shall be set every five years, effective July 1, 2027; cost growth targets for 2026 and 2027 shall be established according to the existing framework. Compliance is currently voluntary. These sections empower the Commissioner to impose performance improvement plans and financial penalties if an insurance provider fails to meet the cost growth target twice in three years. The value of penalties and oversight would be subject to regulation by the Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner. These sections also require the Commissioner to publish an annual report on healthcare spending and quality and to hold a subsequent public hearing. If an entity fails to meet either an annual cost growth or investment target, it may be compelled to participate. The Governor’s recommendation contains $350,000 from general revenues, $50,000 more than enacted, for contracted data collection and analysis to support this work. Section 14. Individual Marketplace Affordability Program. This section authorizes the Rhode Island Health Benefit Exchange to establish the Individual Market Affordability program, which is intended to provide assistance to individuals who purchase health insurance on the Exchange. The legislation authorizes the Exchange to determine the annual affordability percentages for each upcoming coverage year based on the appropriations. The first coverage year would be 2027, and the legislation requires that for that year, affordability percentages prioritize households with incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. It also requires that any unspent funds be reappropriated to the following year for the same purpose. The Governor’s budget includes $9.5 million from general revenues and appears to assume this would fully cover 2027 premium costs for the six months of FY 2027 for individuals under 200 percent of the federal poverty level who are no longer receiving the federal enhanced subsidies for premium assistance. Enhanced subsidies expired at the end of 2025. While pending federal legislation addresses the issue in different ways, no changes have been adopted for the 2026 coverage year. This level of support would require $20.0 million annually. The following new bills have been filed: House Bill No. 7484 (by request) BY Carson, AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- BUILDINGS CARBON EMISSIONS REDUCTION ACT (Requires large developments, those to be constructed on a parcel of land that is greater than 50,000 square feet in size provide carbon impact reports as part of the permitting process prior to approval and issuance of a building permit.) House Bill No. 7490 BY Potter, Bennett, Read, Shanley, Edwards, Messier, Furtado, Giraldo, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- MINIMUM WAGES--OVERTIME (Requires small employers with one to fifty (1-50) employees and large employers with fifty (50) or more employees to pay overtime wages to exempt workers if their salary exceeds varying multipliers of minimum wage for a forty (40) hour workweek.) http://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7490.pdf House Bill No. 7505 BY Stewart, Cotter, Tanzi, Ajello, Carson, Cruz, Speakman, Boylan, Kislak, Potter, 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, 2026.) House Bill No. 7509 BY Carson, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- IDENTITY THEFT PROTECTION ACT OF 2015 (Amends the Identity Theft Protection Act by eliminating current definitions and establishing new definitions. This act also raises the penalty provisions for violations.) House Bill No. 7514 (Lieutenant Governor) BY Diaz, Slater, McEntee, Shallcross Smith, Edwards, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- PROTECTING RHODE ISLANDERS FROM COERCIVE ECONOMIC TACTICS AT GROCERY STORES (Creates a new chapter to protect Rhode Island consumers from coercive tactics at grocery stores.) House Bill No. 7543 BY Voas, Potter, O'Brien, Slater, Read, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- INTERNET ACCESS AND ADVERTISING BY FACSIMILE (Requires that video or photography generated by artificial intelligence or “AI” that is posted on a public platform contain a marking disclosing that it has been generated by AI.) House Bill No. 7561 BY Voas, Stewart, Potter, Dawson, McNamara, O'Brien, Boylan, Fogarty, Hull, Lombardi, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- TEMPORARY DISABILITY INSURANCE -- BENEFITS (Enables employees to no longer have to utilize sick leave, vacation leave, personal leave or other paid time off as a condition to their maternity leave.) House Bill No. 7595 BY Potter, Alzate, McGaw, Tanzi, Felix, Giraldo, Voas, Kislak, Sanchez, Batista, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- WEALTH TAX (Imposes a wealth tax on Rhode Island individuals and entities at a rate of one percent (1%) of worldwide wealth.) Senate Bill No. 2428 BY Euer, Quezada, Appollonio, Famiglietti, Lauria, Lawson, Patalano, McKenney, Kallman, Paolino, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES (Prohibits any person from employing dynamic or surveillance pricing practices in the sale of goods or services to consumers in Rhode Island.) Senate Bill No. 2498 BY Burke, LaMountain, Tikoian, Thompson, Felag, Patalano, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- INSPECTION OF PERSONNEL FILES (Expands the obligations of employers to create, maintain and retain their employees' personnel records, it requires that records be retained for at least 3 years after employee's termination. It also increases the financial penalties for each violation.) Senate Bill No. 2499 BY Gu, DiPalma, Zurier, Urso, Ciccone, Burke, McKenney, Bell, Appollonio, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE USE AND FAIR EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES (Creates a comprehensive statutory framework to address and regulate the use of artificial intelligence in the workplace, considering the interests of employers and employees.) Senate Bill No. 2500 BY Raptakis, de la Cruz, Paolino, Rogers, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- E-VERIFY COMPLIANCE (Establishes the E-Verify compliance program which would require all non-governmental employers within the state with 3 or more employees to apply to participate in the federal E-Verify program and to agree to participate in the program, if accepted.) Senate Bill No. 2502 BY Ciccone, Urso, Felag, Burke, Dimitri, 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.) What is in the Governor’s Budget? In the coming editions of Advocacy in Action, we will highlight and summarize key articles of interest to the business community.
Article 2 – Relating to State Funds https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText26/HouseText26/H7127.pdf Article 2 provides for changes to certain state funding accounts. Section 1 – Uninsured Protection Fund
Section 2 – RIPTA / Highway Maintenance Account
Article 4 – Relating to Debt Management https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText26/HouseText26/Article-004.pdf Article 4 authorizes new non-general obligation debt for three higher education projects. Section 2 – Rhode Island College – Residential Life Renovations – Auxiliary Enterprise
Section 3 – University of Rhode Island – Repaving and Hardscape Improvements
Section 4 – University of Rhode Island – Automotive and Administrative Services
Article 7 – Relative to Education https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText26/HouseText26/Article-007.pdf Article 7 revises policies and funding relative to school construction, the education funding formula, and the Hope Scholarship at Rhode Island College. Sections 1 & 3 – School Housing Aid
Section 2 – Education Aid Student Success Factor
Sections 4 & 5 – Hope Scholarship
Section 6 – School Building Authority Capital Fund
This Week at the State House Tuesday, February 3rd Prohibiting Credit Card Surcharges The House Corporations Committee has on its agenda for Tuesday at the Rise (approximately 4:30pm) in the House Lounge, behind the House Chamber on the Second Floor, H 7409 (https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7409.pdf) which would make it a deceptive trade practice for any retail establishment to impose a surcharge fee on a customer for the use of a credit card. Testimony should be emailed to [email protected]. Thursday, February 5th At the Rise on Thursday in Room 135, the House Labor Committee will hear various bills impacting employers. Testimony on the bills below should be emailed to [email protected]. Workplace Bullying H 7121 (https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7121.pdf) would prohibit any type of psychological abuse in the workplace inflicted by an employer, upon an employee or by a co-employee upon an employee, that results in the violation of an employee's right to a physically and psychologically safe work environment. It would also provide an employee, subject to bullying, psychological abuse, psychological injury and/or physical injury, with protections in the workplace and civil remedies against perpetrators of any prohibited activity. This act would further assess civil penalties upon employers violating the act, based upon the gross amount of revenues earned by employers, in addition to civil liability for damages sustained by the employee, as well as civil and criminal liability for any such conduct of a co-employee. Inspection of Personnel Files H 7442 (https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7442.pdf) would greatly expand the obligations of employers to create, maintain and retain their employees’ personnel records, including retention for at least three years after termination, and doubles penalties for each violation to $3,000. Restricting Self Service Checkouts H 7290 (https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7290.pdf) would limit grocery stores by capping the number of self-service checkout stations they can operate and mandating a minimum ratio of manual checkout stations to self-service checkout stations. Further, it limits the workload and additional duties an employer can assign to an employee that monitors self-service checkout stations. 32 Hour Work Week H 7362 (https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7362.pdf) would reduce the workweek to 32 hours without reduction in pay from a 40 hour week, and require that work in excess of 32 hours in any workweek to qualify for overtime pay. H 7367 (https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7367.pdf) would create a nine member study commission to evaluate reducing the 40 hour workweek to 32 hours. Warehouse Worker Standards H 7364 (https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7364.pdf) would require employers to provide warehouse distribution center workers upon hire a written description of employee quotas applicable to their work, including any quantified number of takss to be performed on materials to be produced or handled, within defined time periods, and any adverse action that could result from failure to meet such quotas. The following new bills have been filed Senate Bill No. 2342 BY Lawson, LaMountain, Bissaillon ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- RESTRICTIONS ON SELF-SERVICE CHECKOUT STATIONS ACT (Places limits on the number of self-service checkout stations a grocery store can have and on the workload of employees assigned to monitor those checkout stations.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2342.pdf Senate Bill No. 2343 BY Paolino, Dimitri, Rogers, Patalano, Thompson, Pearson, DiPalma, Ujifusa, Burke, Gu ENTITLED, 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.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2343.pdf Senate Bill No. 2344 BY Felag, Burke, Tikoian, Murray, Lauria, Vargas, DiMario ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- INTERCHANGE FEES (Prohibits the charging of interchange fees on taxes and gratuities.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2344.pdf Senate Bill No. 2346 BY DiPalma, Tikoian, Ciccone, Britto, Gallo, Urso ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- RHODE ISLAND COMMERCE CORPORATION (Establishes property, tangible, sales and use tax exemptions as incentives for the location of qualified data centers in Rhode Island.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2346.pdf Senate Resolution No. 2354 BY DiMario, Britto, Zurier, Euer, Vargas, Lauria, Ujifusa, Mack, Bell, Valverde ENTITLED, SENATE RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE RHODE ISLAND PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION TO TERMINATE GAS LINE EXTENSION ALLOWANCES AS PART OF DOCKET 25-45-GE https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2354.pdf Senate Bill No. 2361 BY Mack, Acosta, DiMario, Murray, Lauria ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- WEALTH TAX (Imposes a wealth tax on Rhode Island individuals and entities at a rate of one percent (1%) of worldwide wealth.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2361.pdf Senate Bill No. 2370 BY Thompson, Famiglietti, Patalano, Burke, Dimitri, Quezada, Pearson, Tikoian ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- RHODE ISLAND TAX AMNESTY ACT OF 2017 (Authorizes the tax administrator to waive interest and penalties on delinquent taxes paid in full during a one week amnesty period. Also reinstates a suspended driver’s license upon payment in full.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2370.pdf Senate Bill No. 2372 BY Felag, Urso, Burke, LaMountain, DiPalma, Ciccone, Tikoian ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- SALES AND USE TAXES -- LIABILITY AND COMPUTATION (Eliminates the sales tax on taxi services and pet care services.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2372.pdf Senate Bill No. 2390 BY Patalano, Ciccone, Tikoian, Famiglietti, Appollonio, Thompson, Raptakis, Burke, Dimitri, LaMountain ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- GIFT CARD FRAUD (Makes offenses against gift card holders subject to the penalties for larceny.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2390.pdf Senate Bill No. 2396 BY McKenney, Burke, LaMountain, Appollonio, Bissaillon ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE -- PROCEDURE IN PARTICULAR ACTIONS -- ARBITRATION (Extends time for a party to apply for stay of arbitration to180 days; invalidates any provision that penalizes a party for seeking legal representation; requires arbitrator to provide notice of default to a party for failure to pay fees.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2396.pdf Senate Bill No. 2406 BY Lawson, DiPalma, Murray, LaMountain, Gallo ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- AGE-APPROPRIATE DESIGN CODE (Requires that any covered entity that develops/provides online services, products, or features that children are reasonably likely to access shall consider the best interest of children when designing/developing such online service, product, or feature.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2406.pdf Senate Bill No. 2408 BY Mack, Valverde, Vargas, Quezada ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- MINIMUM WAGES (Commencing January 1, 2027, this act would increase the minimum wage for employees receiving gratuities, from the current three dollars and eighty-nine cents ($3.89) to six dollars and seventy-five cents ($6.75) per hour.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2408.pdf House Bill No. 7440 BY Furtado, Kislak, Bennett, Casimiro, Kazarian, Donovan, Alzate, O'Brien, Stewart, Messier ENTITLED, 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.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7440.pdf House Bill No. 7449 BY Paplauskas, Nardone, Fascia, Place, Newberry, Chippendale, Roberts, Brien, Santucci, HopkinsnENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- SMALL BUSINESS REGULATORY FAIRNESS IN ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES-ECONOMIC IMPACT STATEMENTS (Requires agencies preparing economic impact statements for small businesses contain findings that the anticipated compliance costs of a proposed rule scale proportionally with the business size, and do not impose fixed costs that favor larger businesses.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7449.pdf House Bill No. 7467 BY McEntee, Spears, Phillips, Casey, Shallcross Smith, Fogarty, Craven, Kennedy, Azzinaro, Cotter ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- TOURISM AND DEVELOPMENT (Removes the requirement that 5% of the hotel tax generated from regional tourism districts be paid to the Greater Providence-Warwick Convention and Visitors Bureau, and adds that 5% of the hotel tax to the existing tax paid to the RI commerce corporation. https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7467.pdf This Week at the State House
Tuesday, January 27th Credit Card Fee Notification This Week at the State House Tuesday, January 27th Credit Card Fee Notification The House Corporations Committee has on its agenda for Tuesday at the Rise (approximately 4:30pm) in the Room 101, two bills of interest. H.7022 http://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7022.pdf requires any business that charges a fee to customers for the use of a credit card to post in a conspicuous place the amount of the surcharge. Failure to disclose the surcharge is a violation of the Unfair Trade Practice Act. The law, if passed, would take effect January 1, 2027. Sales to Persons Over 65 H.7266 http://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7266.pdf pertains to businesses that sell good or services to individuals over the age of 65. If the business offers customers a discount for utilizing ACH or EFT payment methods, the same discount must be offered to individuals over 65 who pay by a paper check. This act would take effect upon passage. Testimony for either H.7022 or H.7266 should be emailed to [email protected] Thursday, January 29th Interest on Judgments The House Judiciary Committee has on its agenda for Thursday at the Rise in the House Lounge (behind the House chamber on the second floor) H.7033 http://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7033.pdf . H.7033 changes the amount of interest assessed on a civil judgments – pre judgment and post judgement - from 12% to a rate equal to the coupon issue yield equivalent, as determined by the United States secretary of the treasury, of the average accepted auction price for the last auction of fifty-two (52) week United States treasury bills settled immediately preceding the date of the filing of the action. This act would take effect upon passage. Testimony should be emailed to [email protected] What is in the Governor’s Budget? Article 6 – Capital Development Program https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText26/HouseText26/Article-006.pdf proposes $600 million in new bonding authority if approved by the voters. This amount is significantly higher than previous budget years which saw bonding requests totaling $300 million to $400 million. The $600 million request includes the following outlays: · Higher Education Facilities Bond - $215 million o The $215 million is broken down to include: $105 million for the construction of a new Integrated Health Building on the University of Rhode Island’s Kingston campus, $50 million for a Rhode Island College student success and career readiness center and Adams Library, and $60 million for the Community College of RI innovation center. · Housing and Homeownership Bond - $120 million o At least $25 million is dedicated to production of housing intended for homeownership. The remainder of the bond money is slated to be used for affordable and accessible housing through redevelopment of existing structures, new construction, property acquisition, and infrastructure improvements. In November, 2024 voters approved a $120 million housing bond. The state started accepting applications in October, 2025. It is unclear how much of the $120 million has been spent thus far. · Economic Development Bond - $115 million o This bond is broken into two separate funds. The bond calls for $70 million to be used for land acquisition, environmental remediation, utility infrastructure and site preparation for industrial sites. This also includes efforts to create pad-ready sites at the Quonset Business Park and projects within the I-195 district. · Career and Technical Education - $50 million o The $50 million is slated for the creation of new or improvements to existing career and technical education programs. · Green Economy and Clean Energy Bonds - $50 million o There are seven designated purposes for this bond, including: $3 million for Brownsfields remediation, $8 million for facility improvements at state parks, $1 million to serve as an 80% matching grants program for municipalities to acquire or rehabilitate recreations facilities, $1 million for marine infrastructure and recreational facilities, $20 million to be used for resiliency infrastructure, coastal habitat and floodplains, $7 million to address nonpoint source pollution abatement such as stormwater management and riparian buffers, and $10 million for energy efficiency infrastructure. · Cultural Economy - $50 million o The Cultural Economy bond is divided into two portions. $45 million would be used to create a state history center to house archived historical documents. The remaining $5 million would be used as matching grants for capital improvements to public historic sites, museums and cultural art centers. Article 3 – Government Reform and Reorganization https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText26/HouseText26/Article-003.pdf proposes several changes to government departments, state operations and economic development programs. · Section 1. Governor’s Line Item Veto – If passed, Rhode Island would join 44 other states in giving the Governor the power to veto specific sections of the budget, not just the “budget as a whole.” If vetoed, the specific section could be overridden by a 3/5 majority vote of the both the House and Senate. The last state to pass a line-item veto was the state of Maine in 1995. Massachusetts passed its version in 1918. Connecticut passed it in 1924. Vermont and New Hampshire do not allow their Governors that authority. · Section 2. Management of Unused Paint – This section requires the state’s contractor – PaintCare – to update its plan for review and approval every five years starting December 31, 2026. Current law allows DEM to request an update every four years. · Section 3. Green Buildings Act – The Governor proposes to move the jurisdiction of the program from the Department of Administration to the Office of the State Building Code Commissioner starting July 1, 2026. Any regulations promulgated thus far will remain in effect until the Commissioner promulgates new rules. The Department of Administration must analyze the costs and benefits of LEED certification to determine if it is still a valuable certification process. · Sections 4, 5 and 17. Weatherization Program – Sections 4, 5 and 17 transfer the state’s weatherization efficiency (grants and system upgrade assistance) program from the Department of Human Services to the Office of Energy Resources. Section 17 also designates the Office of Energy Resources as the responsible entity for administering any energy bond referendums passed by the voters. · Sections 6, 7 and 19-23. Big River Reservoir – These sections give the Department of Environmental Management (DEM) authority over lands acquired for the Big River Reservoir project. The 8,600-acre area was purchased in the 1960s as a proposed back up reservoir. Home owners were moved out in anticipation of flooding the area, until EPA stepped in (1990) killing the project and citing irreparable damage to existing wetlands. · Section 8. Rebuild Rhode Island Tax Credit Act – Section 8 increases the aggregate maximum credit, inclusive of sales and use exemptions allowed, from $225 million to $250 million. The Rebuild RI program is slated to expire December 31, 2026. This proposed amendment extends the program for an additional year to December 31, 2027. · Sections 9 through 15 and Section 18 – Economic Development Program Extensions – The following programs are extended for an additional year, ending December 31, 2027: RI Tax Increment Financing, Tax Stabilization Incentive, Wave Closing Fund Act, I-195 Redevelopment Project Fund Act, Stay Invested in RI Wavemaker Fellowship, Main Street RI Streetscape Improvement Fund, and the Innovation Initiative. · Section 16. Rhode Island Energy Resources Act – Section 16 creates an energy benchmarking program for state buildings with a footprint of 25,000 gross square feet or more. Each month, a report would be filed noting the amount of energy used in the building as well as the type of energy utilized. The Office of Energy Resources is charged with compiling the data and setting standards for state buildings that would require a decrease in energy used over time. The intent of the act is to assist the state in meeting its mandates under the Act on Climate. Section 16 includes a voluntary program for municipalities. Last year the legislature considered legislation requiring all buildings, including privately owned buildings, over 25,000 square feet to participate in a similar program. That legislation has been filed again this year (see H.7183 and H.7184 below) and will be the subject of debate at the state house. · Section 18. Rhode Island Qualified Jobs Incentive Act of 2015 – Section 18 extends the RI Qualified Jobs Incentive Act for one year to December 31, 2027. Companies that create new positions or relocate jobs to the state can receive annual, redeemable tax credits for up to 10 years, with credits of up to $7,500 per job per year. The following new bills have been filed: House Bill No. 7172 BY Casimiro, Giraldo, Donovan, Read, Spears, Shallcross Smith, Potter, Hopkins, ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- HEALTH CARE AND SOCIAL SERVICES TRANSACTION REVIEW AND SIGNIFICANT EQUITY INVESTOR DISCLOSURE ACT (Creates and establishes the Health Care and Social Services Transaction Review and Significant Equity Investor Disclosure Act designed to enhance disclosure for material changes involving significant equity investors.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7172.pdf House Bill No. 7179 BY Phillips, Brien, Place, Azzinaro, Shanley ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- VEHICLE BARRIERS -- THE CHARLOTTE A. VACCA ACT (Requires commercial property owners to install vehicle barriers at their retail establishment locations as part of any new construction.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7179.pdf House Bill No. 7180 BY Shallcross Smith, Marszalkowski, DeSimone, Kislak, Giraldo, Brien, Cruz, Potter, Fogarty, Read ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW--GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- DIGITAL ELECTRONICS RIGHT TO REPAIR ACT (Establishes a digital electronics right to repair, which allows for digital electronic equipment and parts that are sold in this state on or after January 1, 2027, to be repaired at an independent repair provider.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7180.pdf House Bill No. 7183 BY Kislak, Fogarty, Carson, McGaw, Boylan, Speakman, Cortvriend, Handy, Bennett, Donovan ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- BUILDING BENCHMARKING AND REPORTING ACT OF 2026 (Establishes a program for the energy and water benchmarking of large buildings in Rhode Island and a standard for their energy performance.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7183.pdf House Bill No. 7184 BY Kislak, Handy, Fogarty, Cortvriend, McGaw, Potter ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- BUILDING PERFORMANCE STANDARDS ACT OF 2026 (Directs the office of energy resources to develop building performance standards for large buildings in Rhode Island that would cause greenhouse gas emissions to decline in line with the act on climate requirements.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7184.pdf House Bill No. 7290 BY Cotter, Spears, Carson, Donovan, Corvese, Morales, Read, Kislak, Ajello, Potter ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- RESTRICTIONS ON SELF-SERVICE CHECKOUT STATIONS ACT (Places limits on the number of self-service checkout stations a grocery store can have and on the workload of employees assigned to monitor those checkout stations.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7290.pdf House Bill No. 7291 BY Casey, Edwards, Ackerman ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- LABOR RELATIONS ACT (Allows employees, not represented by a union, to create a group to collectively bargain with employers.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7291.pdf House Bill No. 7313 BY Alzate, Fogarty, Potter, Giraldo, Donovan, Spears, Lombardi, Diaz, Cotter, Kazarian ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- PERSONAL INCOME TAX (Creates an additional tax rate of 3% on taxable income over $640,000 in 2026 dollars. Applies to tax years 2027 and thereafter and not retroactively.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7313.pdf Senate Bill No. 2195 BY Urso, Gu, DiPalma, Paolino, Zurier, Murray, Appollonio ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW--GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE COMPANION MODELS (Creates additional safety features for AI companion technology that include addressing suicidal ideation, potential physical harm or financial harm to others expressed by a user. It also requires notification the AI companion does not have human emotions.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2195.pdf Senate Bill No. 2218 BY Kallman, Valverde, Lauria, DiMario, Euer, Vargas, Gu, Mack, Britto ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- BUILDING PERFORMANCE STANDARDS ACT OF 2026 (Directs the office of energy resources to develop building performance standards for large buildings in Rhode Island that would cause greenhouse gas emissions to decline in line with the act on climate requirements.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2218.pdf Senate Bill No. 2222 BY Sosnowski, Murray, Euer, McKenney, Kallman, Valverde ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- ECONOMIC AND CLIMATE RESILIENCE ACT OF 2026 (Establishes a fee on companies that sell fossil fuels in Rhode Island and establishes a fund to disburse the collected funds.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2222.pdf Senate Bill No. 2238 BY Murray, Lawson, Ciccone, DiMario, Lauria, Bissaillon, Acosta, Gu, McKenney, Burke ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- PERSONAL INCOME TAX (Creates an additional tax rate of 3% on taxable income over $640,000 in 2026 dollars. Applies to tax years 2027 and thereafter and not retroactively.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2238.pdf Senate Bill No. 2248 BY Sosnowski, Murray, Zurier, Valverde, Kallman, DiMario, Gu, Ciccone, Pearson, Britto ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS -- DUTIES OF UTILITIES AND CARRIERS (Creates an income-sensitive tiered subsidy program to ensure that home energy utility costs are affordable for eligible low-income households.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2248.pdf Senate Bill No. 2251 BY Tikoian, Ciccone, Felag, Burke, Dimitri, Famiglietti, Morgan, Paolino, Thompson, DiPalma ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- ESTATE AND TRANSFER TAXES -- LIABILITY AND COMPUTATION (Eliminates the estate tax in Rhode Island.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2251.pdf Senate Bill No. 2320 BY DiPalma, Ciccone, Britto, LaMountain, Felag, Gallo, Patalano, Dimitri, Famiglietti ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- DIVISION OF OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH (Requires employers to protect employees from extreme temperatures through rest breaks, PPE, training, and equipment, and mandates quarterly supervisor training, to recognize and mitigate heat- and cold-related risks.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2320.pdf Senate Bill No. 2323 BY Bissaillon, Lawson, DiPalma, Gallo, Gu, Urso, Zurier, Acosta, Bell, Mack ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- THE COMMUTER TRANSPORTATION BENEFITS ACT (Establishes the commuter transportation benefit chapter. Employers with five hundred (500) or more employees required to establish a pre-tax commuter transportation fringe benefit program.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2323.pdf Senate Bill No. 2324 BY Quezada, Acosta, Kallman, Bissaillon, Valverde, Bell, DiMario, Lauria, Zurier, Vargas ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- CONSUMER CREDIT HISTORY EMPLOYMENT PROTECTION ACT -- DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES (Prohibits employers from seeking/using credit reports in making hiring decisions concerning prospective employees, asking questions about the applicant's financial past during interviews or including credit history questions in their job applications.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2324.pdf Senate Bill No. 2325 BY Thompson, Raptakis, Burke, Ciccone, Britto, Quezada, Murray, Tikoian, McKenney, Gu ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- MINIMUM WAGES (Effective January 1, 2028, Increases the hourly minimum wage in accordance with the Consumer Price Index for the Northeast Region for the previous four (4) fiscal years.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2325.pdf Governor McKee’s “Affordability for All” Agenda In his 2026 State of the State Address last Tuesday, Governor Dan McKee laid out his vision for the year ahead, which was followed on Thursday by his Fiscal Year 2027 budget Proposal, comprised of H 7126 (FY26 Revisions), H 7127 (FY27 Appropriations). See also the Executive Summary. Facing a $100M+ structure deficit, and with state expenses growing faster (3.5%) than revenues (2.4%), Governor McKee introduced a budget for FY27 of $14.9B, a roughly $500M increase over FY26, that would eliminate state income tax on Social Security benefits, create a child tax credit, lower the gas tax by five percent, and backfill portions of expired Affordable Care Act subsidies, and provides annual utility bill relief averaging $180 per household, among other investments and savings. Most notably, to cover the deficit and pay for new expenditures, the Governor intends to add 3% to the top tax bracket, from 5.99% to 8.99%, for those earning incomes above $1M beginning in 2027. This projects to raise $67.1M in FY27, and $135.5M in FY28. He also calls for the implementation of a Line-Item Veto, which would allow forstriking specific items from the budget bill without having to approve or veto it in the entirety. Over the next few editions of Advocacy in Action, we will share summaries of the various Articles of interest to the business community. Article 5 – Relating to Taxes and Fees Article 5 proposes a variety of tax and fee changes: • Section 1 – Tax Amnesty o Projected to generate $26.3M in FY27, the budget proposes a tax amnesty program to help collect outstanding tax debts prior to 12/31/25 that would waive penalties and reduce interest owed by 25% for participants in the program that would run from December 2026 to February 2027. • Section 2 – Business Corporation Tax o For tax years beginning 1/1/27, any pass-through entities electing to pay the state tax at the entity level would see the rate increase from 5.99% to 8.99%. o Projected to generate $22.6M in FY27 and diminishing amounts thereafter, the budget proposes decoupling the state’s tax code from the federal government regarding changes to the research and development tax provisions. • Sections 3&4 – Cigarette & Cigar Taxes o Projected to raise $8M together, these proposals would: ▪ Raise by 75 cents the cigarette tax, from $4.50 to $5.25 per pack. ▪ Eliminate the 1.25% discount on cigarette tax stamps purchased by distributors. ▪ Increases the cap on the cigar tax from 50 cents to $2.00. • Section 5 – Child Tax Credit o The current dependent tax deduction fails to reach approximately 20,000 filers with dependents who do not make enough to benefit from the exemption. The budget proposes to convert this to a fully refundable tax credit of $325 per child per year, at a projected cost of $14.7M in FY27 and $29.7M in FY28 when fully implemented. • Section 6 – Million Dollar Tax Bracket; Social Security Tax Phase Out o For the 2027 tax year and beyond, the budget proposes a 3% increase to a new top tax bracket, from 5.99% to 8.99%, for income above $1M, which is estimated to generate $67.1M in FY27, and $135.5M in FY28 when fully implemented. o The budget also proposes phasing out the state tax on Social Security, by eliminating the age threshold in 2027, and phasing out the income thresholds over tax years 2028 and 2029. Eliminating the tax in this manner projects to cost $3M in FY27, and reach $60.1M in FY30, the first full fiscal year after the phase-out is fully implemented in tax year 2029. • Section 7 – Motor Vehicle Excise Tax Reimbursement o The budget proposes to eliminate the statutory inflator for Car Tax Reimbursements to communities, freezing it at the current $239.6M, which would result in a state savings of $4.8M in FY27, and grow to $24.9M in FY31. • Section 8 – Newport Cruise Vessel Fees o The budget proposes a $5 increase per passenger, from $10 to $15, on each cruise ship that arrives at or departs from Newport. Newport currently retains the $10 per passenger fee the municipal level, and the additional $5 per passenger fee would be allocated to support This Week at the State House Tuesday, January 20th Safety Barriers The House Corporations Committee has on its agenda for Tuesday at the Rise (approximately 4:30pm) in the House Lounge, behind the House Chamber on the Second Floor, H 7021 which would require commercial property owners to install vehicle barriers at their retail establishments when new construction or renovations are being done and permits insurers to consider the installation to provide a discount on the owner's insurance policy. Testimony should be emailed to [email protected] Sugary Beverages The House Corporations will also conduct a hearing on H 7065, which would require 50% reduction in the amount of added sugars in all liquid beverages sold in Rhode Island on and after January 1, 2030. Testimony should be emailed to [email protected] Mr. Potato Head License Plate The House Special Legislation Committee has on its agenda for Tuesday at the Rise in Room 135 H 7085, which would repeal the authorization for issuing Mr. Potato Head license plates. Under the proposal, no new plates would be issued, and current plates may remain until any lapse, nonrenewal, revocation, destruction or loss occurs. No transfers of plates would be allowed. CHAMBER MEMBER ACTION REQUEST - Preparations for 2026 Session If you attended the January “Eggs and Issues” breakfast with the Speaker of the House, you heard him say loudly and clearly that businesspeople must be engaged with their state Representatives and Senators or face the passage of harmful legislation. Legislators are not experts in your business. They need to hear from you directly in order to understand the challenges you confront on a daily basis. Throughout the legislative session, the Chamber may be calling on you, asking for your assistance conveying our message on legislation to legislators. Please go to https://vote.sos.ri.gov and click on “Find Your Elected Officials.” Enter your zip code and address. Find your “Representative District” legislator and your “Senate District” legislator (if you live in Rhode Island). Email your name and the legislators name to [email protected]. The Chamber will be compiling a database for future grassroots efforts. If you also know a legislator who lives in another district, please send that information to the Chamber as well and we will include it in the database. Thank you for your help! The following new bills have been filed: Senate Bill No. 2075 BY Rogers, Paolino, Morgan, de la Cruz ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS -- PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION (Requires the PUC to produce yearly reports beginning on January 1, 2027 on the ability of the current electric grid to handle electrification loads needed to power cars, buildings, and heating of homes within the state.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2075.pdf Senate Bill No. 2080 BY Rogers, de la Cruz, Morgan ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- 2021 ACT ON CLIMATE (Repeals the 2021 Act on Climate which established a statewide greenhouse gas emission reduction mandate in its entirety.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2080.pdf Senate Bill No. 2082 BY Paolino, Morgan, Rogers, de la Cruz, Appollonio, Famiglietti, Raptakis, Patalano, Dimitri, Sosnowski ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- SALES AND USE TAXES -- LIABILITY AND COMPUTATION (Phases out the local meals and beverage tax by January 1, 2030.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2082.pdf Senate Bill No. 2085 BY DiMario, Lawson, Gallo, Valverde, Murray, Kallman, Acosta, Vargas, Lauria, Quezada ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES -- THE RHODE ISLAND WORKS PROGRAM (Eliminates the sunset on the provision of funding, modify eligibility requirement to 85% of state median income and expand funding to at least 20 hours per week.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2085.pdf Senate Bill No. 2092 BY Kallman, Lawson, Urso, Valverde, Zurier, Pearson, Mack, Ujifusa, DiPalma ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES --RIDESHARE OR TRANSPORTATION NETWORK COMPANY VEHICLE SURCHARGE (Imposes a seventyfive cent (0.75) surcharge on fares charged by rideshare companies as well as an account to benefit RIPTA from the payment of sales taxes collected from rideshares.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2092.pdf Senate Bill No. 2103 BY de la Cruz, Rogers, Paolino, Morgan ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC FINANCE -- STATE BUDGET (Requires that the governor submit a zero-based budget to the general assembly with the zero-based budget phased in over a five (5) year period, commencing with the fiscal budget year of July 1, 2027.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2103.pdf Senate Bill No. 2110 BY Lauria, Lawson, DiMario, Murray, Valverde, Kallman, Ujifusa, Pearson, Zurier, Urso ENTITLED, 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.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2110.pdf Senate Bill No. 2113 BY Lauria, Murray, Kallman, Ujifusa ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO FOOD AND DRUGS -- HEALTHY KIDS ACT (Mandates that all restaurants offering children's meals offer at least two (2) children's meals that complies with certain detailed nutritional standards set forth in the act.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2113.pdf Senate Bill No. 2160 BY LaMountain ENTITLED, 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.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2160.pdf Senate Bill No. 2166 BY Kallman, Ciccone, Burke, Sosnowski, Euer, Britto, Urso, Thompson, Dimitri ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- MINIMUM WAGES--OVERTIME (Requires small employers with one to fifty (1-50) employees and large employers with fifty (50) or more employees to pay overtime wages to exempt workers if their salary exceeds varying multipliers of minimum wage for a forty (40) hour workweek.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2166.pdf Senate Bill No. 2170 BY Bissaillon, LaMountain, Appollonio, McKenney, Bell, Burke, Famiglietti ENTITLED, 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.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2170.pdf Senate Bill No. 2173 BY Acosta, DiMario, DiPalma, Mack, Lawson, Felag, Quezada, Zurier, Valverde, McKenney ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES -- CERTIFICATION OF CHILDCARE AND YOUTH-SERVING WORKERS AND OPERATORS (Commencing July 1, 2026, this act eliminates the provision of this section that requires new applicants for employment under this section to pay the expense for their criminal background checks.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2173.pdf Senate Bill No. 2179 BY Paolino, Rogers, Ciccone, Tikoian, Lauria, Murray, de la Cruz, Urso, Patalano, Famiglietti ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- STANDARD AND DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME (Repeals daylight savings time in the state and follow the “United States Standard Eastern Time” as provided by an exemption from the advancement of time as provide by the federal Uniform Time Ac of 1966, 15 U.S.C. § 260(a).) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2179.pdf House Bill No. 7066 BY Azzinaro, Kennedy, Lima, O'Brien ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE -- CASUALTY INSURANCE GENERALLY -- LIMITATIONS ON POLICY CANCELLATIONS AND RENEWALS (Requires homeowner’s insurance providers to provide two months’ notice before increasing any policy renewal premium more than 20% and a violation constitutes a deceptive trade practice punishable by a fine not to exceed $1,000.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7066.pdf House Bill No. 7079 BY Craven, Biah, Cortvriend, Shanley, O'Brien ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROCEDURE -- EXPUNGEMENT OF CRIMINAL RECORDS (Permits those individuals convicted of multiple felonies and misdemeanors to have their records expunged and provide criteria for the court to consider in determining whether the person is of good moral character.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7079.pdf House Bill No. 7080 BY Finkelman ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- THIRD-PARTY LITIGATION FINANCING CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT (Provides for "litigation financing" regulation by DBR.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7080.pdf House Bill No. 7110 BY Alzate, Stewart, Felix, Giraldo, Cruz, Fogarty, Kazarian, Casimiro, Potter, Furtado ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- THE PERSONAL HYGIENE PRODUCT SAFETY AND TOXIC METAL REMOVAL ACT OF 2026 (Sets a clear and enforceable standard for reducing the presence of harmful metals in personal care products, prioritizing public health through testing, labeling, and the development of safer alternatives.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7110.pdf House Bill No. 7111 BY Solomon, Casey ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE -- PRODUCER LICENSING ACT (Clarifies what a contract modification is, namely any change in producer compensation.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7111.pdf House Bill No. 7112 BY Lombardi, Hull, Sanchez, Cruz, Stewart ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS - REGULATORY POWERS OF ADMINISTRATION (Provides that any rate increase with respect to electric distribution companies would be no greater than the increase in the Consumer Price Index or 5.5%, whichever is greater, unless there is approval of a higher rate by the general assembly) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7112.pdf House Bill No. 7113 BY McNamara ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE -- UNFAIR CLAIMS SETTLEMENT PRACTICES ACT (Prohibits dental insurers from refusing to honor directions to pay from insured, modifying benefits to be paid. Requires providers to accept payment by virtual credit card as unfair claims practices.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7113.pdf House Bill No. 7121 BY Lombardi, Hull, Cruz, Stewart ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- WORKPLACE PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY ACT (Prohibits psychological abuse in the workplace by employers or co-workers, ensuring a safe environment for employees, provides protection, civil remedies, and penalties for employers based on revenue.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7121.pdf House Bill No. 7135 BY Read, Noret, Cotter, Casey, Shanley, Casimiro, Hull, Corvese, Serpa, Paplauskas ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- OFFICE OF STATE FIRE MARSHAL (Creates a program through which fire departments and fire districts are notified of locations of registrants of electric and hybrid motor vehicles can register their vehicles with their local fire department or fire district.) https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/HouseText26/H7135.pdf House Bill No. 7146 BY Fellela, Corvese, Azzinaro, Brien, Edwards ENTITLED, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- DIVISION OF PROFESSIONAL REGULATION (Creates a new class of retirement status license for retirees that had possessed a professional license issued by the department of labor and trai |
Categories
All
Archives
June 2026
|
RSS Feed