Rep. Marie Hopkins

Provides a totally and permanently disabled veteran with a one hundred percent (100%) exemption from local taxation on real or personal property including real property located in any fire or lighting district.

Permits municipalities to enter into contracts with the department of transportation for the municipality to perform minor and routine maintenance work on state highways, roadways, and shoulders located within the municipality.

Maddy summaryHB 7536 requires health insurance companies in this state to cover specific pharmacist services that would otherwise be covered if provided by physicians, nurse practitioners, or physician assistants. It mandates coverage for services like medication management, immunizations, patient evaluations, and lab test ordering without requiring physician supervision or referrals. Health plans must include pharmacists in their medical provider networks (not just pharmacy drug networks) and cover these services both within and outside their networks when local providers aren't available. The law takes effect January 1, 2027, and expires January 1, 2031, unless extended by the legislature.

Provides specific language for signs to be posted at certain establishments notifying people of contact information to the national human trafficking resource center.

Maddy summaryHB 7418 would establish medical and dental schools at the University of Rhode Island, authorizing the conferral of Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) and Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.) or Doctor of Dental Medicine (D.M.D.) degrees. The bill requires the schools to seek accreditation from medical (LCME) and dental (CODA) bodies and mandates clinical training partnerships with hospitals and health centers. It also allows the university to retain revenue from faculty practice plans to support educational, clinical, and research activities. The legislation directly affects Rhode Island residents by aiming to expand healthcare workforce capacity and improve access to care, particularly for underserved communities.

Maddy summaryHB 7426 allows nurse anesthetists with two or more years of supervised experience to practice independently without physician oversight for anesthesia care. It defines "non-supervised CRNAs" and grants them authority to administer anesthesia, manage patient care, and issue medication orders (with written guidelines for certain actions), while requiring hospitals to permit this independent practice. The bill also mandates the state health department to seek a Medicaid waiver by September 2026 to update reimbursement policies for CRNAs under Medicaid. The changes will take effect on January 1, 2027.

Maddy summaryHB 7646 creates a pre-trial medical malpractice tribunal to screen cases before they proceed to superior court, directly affecting patients suing healthcare providers for alleged negligence and the providers defending such claims. The tribunal, composed of a superior court judge, an attorney, and a healthcare provider (matching the defendant’s specialty), must review the plaintiff’s evidence within 15 days to determine if it raises a legitimate question of liability or is merely an unfortunate medical outcome. If the tribunal finds the case insufficient, the plaintiff must post a $6,000 bond (reducible for financial hardship) to continue, or face dismissal without prejudice. The bill applies to all medical malpractice cases filed on or after January 1, 2027, with the tribunal’s findings admissible as evidence at trial.

Increases the number of days a retired municipal employee could work in a calendar year without interruption of pension benefits to ninety (90) days or its equivalent of six hundred thirty (630) hours.

Maddy summaryHB 7699 eliminates Rhode Island's estate tax by repealing Chapter 44-22 of the General Laws, which previously imposed a progressive tax on inherited property. This affects heirs who would have paid taxes on estates valued above $25,000, removing a state-level tax on property transferred after a person's death. The bill removes all tax rates (ranging from 2% to 9% depending on estate size) and related deductions described in the repealed chapter. As a result, estates passing to heirs in Rhode Island will no longer be subject to this specific state tax.

Establishes an office of inspector general as an independent administrative agency, charged with preventing and detecting fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement in the expenditure of public funds.