This pilot program would create a $3,000 trust for each Rhode Island child ages zero to one year born to a family enrolled in the Rhode Island Works Program (“RI Works”) during the preceding calendar year.
Requires the school board or committees of cities and towns to establish a safety and behavioral health committee and also lays out the representation requirements committee responsibilities to ensure a stable learning environment for all students.
Authorizes a pharmacy technician or pharmacy intern to perform technology-assisted dispensing process validation for medications prepared for distribution by another pharmacy technician or intern within an institutional pharmacy.
Increases the imprisonment penalty for animal fighting from 2 to 5 yrs for a subsequent conviction under § 4-1-9 and would also require mandatory community service
Adds "providing for residential development in all or some of the areas encompassing commercial districts" as a purpose a zoning ordinance must address.
Maddy summaryThis bill makes technical updates to how Rhode Island towns and cities manage local planning boards and commissions. It requires board members to complete floodplain and sea-level rise training every two years, limits annual amendments to comprehensive plans to four, and clarifies procedures for reviewing land development projects and filing public access requests. These changes directly affect municipal planning boards across the state by defining their duties for preparing community plans, handling zoning matters, and coordinating with other agencies. The bill streamlines processes for plan adoption, public input, and board operations without altering land use regulations or development standards.
Prohibits utility companies from limiting the eligibility of a net metering site based on prior consumption and requires excess energy not consumed under the net metering system to be credited to the consumer.
Allows for the enactment of the dietitian licensure compact permitting a licensed dietitian from another state to become licensed within the state, and also permitting a dietitian licensed by the state to become licensed in another compact state.
Maddy summaryHB 5695 allows municipalities to hold local tax amnesty events once every three years, enabling residents to avoid late fees on overdue real estate, property, and vehicle taxes. The bill permits cities to create two separate 60-day periods annually (during 2024-2025) where taxpayers can submit written requests to waive interest and penalties. It excludes taxes owed for the current tax year during amnesty periods and requires tax officials to provide written decisions, with appeals to city councils within 10 days if denied. This directly affects taxpayers with overdue local tax payments and gives municipalities a structured process to encourage payment without penalties.
Maddy summaryHB 5322 extends a temporary allowance for retired teachers in Rhode Island to substitute teach up to 180 days per school year (instead of the standard 90-day limit) through July 1, 2026. School districts must first prove they couldn't fill positions with non-retired teachers and report their total certified teaching positions to the state retirement board, while also limiting retired teacher hires to no more than 5% of their total certified positions. This change applies retroactively to June 20, 2025, and directly affects retired teachers seeking substitute roles and school districts facing staffing shortages. The bill does not provide additional retirement credits or require contributions from retired teachers for this work.
