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Please join us in welcoming NEW CHAMBER MEMBER Rumford Pet Express A family-owned pet store specializing in Natural Pet Food and Supplies, serving Southern New England since 1937. We are so excited to have you and so are our furry friends! Rumford Pet Express is located at 182 County Road in Barrington, RI 02806 About Rumford Pet Express Rumford Pet Express is a fourth-generation, family-owned pet specialty retailer dedicated to the wellbeing of pets and the community for more than 85 years. With nine locations throughout Rhode Island and Southern Massachusetts, their pet-friendly stores carry a wide array of high-quality natural pet foods, treats, toys, accessories, and health clinics. Rumford Pet Express team members are passionate pet lovers specially trained to support pet parents with the lifetime nutritional needs of their loved ones. Rumford Pet Express also supports local pets in need through developing long-lasting partnerships with local animal welfare groups. Learn more at www.rumfordpet.com, Facebook, or Instagram. #naturalpetfood #rumfordpet #eastbaychamberri #petfoodri 
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This Week at the State House
The General Assembly is on break this week. New Employment Data Released The Department of Labor and Training released its Labor Market Information March report. The number of Rhode Island-based jobs rose by 2,300 (+0.5%) in March. Over the year, the number of Rhode Island-based jobs is down 35,100, a 7.0 percent decrease. The March unemployment rate of 7.1 in Rhode Island is down two-tenths of a percentage point from February, while being up three and one-tenth percentage points from March 2020. What do the percentages really mean? When we look at the hard numbers, the picture becomes more clear. The total number of non-farm employment for Rhode Island in March was 457,600. Government jobs account for 62,500 of those jobs, leaving 395,100 jobs in the private sector. The two industry sectors that saw increases over March 2020, were specialty trade contractors in construction (+400 jobs), and manufacturing (+2400). Losses were reported for retail (-1500); transportation, warehouse & utilities (-1200); information (-800); financial activities including real estate (-1000); professional businesses and services (-4400); educational services (-1000); health care and social services (-5600); arts and entertainment (-2400); accommodation and food services (-9000); other services (-2200); and government (-3700). This information continues to raise concerns over the status of the State’s Unemployment Trust Fund. The Chamber continues to raise the need to use federal stimulus monies to shore up the fund and to not place the pandemic burden on employers for decades to come. Legislative Incentives to Work While the number of bills introduced on a daily basis is decreasing, there have been a number of proposals introduced to incentivize individuals to return to work. The suspension of the need to prove that an unemployment compensation claimant is actively looking for work, plus the additional $300 a week benefit offering is appearing to cause difficulties for businesses to find employees. Rhode Island is not alone. Many states are looking at various ways to address the problem – from offering financial incentives to return to work, to reinstituting the requirement to actively job search. As those in the business community know, incentives to return to work could cause great harm, if the funds to pay those incentives come from the Unemployment Trust Fund. Last week, General Treasurer Magaziner introduced his solution in H.6249 and H.6250 (links are provided below). H.6249 - From May 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022, an employee would be deemed partially unemployed if the person works less than full time and makes less than 150% of the weekly benefit rate to which they would have been entitled if totally unemployed and eligible. Current law allows for partial unemployment if the person makes less than 100% of the weekly benefit. H.6250 – This bill creates a self-employment assistance program under DLT. If a person is working at least 35 hours a week to establish a business and has at least 18 weeks left in regular unemployment benefits, that person could qualify for self-employment assistance money which is equal to the unemployment benefit rate and is paid out of the unemployment trust fund. The person must submit an application for the program and take advantage of an entrepreneurial training, business counseling, technical assistance program approved by DLT. If the program participant decides that self-employment is not for him/her, then the person can transfer back to the regular unemployment program. The individual’s remaining eligible unemployment benefit weeks will be reduced by the number of weeks the person participated in the assistance program. Two legislative bills – also addressing this issue – are H.6218 and S.808. These bills provide incentive benefits for persons collecting unemployment benefits who return to work, in the amount of $150 per week for 13 weeks based on a 40 hour work week with prorated benefits for persons working less than 40 hours. Upon completion of the 13-week period, additional compensation up to a maximum of $1,950 would be paid on a prorated basis. These benefits would expire on January 1, 2022. The following new bills have been filed: House Bill No. 6241 (Secretary of State) Lima, Casey, AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT (Allows the continuance of the remote notarization following the expiration of the executive emergency order currently in effect and requires a certificate of any notarial act.) H6241.pdf (state.ri.us) House Bill No. 6248 (General Treasurer) Caldwell, McEntee, Costantino, Carson, Hawkins, Baginski, Biah, Speakman, AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- SMALL BUSINESS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (Creates paycheck protection program for small businesses of with 50 employees or less for forgivable loans of $50,000 or less modeled on federal program with sunset date of 6/30/2022.) H6248.pdf (state.ri.us) House Bill No. 6249 (General Treasurer) McEntee, Carson, Felix, Cortvriend, Phillips, Costantino, Giraldo, Fogarty, Caldwell, Kazarian, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- EMPLOYMENT SECURITY -- GENERAL PROVISIONS (Increases partial unemployment benefits by disregarding an amount of earnings when calculating weekly benefit rate with expiration date of 6/30/22.) H6249.pdf (state.ri.us) House Bill No. 6250 (General Treasurer) Cortvriend, McEntee, Caldwell, Carson, Speakman, Donovan, Cassar, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- EMPLOYMENT SECURITY -- BENEFITS (Creates a self-employment assistance program in the DLT.) H6250.pdf (state.ri.us) House Bill No. 6253 McGaw, McNamara, Donovan, Cortvriend, Potter, Cassar, Carson, Speakman, Ackerman, AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES - PARKING FACILITIES AND PRIVILEGES (Requires parking lots to designate parking spaces for electric vehicles/installation of charging stations for new existing public/private parking lots with fines for parking violations/compliance. Effective 7/1/21.) H6253.pdf (state.ri.us) House Bill No. 6254 Casimiro, Vella-Wilkinson, Noret, AN ACT RELATING TO STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- STANDARDS OF CONDUCT FOR NOTARIES PUBLIC (Codifies in the general laws the standards of conduct for notaries public in the state of Rhode Island by the secretary of state which came into effect on April 3, 2020. Takes effect on July 1, 2021; sunsets and expires on July 1, 2023.) H6254.pdf (state.ri.us) The Rhode Island Small Business Relief Grant Program is now accepting applications. This program provides grants of up to $5,000 for Rhode Island-based small businesses that have suffered financially due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Applications will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis through 5 PM on Friday, April 30, 2021. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE For eligibility criteria and to help you prepare to apply, please find additional resources below. Should you have any questions, please email info@commerceri.com. Thank you. Update: Applicants who have received more than $25,000 in grants are now eligible to apply provided they meet all other criteria. Additional Resources: 👉 Prepare to Apply Checklist 👉 Frequently Asked Questions 👉 Information on Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)
This Week at the State House This week is the last week before the General Assembly’s Spring Recess (April 19-23). Medical Marijuana Use Yesterday, April 12th, the House Committee on State Government, heard testimony on H.5021, An Act Relating to Food and Drugs – medical marijuana. The bill bars employers from refusing to hire, discharge or discriminate against an individual because of his/her status as a medical marijuana cardholder, or if the person tests positive for the components of the drug. The employer is permitted to take action if the person is impaired during the hours of employment. The issue of marijuana use will continue to be in the forefront of future legislative debates. The business community continues to advocate for protections for employers that participate in federal contracts, and for the ability to test employees as the employer sees fit. Unfair Practice of Law in Real Estate H.5985, An Act Relating to Insurance – Rhode Island Title Insurers Act, will be a topic of discussion in the House Judiciary Committee Tuesday, April 13th, at the Rise (approximately 4:30 p.m.). This bill provides that only attorneys licensed in the state of Rhode Island can act as title insurance agents and only they can determine insurability and marketability of property. H.5985 bans title insurers from discounting title insurance premiums and prohibits sharing fees from the premiums except between licensed title agents and licensed attorneys. If passed, each real estate closings would require another attorney. The estimated increase in closing cost fees is approximately $240. Rhode Island currently has the second lowest closing costs in the New England region (New Hampshire is the lowest). Written testimony may be submitted via HouseJudiciary@rilegislature.gov Indicate your name, bill number, and viewpoint (for/against/neither) at top of message. This inbox is for written testimony only. DEADLINE: Written testimony should be submitted no later than 1:00 PM Tuesday, April 13th. For faster processing, it is recommended that testimony is submitted as a PDF file. VERBAL TESTIMONY *DEADLINE: Requests for verbal testimony must be submitted via the link, by 4:00 PM on Monday, April 12, 2021. For verbal testimony requests, CLICK HERE Medicaid Employer Assessment On Thursday, April 15th at the Rise (approximately 4:30 p.m.), the House Finance Committee will hear testimony on H.5448, an Act Relating to Human Services – Medicaid Employer Assessment. The bill can be viewed at http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/HouseText21/H5448.pdf H.5448 affects any employer with 300 or more employees located within the state of Rhode Island. These employers would be assessed a quarterly fee, payable to the state, for each full or part-time employee who is a Medicaid beneficiary. Nonprofit organizations and government entities are excluded. The fee to be assessed equals 10% of the wages paid to the qualifying employee up to a maximum of $1500 per qualifying employee. Certain working adults with disabilities, employees enrolled in Rite Share and employees with only children enrolled in Medicaid are not considered “qualifying employees” for assessment purposes. If passed, the program would start January 1, 2022. Written testimony may be submitted via HouseFinance@rilegislature.gov Indicate your name, bill number, and viewpoint (for/against/neither) at top of message. This inbox is for written testimony only. DEADLINE: Written testimony should be submitted no later than 1:00PM April 15th. For faster processing, it is recommended that testimony is submitted as a PDF file. VERBAL TESTIMONY: *DEADLINE: Requests for verbal testimony must be submitted via the link, by 4:00 PM on Wednesday, April 14, 2021. For verbal testimony requests, CLICK HERE PPP Loan Forgiveness Taxation On Thursday, April 15th at 5:00 p.m., the Senate Finance will take testimony on the Article 2 of H.6121. Like last week in the House Finance Committee, this is the Governor’s proposal to tax PPP loan forgiveness amounts over $150,000. As background, the federal government created the PPP loan program under the CARES Act in 2020. Normally, the IRS considers most types of loan forgiveness as taxable unearned income. However, the US Congress, US Senate and US President decided to change the rule as it applies to PPP loan forgiveness, thus making the loans non-taxable from a federal tax point of view. Rhode Island is a federal tax piggy-back state, so the same tax treatment will apply to Rhode Island unless the General Assembly and Governor tax action. Under Article 2, if your company received a loan of $150,000, there would be no tax owed. If your company received a loan of $160,000, $10,000 of the loan forgiveness would become taxable. Article 2 also contains a provision that gives the tax administrator the authority to exclude the amount of any PPP loan forgiveness from state taxation if the federal government allocates any funds to the state for general revenue replacement. The tax administrator would be required to provide written notice to the House and Senate that the loans are no longer taxable. The Senate Finance Committee will also hear testimony on S.815, An Act Relating to Taxation – Business Corporation Tax. This bill specifically exempts from taxation any loan forgiveness under the federal Paycheck 2 Protection Program. Written testimony can be submitted to the committee by emailing it to: jplume@rilegislature.gov *Written Testimony must be submitted prior to 2:00 PM on Thursday, April 15, 2021, in order for it to be provided to the members of the committee at the hearing and to be included in the meeting records. Members of the public can request to provide verbal testimony to the committee through the following link:VERBAL TESTIMONY *Requests to provide verbal testimony must be submitted by 4:00 PM on Wednesday, April 14, 2021. Parking Lot EV Charging Station Requirements S.173, An Act Relating to Motor and Motor Vehicles – Parking Facility and Privileges, will be heard in the Senate Housing & Municipal Government Committee, Thursday, April 15th at 3:00 p.m. All new parking lots, and existing parking lots that expand 50% or more, would be required to include designated parking spaces and the installation of level 2 EV charging stations or a dual charger to be shared by two parking spaces before completion of the project. Existing parking lots not undergoing an expansion would have to comply by December 31, 2022. The amount of designated parking spaces shall be the greater of: (1) One space or 1% of the total spaces for restaurants, retail businesses, recreational and cultural venues (2) One space or 1% of the total spaces for medical, industrial and municipal facilities; (3) One space or 3% of the total spaces for all commercial lodging facilities; and (4) One space or 5% of the total spaces for multi-household residential facilities. The owner of a parking lot that fails to comply is subject to a civil penalty of $10,000. Written testimony can be submitted to the committee by emailing it to: slegislation@rilegislature.gov *Written Testimony must be submitted prior to 2:00 PM on Thursday, April 15, 2021, in order for it to be provided to the members of the committee at the hearing and to be included in the meeting records. Members of the public can request to provide verbal testimony to the committee through the following link:VERBAL TESTIMONY *Requests to provide verbal testimony must be submitted by 4:00 PM on Wednesday, April 14, 2021. The following new bills have been filed: House Bill No. 6218 Fenton-Fung, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- EMPLOYMENT SECURITY -- BENEFITS -- RHODE ISLAND BACK TO WORK INCENTIVE PROGRAM (Provides 13 weeks of benefits to persons returning to work of $150 per week prorated plus additional compensation up to $1,950 prorated with benefits expiring on January 1, 2022.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/HouseText21/H6218.pdf House Bill No. 6219 Slater, O'Brien, Potter, Felix, Williams, Morales, Tanzi, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- RIGHT TO ORGANIZE (Allows labor organizations/unions to organize any employees who work for employers in an industry that is regulated by the medical marijuana act or cannabis-regulated industry.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/HouseText21/H6219.pdf Senate Bill No. 788 Lombardi, Lombardo, Raptakis, Archambault, Picard, Ciccone, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS (Prevents third-party delivery service from using the likeness, registered trademark, or any intellectual property belonging to the merchant to falsely suggest sponsorship or endorsement by, or affiliation with the merchant without the merchant’s consent.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0788.pdf Senate Bill No. 789 (Secretary of State) Archambault, Pearson, AN ACT RELATING TO CORPORATIONS, ASSOCIATIONS AND PARTNERSHIPS -- RHODE ISLAND BUSINESS CORPORATION ACT (Requires that annual reports of domestic and foreign business corporations, nonprofit corporations, and limited liability companies be filed with the secretary of state between February 1 and May 1 of each year.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0789.pdf Senate Bill No. 808 Lombardi, Ciccone, Raptakis, Lombardo, Archambault, Picard, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- EMPLOYMENT SECURITY -- BENEFITS -- RHODE ISLAND BACK TO WORK INCENTIVE PROGRAM (Provides 13 weeks of benefits to persons returning to work of $150 per week prorated plus additional compensation up to $1,950 prorated with benefits expiring on January 1, 2022.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0808.pdf Senate Bill No. 815 Cano, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- BUSINESS CORPORATION TAX (Exempts from taxation any loan forgiveness under the federal Paycheck Protection Program.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0815.pdf 2021 Act on Climate – Last Chance to Make Your Voice Heard in the Legislature
Last week the House Committee on Environment passed S.78 SubA while the Senate Committee on Environment and Agriculture passed the companion bill H.5445 SubA. Both of these bills are headed to the House and Senate floor for a final vote today, April 6th. These bills speed up the State's current greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and also give anyone the right to sue in Superior Court if the targets are not met – making the targets mandatory. Governor Dan McKee has expressed concern about granting legal standing so that anyone sue, suggesting instead that the legislature consider amending the bill to allow only the Attorney General to file suit. The Governor’s proposal provides some level of checks and balances on the process, and will help the state to avoid wasting precious revenue on numerous lawsuits. If these bills pass, all Rhode Island businesses and households will have to change their heating systems to geothermal heat pumps or electric heat pumps. Businesses and residents will be required to switch their vehicles to electric vehicles. The Brattle Group Consultant said, “Residential deep energy retrofit” could cost between $50,000 and $100,000 or more per housing unit. The average cost of an electric personal vehicle in 2019 was $35,000 according to Kelly Blue Book. Finally, 89% of Rhode Island’s electricity is generated through fossil fuel. H.5445 SubA and S.78 SubA require all electricity in Rhode Island to come from renewable sources – that’s what the experts say it will take to meet the targets in the legislation. ISO New England representatives said the studies should be complete by the end of the year. Today, we don’t know if it is technologically possible or, if it is possible, at what cost. To move forward now on any proposal to force electrification of homes, businesses, vehicles, or transit modes, and to allow anyone to sue to force these changes to happen, is ill conceived and robs the business community and residents of true transparency surrounding the choices being made. Massachusetts is considering the passage of a $10 billion bond to begin the process of meeting its mandatory emission reduction targets. How much will Rhode Island need to borrow to meet these goals; what will the cost of electricity be; can the state switch all homes and buildings and cars to electricity in 19 years? These answers must be known before we flip the switch. If you have not yet contacted your legislator, please consider doing so by using this link: https://p2a.co/GkdBE4G Governor’s Budget – Article 2- Relating to State Funds Budget Article 2 was heard in the House Finance Committee last week. In 2019, the General Assembly passed a law that requires monthly reporting if an agency’s quarterly report forecasts a deficit. The law also prohibits the controller from authorizing payments for new staff, contracts or purchases for any agency expected to overspend – unless that expense is related to immediate health or safety concerns. Article 2 limits the monthly reporting requirements to general revenue deficits, not restricted receipt accounts. The Article also allows the controller to spend more than the budget allocates, if the amount to be spent is less than the previous year’s expenditure or for one-time equipment or supply purchases. The controller would be permitted to allow overspending if the state is trying to comply with a corrective action plan, a court order or to respond to an emergency or to meet caseload estimates. Governor’s Budget – Article 8 Budget Article 8 requires the Public Utilities Commission to establish an emergency response requirement by May 15, 2022, and annually thereafter. The Article also requires electric and natural gas companies to establish standards for responding to widespread outages. Failure to adopt standards results in a $500 per day fine. This comes as a response to the gas outage emergency on Aquidneck Island in January of 2019. This Week at the State House PPP Loan Forgiveness Taxation On Wednesday, April 7th at the Rise (following session - approximately 4:30), the House Finance will take testimony on the Article 2 of H.6121. This is the Governor’s proposal to tax PPP loan forgiveness amounts over $150,000. As background, the federal government created the PPP loan program under the CARES Act in 2020. Normally, the IRS considers most types of loan forgiveness as taxable unearned income. However, the US Congress, US Senate and US President decided to change the rule as it applies to PPP loan forgiveness, thus making the loans non taxable from a federal tax point of view. Rhode Island is a federal tax piggy-back state, so the same tax treatment will apply to Rhode Island unless the General Assembly and Governor tax action. Under Article 2, if your company received a loan of $150,000, there would be no tax owed. If your company received a loan of $160,000, $10,000 of the loan forgiveness would become taxable. Article 2 also contains a provision that gives the tax administrator the authority to exclude the amount of any PPP loan forgiveness from state taxation if the federal government allocates any funds to the state for general revenue replacement. The tax administrator would be required to provide written notice to the House and Senate that the loans are no longer taxable. Written testimony may be submitted to: HouseFinance@rilegislature.gov Indicate your name, bill number H.6121, Article 2, and viewpoint (for/against/neither) at top of message. Written testimony must be submitted no later 1:00 p.m. Wednesday, April, 7th. Testimony received after deadline will be sent to committee members and posted to the website as soon as possible. For faster processing, it is recommended that testimony is submitted as a PDF file. VERBAL TESTIMONY Due to the extremely high volume of requests Requests for verbal testimony must be submitted via the link, by 4:00 PM on Tuesday, April 6, 2021. For verbal testimony requests, CLICK HERE The following new bills have been filed: House Bill No. 6188 Vella-Wilkinson, Cardillo, Casimiro, Bennett, AN ACT RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- RHODE ISLAND SALVAGE LAW (Provides that if an insurance company is unable to obtain a certificate of title for a vehicle, the insurance company or its agent may apply for and obtain, free and clear of all liens and claims of ownership, a salvage certificate of title.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/HouseText21/H6188.pdf Senate Bill No. 754 Murray, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION - SALES AND USE TAXES - LIABILITY AND COMPUTATION (Exempts from the sales and use tax that portion of a motor vehicle lease payment collected for tangible personal property tax, municipal property tax, excise, or any other similar tax.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0754.pdf Senate Bill No. 758 Miller, DiMario, Sosnowski, Pearson, Euer, AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS -- RENEWABLE ENERGY STANDARD (Sets forth new renewable energy standards.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0758.pdf Senate Bill No. 763 DiPalma, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- ESTATE AND TRANSFER TAXES--LIABILITY AND COMPUTATION (Increases the exemption for estate taxes to two million five hundred thousand dollars ($2,500,000) effective January 1, 2023. There would be a further increased estate tax exemption to five million dollars ($5,000,000) effective January 1, 2025.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0763.pdf Senate Bill No. 765 DiPalma, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- STATE TAX OFFICIALS (Changes the rate of interest for underpayments of tax to prime rate plus six percent (6%). Also limits the assessment of interest to four (4) calendar years prior to the date on which notice of the delinquent payment is sent.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0765.pdf Senate Bill No. 770 DiPalma, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES (Creates consumer legislation designed to limit in-application payments for software applications and purchases.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0770.pdf CALL TO ACTION – Time to Call/Email Your State Representative
Last week, the House Committee on Environment & Natural Resources voted to recommend passage of H.5445 SubA, the 2021 Act on Climate. (the change was not substantive) The bill is on the House floor for a vote Tuesday. Go to this link to send an email directly to your State Representative – please do it today! https://p2a.co/dzkbnYe These bills speed up the reduction of greenhouse gas emission targets currently in law, but they do much more. Under current law, Rhode Island set a goal of 10% reduction over 1990 levels by 2020, a 45% reduction over 1990 levels by 2035, and 80% over 1990 levels by 2050. The Climate Change Coordinating Council (EC4) is charged with developing plans to meet those targets. The state has met the 2020 target. H.5445 SubA changes the targets to 45% reduction over 1990 levels by 2030, 80% reduction over 1990 levels by 2040 and net zero emissions by 2050. The more challenging change is in the enforcement of the reduction targets. H.5445 SubA allows the EC4 to require agencies to promulgate rules necessary to reach the targets. There is no language in the bill to provide guidelines for what can or cannot be adopted as part of a rule. At this time, the only known technological path to meet the 2040 goal is to require every business and every residence to switch heating systems to a geothermal heat pump or to an electric heat pump for heating purposes, and to require all Rhode Islanders to switch to electric vehicles. In addition, all electricity generation in the state would have to switch to renewable fuel – wind, solar, etc. If the emission target is not reached, any person has the right to file a lawsuit and force government action regardless of the cost. 89% of the state’s electricity is currently generated by natural gas. The body responsible for ensuring reliability of New England’s electrical grid (ISO New England) will not complete its study on feasibility until the end of this year. Rhode Island also has the fourth highest electricity rates in the country. How does the state transition to 100% renewable electricity and at what cost? If, as H.5445 SubA would indirectly require, all businesses and residents must switch to electric heat and electric vehicles by 2030 or 2040, how will the additional electricity demand be met and at what cost? According to the State’s consultant, a “deep residential energy retrofit” would cost between $50,000 and $100,000 per unit. No cost analysis was provided for a commercial or industrial facility. Massachusetts has similar language in law to that proposed by H.5445 SubA. Last month legislation was introduced in Massachusetts to raise $10 billion to pay for necessary actions to try to meet the mandated greenhouse gas emission targets in their state law. Part of the $10 billion, includes $500 million generated from a carbon tax on electricity, transportation, heating and industry. The money would go to construct more renewable energy capacity, local aid for climate-related projects, clean energy workforce training and direct payments to lower-income households. Now is the time to call your State Representative! Ask them to vote against passage of H.5445 SubA. This Week at the State House New Mandate Proposed for Businesses With 500+ Employees On Wednesday at 5:00 p.m., the Senate Labor Committee will consider S.433, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Establishing the “Commuter Transportation Benefits Act”. This bill requires employers with 500+ employees to offer employees a pre-tax transportation fringe benefit program that provides commuter transit benefits consistent with section 132(f) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. State and municipal governments are exempt, as are employees covered by a collective bargaining agreement in effect on January 1, 2022. Those covered by a CBA are included after the agreement expires. If an employer fails to comply, a civil penalty of $100 to $250 will be assessed for the first violation, and the employer will be given 90 days to come into compliance. Each additional 30-day period of non-compliance will result in an additional $250 fine. If passed, the requirement would go into effect January 1, 2022. The bill can be viewed at: http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0433.pdf Written testimony can be submitted to the committee by emailing it to: slegislation@rilegislature.gov *Written Testimony must be submitted prior to 2:00 PM on Wednesday, March 24, 2021, in order for it to be provided to the members of the committee at the hearing and to be included in the meeting records. Members of the public can request to provide verbal testimony to the committee through the following link:VERBAL TESTIMONY *Requests to provide verbal testimony must be submitted by 4:00 PM on Tuesday, March 23, 2021. Employer Assessment Fee Hearing On Wednesday at 5:00 p.m., the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services Committee will take testimony on S.386, An Act Relating to Health and Safety – Catastrophic Illness in Children Relief Fund. S.386 creates a new government program to assist families of children fighting an illness, the medical expenses of which are not covered by a state or federal program or health insurance program; and the expense exceeds 10% of the first $100,000 of annual income of the family plus 15% of the excess income over $100,000. The Catastrophic Illness in Children Relief Fund will be financed through an annual charge on employers of $1.50 per employee. The fee only applies to employers subject to the unemployment insurance tax. The bill can be viewed at: http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0386.pdf Written testimony can be submitted to the committee by emailing it to: slegislation@rilegislature.gov *Written Testimony must be submitted prior to 2:00 PM on Wednesday, March 24, 2021, in order for it to be provided to the members of the committee at the hearing and to be included in the meeting records. Members of the public can request to provide verbal testimony to the committee through the following link:VERBAL TESTIMONY *Requests to provide verbal testimony must be submitted by 4:00 PM on Tuesday, March 23, 2021. Governor McKee’s Supplemental Budget – PPP Loan Forgiveness Taxation H.6121 is the Governor’s Supplemental Budget for the current fiscal year. Article 2 of the FY2021 Supplemental Budget includes a provision that decouples the Rhode Island income tax from the federal income as it relates to the treatment of PPP Loan Forgiveness. In December of 2020, the federal government reversed its treatment of PPP Loan Forgiveness so that it is considered nontaxable for federal tax purposes. Because Rhode Island is a “piggy-back” state, this tax treatment flows to the state tax treatment as well. It has been reported that Rhode Island would lose $133 million in tax revenue if the status quo remains. H.6121 proposes to decouple so that PPP Loan Forgiveness amounts over $150,000 would be taxable in the state of Rhode Island. Early reports indicate the State would recapture about half of the $133 million by making this change – that calculation could change as time moves forward. The language of the Article also appears to give the Tax Administrator specific authority to forgo taxing PPP Loan forgiveness over $150,000 if the State receives federal funds earmarked for state revenue replacement. Governor McKee’s FY2022 Budget – What’s In It? Article 6 – Relating to Fees Article 6 proposes to change the following fees:
Article 6 also gives the Coastal Resource Management Council (CRMC) the authority to increase administrative penalties assessed. Existing law allows for a penalty up to $2500 for each violation and additional penalties up to $500 per day up to a maximum of $10,000. This Article increases the penalties to $10,000 for each violation and an additional penalty of up to $1000 per day up to $50,000. Article 9 – Economic Development The first five pages of Article 9 relates to education requirements and listing of Engineers in Rhode Island. The language can be found at: http://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText21/HouseText21/Article-009.pdf Rebuild RI Tax Credit – the budget provides an additional $30 million to the program going from $210 million to $240 million The following programs were scheduled to sunset this year, but are extended in the budget for another 18 months:
Article 9 proposes some changes to the Small Business Development Loan Fund. This program was created in 2019 for companies that have less than 250 employees and not more than $15 million in net income. When a small business investor makes a capital investment in the fund, that person or entity is eligible for a tax credit. These credits can be assigned, transferred, or sold on the open market. The budget makes clear that only the owner or holder of the credit can transfer, assign or sell the credits. The Article also gives the state the ability to recapture tax credits by requiring the original applicant to pay back the state if the applicant fails to complete the program. This avoids loss to the state as it is difficult to recover loss from a transferee, assignee or purchaser who did so in an arms-length transaction. The loan program itself will also change. Under the proposal, Commerce RI would issue the first public solicitation for applicants by November 1, 2021. The application fee of $5,000 would change to a fee set by regulation. After the close of the public solicitation period, Commerce RI would make determinations and those determinations are final. The Article eliminates and applicant’s ability to appeal and submit further information if their application is incomplete. The following new bills have been filed: House Bill No. 6142 (Attorney General) Lima, Phillips, Carson, Caldwell, Serpa, Fellela, Fenton-Fung, Casey, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES (Penalty of $10,000 for violating Deceptive Trade Practices Act.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/HouseText21/H6142.pdf Senate Bill No. 629 Ruggerio, Euer, Goodwin, McCaffrey, Pearson, Miller, Gallo, DiPalma, AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CARRIERS-RENEWABLE ENERGY (Increases the percentage of retail electricity sales from renewable energy sources.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0629.pdf Senate Bill No. 630 Morgan, de la Cruz, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW - GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS-CONSUMER PROTECTION FROM MANDATED INDEMNIFIED (LIABILITY-FREE) PRODUCTS (Prohibits mandating indemnified products to consumers in certain circumstances.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0630.pdf Senate Resolution No. 639 Mack, SENATE RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE CONVERSION OF RHODE ISLAND'S ECONOMY FROM MILITARISM TO CLIMATE RESILIENCY http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0639.pdf Senate Bill No. 640 Kallman, Cano, Quezada, Valverde, DiMario, Euer, Coyne, Seveney, Lombardo, AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC FINANCE -- RHODE ISLAND SECURE CHOICE RETIREMENT SAVINGS PROGRAM ACT (Establishes the Rhode Island secure choice retirement savings program. Establishes a board which is a public corporation. Allows for creation of IRA-type retirement investments managed by the board.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0640.pdf Senate Bill No. 654 DiMario, Valverde, Kallman, Raptakis, Murray, Pearson, Quezada, Mendes, AN ACT RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- SMALL BUSINESSES -- ZONING ORDINANCES http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0654.pdf Senate Bill No. 668 Mack, AN ACT RELATING TO PROPERTY – RESIDENTIAL RENT AND MORTGAGE CANCELLATION ACT OF 2021 http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0668.pdf Senate Bill No. 673 Lombardi, Coyne, AN ACT RELATING TO CORPORATIONS, ASSOCIATIONS AND PARTNERSHIPS -- PARTNERSHIPS--RHODE ISLAND PARTNERSHIP ACT (Enacts the Uniform Partnership Act of 1997, last amended in 2013, to govern the law of partnerships in this state and would repeal chapter 12 of title 7 entitled "Partnerships".) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0673.pdf Senate Bill No. 674 Lombardi, Coyne, AN ACT RELATING TO CORPORATIONS, ASSOCIATIONS, AND PARTNERSHIPS -- THE RHODE ISLAND LIMITED PARTNERSHIP ACT (Enacts the Rhode Island Limited Partnership Act to govern the law of limited partnerships in this state and repeal chapter 12 of title 7 entitled "Limited Partnerships". Effective January 1, 2022.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0674.pdf Senate Bill No. 688 Lawson, Lombardo, Seveney, Quezada, Miller, Sosnowski, Cano, Pearson, Euer, Burke, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- TEMPORARY DISABILITY INSURANCE -- BENEFITS (Increases temporary caregiver benefits to six (6) weeks in a benefit year starting January 1, 2022 and would increase temporary caregiver benefits to eight (8) weeks in a benefit year beginning January 1, 2023.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0688.pdf Senate Bill No. 689 Mack, Calkin, Mendes, Euer, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- WAGES (Increases minimum wage on October 1, 2021, to $13, gradually increases future wages to $16 in 2023.) http://webserver.rilin.state.ri.us/BillText/BillText21/SenateText21/S0689.pdf CALL TO ACTION – Time to Call/Email Your Legislators
On Tuesday at 4:00 pm, the Senate is scheduled to vote on S.78 SubA on the floor of the Senate. The House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources is set to vote on the companion bill – H.5445 – Thursday at 7:00 p.m. Go to this link to send an email directly to your State Senator and Representative – please do it today! https://p2a.co/dzkbnYe These bills speed up the reduction of greenhouse gas emission targets currently in law, but they do much more. Under current law, Rhode Island set a goal of 10% reduction over 1990 levels by 2020, a 45% reduction over 1990 levels by 2035, and 80% over 1990 levels by 2050. The Climate Change Coordinating Council (EC4) is charged with developing plans to meet those targets. The state has met the 2020 target. S.78 SubA and H.5445 change the targets to 45% reduction over 1990 levels by 2030, 80% reduction over 1990 levels by 2040 and net zero emissions by 2050. The more challenging change is in the enforcement of the reduction targets. S.78 SubA and H.5445 allow the EC4 to require agencies to promulgate rules necessary to reach the targets. There is no language in the bills to provide guidelines for what can or cannot be adopted as part of a rule. At this time, the only known technological path to meet the 2040 goal is to require every business and every residence to switch heating systems to a geothermal heat pump or an electric heat pump for heating purposes, and to require all Rhode Islanders to switch to electric vehicles. In addition, all electricity generation in the state would have to switch to renewable fuel – wind, solar, etc. If the emission target is not reached, any person has the right to file a lawsuit and force government action regardless of the cost. The Chamber sent sixteen questions to RI DEM concerning what a transition might look like from fossil fuel use to renewable energy. For example, 89% of the state’s electricity is currently generated by natural gas. The body responsible for ensuring reliability of New England’s electrical grid will not complete its study on feasibility until the end of this year. Rhode Island also has the fourth highest electricity rates in the country. How does the state transition to 100% renewable electricity and at what cost? If (as S.78 and H.5445 would indirectly require) all businesses and residents must switch to electric heat and electric vehicles by 2030 or 2040, how will the additional electricity demand be met and at what cost? According to the State’s consultant, a “deep residential energy retrofit” would cost between $50,000 and $100,000 per unit. No cost analysis was provided for a commercial or industrial facility. Massachusetts has similar language in law to that proposed by S.78 SubA and H.5445. Last month legislation was introduced in Massachusetts to raise $10 billion to pay for necessary actions to try to meet the mandated greenhouse gas emission targets in their state law. Part of the $10 billion, includes $500 million generated from a carbon tax on electricity, transportation, heating and industry. The money would go to construct more renewable energy capacity, local aid for climate-related projects, clean energy workforce training and direct payments to lower-income households. Now is the time to call your State Senator and State Representative! Ask them to vote against passage of S.78 SubA and H.5445 or H.5445 SubA (the House Environment Committee is expected to amend H.5445 to mirror S.78 SubA which is basically a technical amendment). This Week at the State House House Labor Wednesday – Calling all HR Managers At 6:30pm on Wednesday, the House Labor Committee will hear testimony on five bills of interest. H.5261, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Fair Employment Practices, requires employers to adhere to equal pay for “comparable” work. Under current Rhode Island law, employers are prohibited from paying female employees less than their male counterparts if they are performing equal work on the same operations. Unequal salaries are permitted for seniority, training, skill, ability, shift times, and other issues unrelated to gender. These differentials would apply to males just as they would to females. H.5261 dramatically changes the work world by requiring employers to not only look at equal work but “comparable work.” H.5261 also extends this wage payment system to religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age (41+) and ancestral origin. Under this bill, if a wage differential exists, and the employer does not have a seniority or merit system written policy, the burden to prove that the differential is legal shifts to the employer. That burden can only be overcome by proving the following: 1. The reason for the differential is for some reason other than race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, age, or ancestral origin; 2. The reason is job-related to the position in question; AND 3. It is a “business necessity” which means essential to effective job performance; however, if the employee can demonstrate that an alternative exists to the pay differential and the employer refused to accept the alternative then the employer loses the case. If the employer fails to prove all three requirements to the Department of Labor and Training, the employee is entitled to unpaid wages – meaning whatever the other employee was getting paid – compensatory damages and liquidated damages up to three times the amount of unpaid wages and benefits deemed to be owed. H.5584, An Act Related to Labor and Labor Relations – Unlawful Employment Practices, bars employers from asking potential employees for salary history before an offer of employment has been negotiated. An employee can voluntarily provide the information. The bill states that time out of work due to pregnancy leave or family and medical leave cannot be considered when determining seniority. Lastly, it gives employers an affirmative defense to an employee’s complaint, if that employer conducted a self-evaluation of pay practices within the previous three years and can demonstrate reasonable progress in eliminating wage differentials. H.5718, and H.5853 Acts Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Fair Employment Practices, forbid an employer to require an employee, as a condition of employment, to execute a nondisclosure agreement or an agreement with a clause that requires alleged violations of civil rights remain confidential, or a non-disparagement agreement concerning alleged violations of civil rights or alleged unlawful conduct. Any contract provision in violation of this subsection shall be void as a violation of public policy. These bills are identical. H.5852, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Fair Employment Practices, prohibits an employer, from directly or indirectly committing any act declared to be an unlawful employment practice. Individual employees (including HR managers) or employers committing any act declared to be unlawful employment practice may be held personally liable for such conduct in addition to the employer. If you wish to submit written testimony on any of these bills, send it (in pdf form) to: HouseLabor@rilegislature.gov Indicate your name, bill number, (for/against/neither) at top of message. Due to high volume, clerks are not screening this inbox for verbal testimony requests. This inbox is for written testimony only. Written testimony must be submitted by 3:30 pm on Wednesday. If you wish to verbally testify on a bill, you must fill out a form by 4:00pm on Tuesday, March 16th. For verbal testimony requests, CLICK HERE Governor McKee Release FY2022 Budget UTD will be featuring summaries of the budget articles contained in Governor McKee’s $11.1 billion budget released last Thursday. As with everything else in these COVID-19 related times, the Governor’s budget is different this year. The budget is much smaller and contains less programmatic initiatives. However, keep in mind that this budget was developed in a very short time frame, and was submitted prior to the federal government passing a stimulus package that provides assistance to state and local governments. That said, it does lay out a basis for the start of the budget discussion. There are no broad-based tax increases in the bill and it does continue the phase-out of the Rhode Island car tax. Of particular interest to the business community is a decoupling of the state income tax from the federal income tax in the treatment of PPP loans/grants. Congress voted to declare the loans/grants tax-free; Governor McKee’s budget seeks to declare PPP over $150,000 as taxable to the state. Estimates suggest the state could re-capture approximately $133 million in tax revenue by decoupling for this purpose. The link to H.6122 can be found below. The following new bills have been filed: House Bill No. 6064 (Secretary of State) Caldwell, AN ACT RELATING TO CORPORATIONS, ASSOCIATIONS, AND PARTNERSHIPS -- MERGER AND CONSOLIDATION (Amends the Rhode Island Nonprofit Corporation Act regarding consolidation and merger.) H6064.pdf (state.ri.us) House Bill No. 6073 Henries, Lombardi, Alzate, Morales, AN ACT RELATING TO PROPERTY – RESIDENTIAL RENT AND MORTGAGE CANCELLATION ACT OF 2021 (Forgives rent for tenants and mortgage payments for small homeowners from the date of a declared health emergency by the governor until the expiration of ninety (90) days after the governor declares that the state of emergency has ended.) H6073.pdf (state.ri.us) House Bill No. 6085 Morgan, AN ACT RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE--PROCEDURE GENERALLY -- CAUSES OF ACTION (Grants immunity from civil liability and professional disciplinary action for any action or inaction arising out of a disaster or declared emergency, when acting in good faith.) H6085.pdf (state.ri.us) House Bill No. 6090 Kazarian, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- TEMPORARY DISABILITY INSURANCE -- BENEFITS (Increases temporary caregiver benefits to six (6) weeks in a benefit year starting January 1, 2022 and would increase temporary caregiver benefits to eight (8) weeks in a benefit year beginning January 1, 2023.) H6090.pdf (state.ri.us) House Bill No. 6119 McEntee, Costantino, Caldwell, Cortvriend, Phillips, Carson, Cassar, Giraldo, Casimiro, Slater, AN ACT RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- SMALL BUSINESSES--ZONING ORDINANCES (Imposes one year moratorium on enforcement of municipal ordinance or zoning requirement that penalizes owners of food service establishments/bars for modifications/alternations to their premises in response to an emergency declaration.) H6119.pdf (state.ri.us) House Bill No. 6122 (Governor) Abney, AN ACT MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE SUPPORT OF THE STATE FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2022 H6122.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 549 Cano, McCaffrey, Goodwin, Euer, Kallman, Acosta, Seveney, Mack, AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC PROPERTY AND WORKS -- STATE PURCHASES (Provides an exception to competitive bidding for local, minority and woman-owned businesses. Provides a waiver of compliance to contractors for the inclusion of minority-owned businesses in all procurements and construction projects.) S0549.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 568 Miller, McCaffrey, Goodwin, Ruggerio, Coyne, Felag, DiPalma, Sosnowski, Pearson, Acosta, AN ACT RELATING TO FOOD AND DRUGS -- CANNABIS AUTHORIZATION, REGULATION AND TAXATION (Establishes Cannabis Control Commission to regulate all aspects of cannabis production and distribution.) S0568.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 580 Picard, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- PROPERTY SUBJECT TO TAXATION (Amends the classification of manufacturing machinery that is eligible for a property tax exemption by eliminating the requirement that the machinery be new.) S0580.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 583 DiPalma, Seveney, AN ACT RELATING TO STATUTES AND STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION -- PAYMENT OF STATUTORY FEES (Allows state departments and agencies to implement electronic filing of applications for licenses, permits, registrations, certificates and functions by allowing a vendor to withhold a commission for implementing the system for electronic filing.) S0583.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 605 Euer, Miller, Lawson, Acosta, Quezada, DiMario, Valverde, Bell, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS - THE FAIR CHANCE EMPLOYMENT ACT (Prohibits employers from conducting a background check until after a conditional employment offer is made, and prohibit considering convictions.) S0605.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 610 Calkin, Anderson, Acosta, Bell, Goldin, Mack, Mendes, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- MINIMUM WAGES (Requires employers with 50 or more employees to pay "hazard pay" to employees involved in providing essential services during a declared public health emergency.) S0610.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 611 Cano, DiMario, Quezada, Lombardi, Lawson, Goldin, Murray, Seveney, Miller, Euer, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- RHODE ISLAND PARENTAL AND FAMILY MEDICAL LEAVE ACT (Increases the amount of parental or family leave available to an employee from thirteen (13) weeks to twenty-six (26) weeks in any two (2) calendar years.) S0611.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 612 Goldin, Goodwin, Cano, Mendes, Mack, Murray, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- HEALTHY AND SAFE FAMILIES AND WORKPLACES ACT (Requires an employer to provide employees with additional paid sick leave time, in addition to paid sick and safe leave time, for COVID-19 purposes.) S0612.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 613 Ruggerio, McCaffrey, Goodwin, Ciccone, Lombardo, Lombardi, Pearson, Lawson, DiPalma, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- REAL JOBS RHODE ISLAND ACT (Establishes the real jobs Rhode Island program in order to create an industry led system to advance the skills of the state's workforce, grow the state's economy and increase sustainable employment for middle class working families.) S0613.pdf (state.ri.us)
Last Week at the State House Senate Labor Committee Passes Bullying Bill On a 7-1 vote, the members of the Senate Labor Committee voted to recommend passage of S.196, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Dignity At Work Act. Those voting in favor were: Senators Burke, Ciccone, Goldin, Lombardi, Lombardo, Picard and Sosnowski. Voting against the bill was Senator de la Cruz. The bill would allow employees to sue fellow workers and/or the employer for acts deemed as bullying. Such acts include: overbearing supervision, withholding information or training to harm an employee, pestering, gossiping, moving an employee’s personal items or equipment, physically or mentally causing an employee harm, et al. The chamber testified against the bill. The full Senate will vote on the bill during today’s session that starts at 4:00 p.m. ISO New England Provides Electricity Update ISO New England appeared before the Senate Committee on Environment and Agriculture last week to provide an update on the condition of New England’s electricity marketplace. New England is part of what is referred to as the “eastern connection,” meaning New England states south to Florida and west to the foot of the Rockies are all part of one system. The states are dependent upon one another. ISO New England is the independent, not-for-profit company authorized by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to perform three critical, complex, interconnected roles: 1. Operate the regional electrical grid; 2. Market energy within the region; and 3. Plan for future electricity needs. According to ISO, no net growth in electricity is occurring in the New England region. While there is growth in the marketplace, energy efficiency programs have driven down demand for electricity. About 7,000 MW of generating capacity are set retire. A coal plant in Bridgeport will be closing and two older fossil fuel plants are closing. Currently there are proposals for new plants, that if all were completed and operational, would add 24,420 MW of electricity to the grid. However, many times proposed plants do not see their way to completion. ISO is in the process of completing studies to determine what will be needed to meet the greenhouse gas reduction targets passed by Massachusetts and Rhode Island and Connecticut. The results of the studies are expected by the end of 2021. This Week at the State House Governor McKee’s Budget is expected to be delivered Thursday. The challenge is to close a projected deficit of about $329 million without knowing all the details of the latest 600+ page federal stimulus bill. The State’s 76th Governor has indicated, in public, that he is not inclined to include any tax increases in his budget unless absolutely necessary. The stimulus package may help make that possible. Governor McKee also named a number of key staff members: Anthony Silva, Chief of Staff Joy Vaudreuil, Director of Scheduling Antonio Afonso, Senior Deputy Chief of Staff Chris Abhulime, Deputy Chief of Staff Kim Ahern, Policy Director and Senior Counsel Tom Mullaney, Senior Advisor (on loan from the Office of Management and Budget) Chris Farrell, Senior Advisor to the Governor Kevin Horan, Director of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs Guerline Aurelus, Director of Constituent Services Cheyenne Cazeault, Policy Advisor Rosa DeCastillo, Director of Community Affairs and Outreach Craig Dwyer, Manager of Appointments Andrea Palagi, Director of Communications Joseph Polisena Jr. Deputy Counsel on Policy Claire Richards, Executive Counsel House Labor Has Full Agenda Wednesday Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. the House Labor Committee will take on a full agenda of wage, benefit and construction bills. H.5938, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Minimum Wage, increases the minimum wage to $13 starting July 1, 2021, to $14 July 1, 2022, to $15 July 1, 2023, and by CPI index starting July 1, 2024. H.6012, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Tipped Wages, increases the tipped wage to $6.95 on January 1, 2022; to $8.95 January 1, 2023, to $10.95 January 1, 2024, to $12.95 January 1, 2025, to $14.95 January 1, 2026, and to minimum wage January 1, 2026. Currently tipped employees are paid $3.89 per hour plus tips received. Employers are required to pay wages equal to the state’s minimum wage if the employee does not receive enough tips to equal minimum wage. H.5722, An Act Relating to Public Property and Works, requires construction companies, that wish to bid on a public school construction project of $5 million or more, to employ apprentices. Ten percent of the employees working on the project must be apprentices. While proponents point to the need to bring young people into the construction trades as a reason to pass the legislation, the 10% apprenticeship requirement essentially limits bidders to union companies. Union construction companies request necessary apprentices from a union hall. Non-union companies must have apprentices as full-time employees, making it much more difficult to comply with the requirement. H.6089, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Permanent Replacement Employees, prohibits employers from permanently replacing an employee who has participated in an authorized union strike against the employer or another employer. H.6090, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Temporary Disability Insurance, increases the temporary caregiver benefit from six weeks to 8 weeks starting January 1, 2023. Product Liability Bill - Wednesday H.5867, An Act Relating to Courts and Civil Procedure, is on the agenda of the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. The bill changes a manufacturer’s liability in the event the person who purchase the item alters it and then harms him/herself. Currently the alternation can be a complete bar to recovery. H.5867 would change the liability to comparative negligence, meaning a court or jury would decide how much of the damage caused was due to the alternation of the product and the award of damages to the claimant would be adjusted to reflect the percentage at fault. The following new bills have been filed: House Bill No. 5912 Lombardi, AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE -- COVID-19 PANDEMIC INSURANCE RECOVERY ACT (Allows businesses that had an insurance policy in place for business interruption as of March 9, 2019 to recover from their insurance companies for a COVID-19 business impact.) H5912.pdf (state.ri.us) House Bill No. 5938 Ranglin-Vassell, Ajello, Barros, Kislak, Fogarty, Cassar, Alzate, Henries, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS --MINIMUM WAGES (Provides increases to the minimum wage in 2021, 2022, and 2023 and implements a permanent formula to provide annual adjustments to the minimum wage thereafter.) H5938.pdf (state.ri.us) House Bill No. 5939 Ranglin-Vassell, Henries, Shekarchi, Bennett, Ajello, Fogarty, Cassar, Barros, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- WAGES (Increases the minimum wage by using an annual fixed amount until 1/1/25, where it reaches to $15 per hour, then raised annually thereafter by using the CPI-W. Also raises hourly minimum wage for employees receiving gratuities by using similar scale.) H5939.pdf (state.ri.us) House Bill No. 5959 Shanley, Marszalkowski, Craven, Ruggiero, Barros, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- RHODE ISLAND TRANSPARENCY AND PRIVACY PROTECTION ACT (Creates the "Rhode Island data Transparency and Privacy Protection Act" to identify information collected by online service providers and commercial websites.) H5959.pdf (state.ri.us) House Bill No. 5984 (Secretary of State) Shallcross Smith, AN ACT RELATING TO CORPORATIONS, ASSOCIATIONS AND PARTNERSHIPS -- RHODE ISLAND BUSINESS CORPORATION ACT (Requires that annual reports of domestic and foreign business corporations, nonprofit corporations, and limited liability companies be filed with the secretary of state between February 1 and May 1 of each year.) H5984.pdf (state.ri.us) House Bill No. 5985 Ackerman, Solomon, Knight, Craven, AN ACT RELATING TO INSURANCE -- RHODE ISLAND TITLE INSURERS ACT (Provides that only RI attorneys can act as title insurance agents and determine insurability and marketability. Limits discount title insurance premiums and restricts sharing premiums.) H5985.pdf (state.ri.us) House Bill No. 6012 Felix, Henries, Potter, Batista, Barros, Cassar, Morales, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- TIPPED MINIMUM WAGE (Gradually increases the tipped minimum wage from the current $3.89 to $14.95 commencing January 1, 2026 and on January 1, 2027 the tipped minimum wage shall be no less than the minimum wage established by the minimum wage law.) H6012.pdf (state.ri.us) House Bill No. 6055 Barros, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW -- GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES (Creates consumer legislation designed to limit in-application payments for software applications and purchases.) H6055.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 471 DiMario, Kallman, Euer, Valverde, Anderson, AN ACT RELATING TO FOOD AND DRUGS -- FORCE-FED POULTRY PRODUCTS (Prohibits a retail food or a food service establishment from the sale of any force-fed poultry product or food containing a force-fed poultry product and would impose a civil penalty of $500 for each violation.) S0471.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 515 Lawson, Quezada, Murray, Euer, Cano, Lombardi, Kallman, Acosta, Ciccone, Goodwin, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- IMPLANTATION DEVICES AS CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT (Prohibits an employer from subjecting its employees or prospective employees to the implantation of an implantation device. It creates criminal penalties as well as civil damages, that may be assessed against violating employers.) S0515.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 545 Euer, Ciccone, Kallman, Valverde, DiMario, Lawson, Cano, Murray, Sosnowski, Goodwin, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- TIPPED MINIMUM WAGE (Gradually increases the tipped minimum wage from the current three dollars and eighty-nine cents ($3.89) to sixteen dollars and ninety-five cents ($16.95) over the course of five (5) years, between 2022 and 2027.) S0545.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 546 Mack, Acosta, Calkin, Anderson, Bell, Miller, Murray, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- PERMANENT REPLACEMENT EMPLOYEES (Prohibits an employer from permanently replacing an employee who has participated or honored a union authorized strike.) S0546.pdf (state.ri.us) Last Week at the State House
Senate Labor Passes Comparable Pay Bill Last week, the Senate Labor Committee voted 6-1 to recommend passage of S.270, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Fair Employment Practices. Voting in favor of passage were: Senators Burke, Ciccone, Goldin, Lombardi, Lombardo and Sosnowski. Senator de la Cruz voted against passage. The bill goes to the full Senate for a vote on Tuesday, March 2nd. S.270 dramatically changes the work world by requiring employers to pay employees equally for “comparable” work, defined as “work that requires comparable skill, effort, and responsibility, and is performed under similar working conditions.” This change creates tremendous uncertainty in the workplace and opens the door to endless litigation. S.270 also extends this wage payment system beyond gender to religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age (41 and older) and ancestral origin. Under the bill, employers can pay differing rates based on seniority or a merit system if the policy is in writing. If the employer does not have a written policy and a wage differential exists, the employer is still ok if it can prove: 1. The reason for the differential is for some reason other than race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, age, or ancestral origin; 2. The reason is job-related to the position in question; AND 3. It is a “business necessity” which means essential to effective job performance. If the employer can prove all three, the employee then has the opportunity to demonstrate that an alternative to the pay differential existed and the employer refused to accept the alternative. If that happens, the employee wins the case. An aggrieved employee is entitled to unpaid wages – the difference between what the employee is getting paid verses the other employee – compensatory damages and liquidated damages up to three times the amount of the unpaid wage and benefits deemed to be owed. The Chamber testified against the bill and offered to work with the committee to re-work the legislation. However, the committee did pass the bill. If this bill is of concern to your business, please contact your State Senator today. The House has an identical bill – H.5261. Contact your State Representative about both bills. This Week at the State House COVID Workplace Presumption/Hazard Pay/Parental and Family Leave/ Removal of Women MBE The chamber submitted testimony opposing the passage of H.5474, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Workers’ Compensation – Occupational Diseases. The hearing will be held Monday, March 1st at 6:00 pm in the House Labor Committee. H.5474 creates a presumption that the contraction of COVID-19 is work related for employees in essential jobs. Currently, the Worker’s Compensation Act provides benefits for those where causation to work is established. H.5474 would give the presumption to public safety officials, including, but not limited to, police, fire, EMS, medical facility workers, correctional officers, dispatchers, paramedics, pharmacists, pharmaceutical technicians, grocery or retail workers, essential state and municipal employees, public transportation employees, parcel and freight delivery employees, and truck drivers and utility workers. This change would result in increased premiums to Rhode Island businesses. Under current law, employees who cannot provide a direct causation, have benefits available to them through unemployment insurance, pandemic federal benefits, TDI and TCI. This change unfairly places the financial burdens associated with COVID-19 on the business community. H.5721, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Minimum Wages, requires employers employing fifty (50) or more employees to pay "hazard pay" to employees involved in providing essential services during a declared public health emergency. The hazard pay would be at a rate of one and one-third (1⅓) times the regular rate of pay. Additionally, employers would be prohibited from taking adverse employment action against an employee who refuses to work during a public health emergency. “Essential services” include the following businesses: (1) Agricultural equipment and supply; (2) Auto repair and supply; (3) Banks and credit unions; (4) Child care; (5) Construction; (6) Electronics and telecommunications; (7) Firearms; (8) Food and beverage stores, supermarkets and distributors, liquor stores, specialty food stores, bodegas and convenience stores, farmers' markets, food banks and pantries; (9) Funeral homes; (10) Gas stations; (11) Harm reduction organizations, recovery and treatment organizations, and organizations conducting in-person outreach with vulnerable populations such as those who use drugs, unhoused individuals and people recently released from incarceration; (12) Health care; (13) Industrial, construction equipment and supply, hardware stores, general power equipment; (14) Laundromats; (15) Pet supply; (16) Pharmacies, medical supply stores and compassion centers; (17) Printing shops, mail and delivery stores and operations and office supply businesses; (18) Professional uniform suppliers and stores; (19) Restaurants; (20) Seafood equipment and supply; (21) Security and public safety; and (22) Any commercial business, operation or entity designated as providing essential services by the director of the department of labor. H.5720, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Rhode Island Parental and Family Medical Leave Act, doubles the time an employee can take off for parental or family leave, from 13 weeks to 26 weeks over a two-year period. The granted leave time may still be unpaid; and if an employer currently pays for 13 weeks of leave, that employer is not required to provide payment for the addition 13 weeks. The employer is required to hold the job for the employee or to reinstate that employee to a similar position upon returning to the company. If passed, H.5720 would take effect upon passage. H.5717, An Act Relating to Public Property and Works – Minority Business Enterprise, removes “women” from the MBE program; and requires state procurement and construction projects to hire MBE qualified businesses for 25% of the value of an entire project. Last week the House Labor Committee heard testimony on a bill that would remove Portuguese as a minority under the MBE program. If both bills were to pass (the bill removing Portuguese seemed to have a favorable hearing) 25% of contracts would go to the remaining groups: Black, Hispanic, Asian American, American Indian or Alaskan Native, and any other groups defined as a minority under the Federal Small Business Act. Submit written testimony to: HouseLabor@rilegislature.gov Indicate your name, bill number, and viewpoint (for/against/neither) at top of message. Due to high volume, clerks are not screening this inbox for verbal testimony requests. This inbox is for written testimony only. DEADLINE: In order for materials to be shared with members and posted to the General Assembly website in a timely manner, written testimony must be submitted no later than 3:00 pm on Monday, March 1st. All testimony received after deadline will be sent to committee members and posted to the website -- as soon as possible. For faster processing, it is recommended that testimony is submitted as a PDF file Senate Labor to Take Up Workplace Bullying Bill The Senate Labor Committee will take testimony on S.196 An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Dignity at Work Act, on Wednesday, March 3rd at 3:30 pm. This bill passed the Senate during previous sessions and died in the House. This year, it is hard to predict the fate of the legislation. S.196 creates a general duty of employers to provide a workplace free from bullying and moral, psychological or general harassment and to provide a workplace that protects each employee's personal integrity, dignity and human rights. The idea of personal dignity appears to have come out of Universal Declaration of Human Rights in December of 1948, following World War II. The Declaration included human dignity at the same time it addressed slavery, torture, arbitrary arrest and recognition as a person. Examples of workplace bullying outlined in S.196 include: (A) Persistent or egregious use of abusive, insulting, or offensive language; (B) Unwarranted physical contact or threatening gestures; (C) Interfering with a person's personal property or work equipment; (D) The use of humiliation, personal criticism, ridicule, and demeaning comments (E) Overbearing or intimidating levels of supervision; (F) Withholding information, supervision, training or resources to prevent someone from doing their job; (G) Changing work arrangements, such as rosters, offices, assignments, leave, and schedules to deliberately inconvenience someone; (H) Isolating, or marginalizing a person from normal work activities; (I) Inconsistently following or enforcing rules, to the detriment of an employee; (J) Unjustifiably excluding colleagues from meetings or communications; (K) Intruding on a person's privacy by pestering, spying or stalking; and (L) Spreading misinformation or malicious rumors. The legislation states, that while the offender’s intent is relevant to the remedy provided, it is not an element to support a claim of workplace bullying. For harassment to be legally actionable, a victim must demonstrate the harassment “disturbed their emotional tranquility in the workplace” or the harassment affected their ability to perform their job as usual, or up to standard, or the harassment “interfered with and undermined their personal sense of well-being.” A single incident is enough to have a triable case. If deemed to be a legitimate claim, the employer is vicariously liable for the action. Some of the remedies include: lost wages (both back pay and front pay), any expenses related to treatment related to the bullying, compensable damages to compensate for the pain and suffering, emotional and psychological damages resulting from such workplace bullying, punitive damages as deemed necessary to deter future acts of workplace bullying, and injunctive relief. An employer can reduce its damages if it can prove three things: (1) The employer took reasonable steps to prevent and correct workplace harassment; (2) The employee unreasonably failed to use the preventive and corrective measures that the employer provided or otherwise avoid or mitigate harm; and (3) Reasonable use of the employer's procedures would have prevented at least some of the harm that the employee suffered. If the employer establishes that the employee, by taking reasonable steps to utilize internal complaint procedures, could have caused the harassing conduct to cease, the employer will only remain liable for any compensable harm that was unavoidable. The bill has a three-year statute of limitations and would take effect upon passage. Written testimony can be submitted to the committee by emailing it to: slegislation@rilegislature.gov *Written Testimony must be submitted prior to 2:00 PM on Wednesday, March 3, 2021, in order for it to be provided to the members of the committee at the hearing and to be included in the meeting records. Members of the public can request to provide verbal testimony to the committee through the following link:VERBAL TESTIMONY *Requests to provide verbal testimony must be submitted by 4:00 PM on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. The following new bills have been filed: House Bill No. 5603 Cardillo, Fellela, Costantino, Batista, Perez, AN ACT RELATING TO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES - RETAIL LICENSES (Allows holders of a Class P license to purchase alcoholic beverages from either a retail or wholesale establishment in the state of Rhode Island.) H5603.pdf (state.ri.us) House Bill No. 5619 Noret, Casimiro, Vella-Wilkinson, Alzate, Solomon, Craven, Amore, Casey, Lima, Lombardi, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN (Requires children who seek a special limited work permit to successfully complete a training program which shall address workers' rights, workplace health and safety, and workers' compensation, to be established and funded by the DLT.) H5619.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Resolution No. 230 Mendes, Acosta, Calkin, Mack, Bell, Kallman, Cano, Anderson, Quezada, Valverde, SENATE RESOLUTION CREATING A SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION TO STUDY AND ASSESS THE IMPLEMENTATION OF MEDICARE-FOR-ALL SINGLE PAYER PROGRAM IN RHODE ISLAND S0230.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 233 Bell, Calkin, Mack, Anderson, Goldin, Quezada, Lawson, Mendes, Acosta, DiMario, AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM (Establishes a universal, comprehensive, affordable single-payer health care insurance program which shall be referred to as, "the Rhode Island Comprehensive Health Insurance Program" (RICHIP)) S0233.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 262 Lombardo, Lombardi, Archambault, DiPalma, Bell, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW--GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES (Amends the deceptive trade practices chapter to clarify the law's exemptions and enhances the attorney general's authority to seek civil penalties for violations of the law.) S0262.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 264 Coyne, Sosnowski, Valverde, Burke, Seveney, Euer, AN ACT RELATING TO FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS -- THE ELDER ADULT FINANCIAL EXPLOITATION PREVENTION ACT (Requires employees of regulated financial institutions to report suspected financial exploitation of elder adults to the office of healthy aging and provide authority to the regulated financial institution to place a temporary hold on transactions.) S0264.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 270 Goldin, Ruggerio, Gallo, Coyne, Goodwin, Valverde, Mendes, DiMario, Mack, Miller, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- FAIR EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES (Comprehensively addresses wage discrimination, based on sex by expanding employee protections and the scope of the remedies available to employees who have experienced wage discrimination.) S0270.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 272 Goldin, Goodwin, Murray, Coyne, Valverde, Mendes, DiMario, Mack, Miller, Quezada, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- FAIR EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES ACT (Changes the definition of employee and employer for purposes of the fair employment practices act, while expanding personal liability for violations.) S0272.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 279 Quezada, Picard, Calkin, Cano, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW--GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- FILING OF ASSUMED NAME (Requires a person or persons who transact business under a trade name to register with a municipality, provides more extensive information when filing and to notify the municipality when the trade name is changed or discontinued.) S0279.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 294 Ciccone, McCaffrey, Ruggerio, Goodwin, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- TAX AMNESTY (Creates a ninety (90) day tax amnesty program in the state fiscal year 2021-2022) S0294.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 321 Euer, Cano, Murray, DiMario, Valverde, AN ACT RELATING TO WATERS AND NAVIGATION -- STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- HEALTH AND SAFETY (Updates and modernize the Department of Environmental Management’s ability to enforce environmental laws, and more specifically modifies practices regarding a Notice of Violation.) S0321.pdf (state.ri.us) This Week at the State House
Lt. Governor McKee to Speak The House Committee on Small Business will hear from Lieutenant Governor Dan McKee on the current challenges of small businesses in Rhode Island. The meeting will be televised on Capitol Television, which can be seen on Cox Channels 15, and 61, in high definition on Cox Channel 1061, on Full Channel on Channel 15 and on Channel 34 by Verizon subscribers. It will also be live streamed at http://rilegislature.gov/CapTV/Pages/default.aspx. House Labor Hears Minimum Wage and Premium Pay Bills – Alert On Wednesday, February 24th at 6:00 p.m. the House Labor Committee will take written and verbal testimony on H.5130, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Minimum Wages. This bill is identical to the original version of S.1. It proposes to increase the minimum wage to $12.25 on October 1, 2021, $13.00 on October 1, 2022, $14.00 on October 1, 2023 and $15.00 on October 1, 2024. The Chamber strongly encourages you to contact your State Representative and to submit testimony Wednesday if this bill affects your business. H.5403, An Act Relating to Holidays and Days of Special Observance – work on Holidays and Sundays, will also be heard in committee. Current law allows the Director of Labor and Training to exempt business from premium pay rules upon application. H.5403 places new criteria to qualify for the exemption: 1) paying 200% of the state minimum wage, 2) no use of temporary employment agencies to staff the business 3) provides employer-funded health care benefits, 4) provides employer-funded retirement options to employees, 5) has no federal labor law violations within the last 10 years, 6) has no environmental violations within the last 10 years, and 7) has no settlements of alleged violations of federal or environmental laws in the last 10 years. Rhode Island’s current premium pay requirement makes the state and outlier in the country as all others – except Massachusetts - have eliminated the requirement. Massachusetts reduced premium pay to 1.3 times the wage in 2021, 1.2 times the wage in 2022, 1.1 times the wage in 2023 and elimination of premium pay in 2024. These reductions coincide with the steps Massachusetts is taking to increase the minimum wage to $15.00. Both verbal and written testimony are welcome. Individuals interested in providing verbal testimony, Click Here Requests for verbal testimony must be submitted via the link, by 11:00 AM Wednesday, February 24, 2021. Written testimony should be submitted to: HouseLabor@rilegislature.gov Indicate your name, bill number, and viewpoint (for/against/neither) at top of message. In order for materials to be distributed to members and posted to the General Assembly website prior to the hearing, written testimony must be submitted no later than 4:00 pm. All testimony received after deadline will be sent to committee members and posted to the website -- within 24 hours. It is recommended that testimony is submitted as a PDF file. Senate Labor to Hear Overtime, Wage Violation and Lead Entity Bills Under current state law, employees who work more than 40 hours a week must be paid one and a half times their regular hourly pay rate for each hour over the 40 hours worked. There is an exemption for those employed in executive, administrative or professional positions paid on a salary basis of $200 or more a week. S.138, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Overtime Wages, increases the base salary for the exemption to $1,036 a week ($53,872 annually); and beginning January 1, 2024 would increase it to a salary basis not less than the 40th percentile of weekly earning of full-time nonhourly workers in the Northeast Census Region in the second quarter of the year preceding the update as published by the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. A quick look at the US Bureau of Labor Statistics for the second quarter of 2017 (the latest figures available on the website) appears to place the Northeast second quarter 40th percentile wage at $1,096.00. Under S.138, a salaried employee making up to $53,872 a year would be entitled to overtime pay for hours works over 40 hours a week. S.139, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Payment of Wages, creates a definition for “lead entities” and for a “labor contractor;” and places civil liability on those entities for violation of labor laws. Under S.139, a “labor contractor” is an employer or person, regardless of form, that provides a “lead entity” “with employees, independent contractors, subcontractors or workers of any kind to perform labor or services.” A “lead entity” means an employer or person, regardless of form, “that obtains or is provided one or more worker(s) to perform labor or services related to the lead entity’s business activities, operations, or purposes from a labor contractor.” The legislation goes on to state that the lead entity and the labor contractor share all civil liability for workers supplied to the labor contractor for violations of labor laws. Another bill scheduled to be heard is S.195, An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations – Payment of Wages. This bill increases penalties for employers that fail to pay employees the proper amount, or who misclassify employees as independent contractors. If the nonpayment of wages is $1500 or less, the violation would remain a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $400 for each offense or imprisonment of up to a year, which is consistent with current law. If the nonpayment is $1500 or more, the violation would be a felony. The violation would also be a felony if the offense is a second or subsequent offense or if the employer is guilty of a knowing violation. The penalties, under S.195, raise to: 1. Wage violation between $1500 and $5000, or a first of offense of a knowing violation – imprisonment of up to 3 years, and a fine of twice the value of the wages or $10,000 whichever is greater, or both 2. Wage violation greater than $5000 of a second or subsequent offense of a knowing violation – imprisonment up to 5 years and a fine of up to three times the value of the wages or $20,000 whichever is greater, or both Written testimony and can be submitted to the committee by emailing it to: slegislation@rilegislature.gov Written Testimony must be submitted prior to 2:00 PM on Wednesday, February 24, 2021, in order for it to be provided to the members of the committee at the hearing and to be included in the meeting records. Members of the public can request to provide verbal testimony to the committee through the following link: VERBAL TESTIMONY Requests to provide verbal testimony must be submitted by 4:00 PM on Tuesday, February 23, 2021. GHG Emission Reduction Mandates – Senate Committee Vote, House Hearing - Alert The Senate Committee on Environment and Agriculture is scheduled to vote Wednesday at 4:00 pm. On S.78, An Act Relating to State Affairs and Government – 2021 Act on Climate is on the agenda. S0078.pdf (state.ri.us) The House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources will take testimony on H.5445 on Friday, February 26th at 3:00 pm. H.5445 and S.78 are identical bills. These bills speed up the reduction of greenhouse gas emission targets currently in law, but they do much more. Under current law, Rhode Island set a goal of 10% reduction over 1990 levels by 2020, a 45% reduction over 1990 levels by 2035, and 80% over 1990 levels by 2050. The Climate Change Coordinating Council (EC4) is charged with developing plans to meet those targets. The state has met the 2020 target. S.78 and H.5445 change the targets to 45% reduction over 1990 levels by 2030, 80% reduction over 1990 levels by 2040 and net zero emissions by 2050. The more challenging change is in the enforcement of the reduction targets. S.78 and H.5445 allow the EC4 to require agencies to promulgate rules necessary to reach the targets. There is no language in the bills to provide guidelines for what can or cannot be adopted as part of a rule. DEM, for example, could be forced to require every business to install a geothermal heat pump for heating purposes, or to require all individuals to ride a bus to work instead of driving a vehicle. The bills also give any person the right to file a lawsuit to force an agency to take action. These provisions take away the legislative debate on environmental policy issues, and can essentially take away consideration of economic factors in agency rulemaking. If the emission target is not reached, the lawsuit can force government action regardless of the cost. The Chamber sent sixteen questions to RI DEM concerning what a transition might look like from fossil fuel use to renewable energy. For example, 89% of the state’s electricity is currently generated by natural gas. Rhode Island also has the fourth highest electricity rates in the country. How does the state transition to 100% renewable electricity and at what cost? If (as S.78 and H.5445 would indirectly require) all businesses and residents must switch to electric heat and electric vehicles by 2030 or 2040, how will the additional electricity demand be met and at what cost? According to the State’s consultant, a “deep residential energy retrofit” would cost between $50,000 and $100,000 per unit. No cost analysis was provided for a commercial or industrial facility. Massachusetts has similar language in law to that proposed by S.78 and H.5445. Last week legislation was introduced in Massachusetts to raise $10 billion to pay for necessary actions to try to meet the mandated greenhouse gas emission targets in their state law. Part of the $10 billion, includes $500 million generated from a carbon tax on electricity, transportation, heating and industry. The money would go to construct more renewable energy capacity, local aid for climate-related projects, clean energy workforce training and direct payments to lower-income households. The House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources meeting will be televised on Capitol Television, which can be seen on Cox Channels 15, and 61, in high definition on Cox Channel 1061, on Full Channel on Channel 15 and on Channel 34 by Verizon subscribers. It will also be live streamed at http://rilegislature.gov/CapTV/Pages/default.aspx. Individuals interested in providing verbal testimony, send your name, phone number, bill number and position on legislation to: HouseEnvironmentandNaturalResources@rilegislature.gov Requests for verbal testimony must be submitted via the link, by 11:00 AM on Thursday, February 25, 2021. Written testimony should be submitted to: HouseEnvironmentandNaturalResources@rilegislature.gov Indicate your name, bill number, and viewpoint (for/against/neither) at top of message. In order for materials to be distributed to members and posted to the General Assembly website prior to the hearing, written testimony must be submitted no later 1:00 pm Friday. The following new bills have been filed: House Bill No. 5603 Cardillo, Fellela, Costantino, Batista, Perez, AN ACT RELATING TO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES - RETAIL LICENSES (Allows holders of a Class P license to purchase alcoholic beverages from either a retail or wholesale establishment in the state of Rhode Island.) H5603.pdf (state.ri.us) House Bill No. 5619 Noret, Casimiro, Vella-Wilkinson, Alzate, Solomon, Craven, Amore, Casey, Lima, Lombardi, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN (Requires children who seek a special limited work permit to successfully complete a training program which shall address workers' rights, workplace health and safety, and workers' compensation, to be established and funded by the DLT.) H5619.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Resolution No. 230 Mendes, Acosta, Calkin, Mack, Bell, Kallman, Cano, Anderson, Quezada, Valverde, SENATE RESOLUTION CREATING A SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION TO STUDY AND ASSESS THE IMPLEMENTATION OF MEDICARE-FOR-ALL SINGLE PAYER PROGRAM IN RHODE ISLAND S0230.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 233 Bell, Calkin, Mack, Anderson, Goldin, Quezada, Lawson, Mendes, Acosta, DiMario, AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM (Establishes a universal, comprehensive, affordable single-payer health care insurance program which shall be referred to as, "the Rhode Island Comprehensive Health Insurance Program" (RICHIP)) S0233.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 262 Lombardo, Lombardi, Archambault, DiPalma, Bell, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW--GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICES (Amends the deceptive trade practices chapter to clarify the law's exemptions and enhances the attorney general's authority to seek civil penalties for violations of the law.) S0262.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 264 Coyne, Sosnowski, Valverde, Burke, Seveney, Euer, AN ACT RELATING TO FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS -- THE ELDER ADULT FINANCIAL EXPLOITATION PREVENTION ACT (Requires employees of regulated financial institutions to report suspected financial exploitation of elder adults to the office of healthy aging and provide authority to the regulated financial institution to place a temporary hold on transactions.) S0264.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 270 Goldin, Ruggerio, Gallo, Coyne, Goodwin, Valverde, Mendes, DiMario, Mack, Miller, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- FAIR EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES (Comprehensively addresses wage discrimination, based on sex by expanding employee protections and the scope of the remedies available to employees who have experienced wage discrimination.) S0270.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 272 Goldin, Goodwin, Murray, Coyne, Valverde, Mendes, DiMario, Mack, Miller, Quezada, AN ACT RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- FAIR EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES ACT (Changes the definition of employee and employer for purposes of the fair employment practices act, while expanding personal liability for violations.) S0272.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 279 Quezada, Picard, Calkin, Cano, AN ACT RELATING TO COMMERCIAL LAW--GENERAL REGULATORY PROVISIONS -- FILING OF ASSUMED NAME (Requires a person or persons who transact business under a trade name to register with a municipality, provides more extensive information when filing and to notify the municipality when the trade name is changed or discontinued.) S0279.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 294 Ciccone, McCaffrey, Ruggerio, Goodwin, AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- TAX AMNESTY (Creates a ninety (90) day tax amnesty program in the state fiscal year 2021-2022) S0294.pdf (state.ri.us) Senate Bill No. 321 Euer, Cano, Murray, DiMario, Valverde, AN ACT RELATING TO WATERS AND NAVIGATION -- STATE AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT -- HEALTH AND SAFETY (Updates and modernize the Department of Environmental Management’s ability to enforce environmental laws, and more specifically modifies practices regarding a Notice of Violation.) S0321.pdf (state.ri.us) |
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