Amends the constitution to guarantee Rhode Island residents with equal opportunity to receive an education that is adequate, equitable and meaningful and provides judicial enforcement of this provision.
Repeals 42-56-38.1 and requires the department of corrections to provide free communication services to inmates and juveniles held in residential placement or detention centers and requires that those facilities provide in-person contact visits.
Ensures that more developmentally disabled adults can self-direct the care they need and want, by incorporating collective bargaining rights into the self-directed supports program.
Provides for warming center and cooling center alerts to trigger certain procedures municipalities shall follow during extreme heat or cold to help at-risk individuals with resources including, but not limited to, warming and cooling centers.
Expands council on elementary and secondary education and board of education and makes teacher of year and student advisory chair voting members on each.
Enables the Rhode Island public transit authority (RIPTA) to work with the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA) to allow commuter rail passes to be used as dual passes for both RIPTA and MBTA.
Maddy summaryHB 5024 prohibits health insurers from requiring or conducting utilization reviews for prescriptions used to treat opioid or alcohol use disorders. Specifically, it bans reviews for prescriptions containing Methadone, Buprenorphine, or Naltrexone, or those approved by the FDA to mitigate opioid withdrawal symptoms. The bill directly affects individuals receiving medication-assisted treatment for addiction and insurers who would otherwise review these prescriptions. It ensures coverage for these treatments cannot be denied after prior approval, unless fraud or misrepresentation occurred. The law takes effect upon passage.
Requires the court to set reasonable bail for all those individuals who appear before it as probation violators and establish a presumption of personal recognizance unless the new alleged offense is a crime of violence as defined in the act.
Maddy summaryHB 5178 allows individuals with multiple non-violent felony convictions to request the removal of their criminal records after completing their sentences and waiting 10 years. It directly affects people who have served their sentences for two or more non-violent felonies, provided they have no new criminal convictions or outstanding court fees in the 10-year period and were not convicted of violent crimes. The bill amends existing law to permit expungement motions for multiple felony convictions after 10 years (previously limited to single offenses), with strict eligibility requirements including good moral character and no pending charges. This policy change aims to provide a clear pathway for record clearance while maintaining public safety safeguards.
Mandates state and electric distribution companies develop proposals and encourage off shore wind power development and give priority in those projects to providing employment and business opportunities to workers from disadvantaged communities.
