Maddy summaryThis bill requires every town and city in the state to switch to electronic permitting for all development applications related to zoning, land subdivision, and low-income housing by October 1, 2025. To fund the necessary digital systems and staff, the law mandates that applicants pay an additional fee equal to one-tenth of one percent of their total application cost, which goes to a state office to build a uniform online platform. The legislation also allows the state building commissioner to create specific rules for how these digital tools must be implemented and ensures that local governments can be reimbursed for their compliance costs. Ultimately, the act moves the entire process of submitting plans, reviewing documents, and calculating fees online to streamline how communities handle construction and development projects.
Sponsored bills
Requires towns and cities to publish a list of abandoned properties and makes various other amendments relative to the sale of abandoned property by a receiver.
Prohibits hospitals and other medical providers from reporting medical debt to consumer reporting agencies. A violation of this chapter may be pursued on behalf of the consumer by the attorney general.
Maddy summaryThis bill requires health insurers to cover and pay for specific infused prescription drugs that are administered by doctors or clinics, rather than refusing payment just because the drug was dispensed at the treatment site. The law defines these drugs as those that patients cannot safely give themselves and mandates that insurance reimbursement rates for these drugs match the rates paid to preferred pharmacies. Additionally, the bill directs the state health insurance commissioner to study how these payments are calculated after 2025 and report findings to the legislature by early 2026. By amending laws related to accident and sickness insurance, nonprofit hospitals, and medical service corporations, the measure ensures that patients receive necessary treatments without facing insurance denials based on where the drug is dispensed.
Extends injured-on-duty (IOD) benefits to police officers and firefighters that suffer from diagnosed post-traumatic stress disorders, except under certain conditions.
Updates the existing Toxic Packaging Act by delaying the ban on PFAS in food packaging until January 1, 2025, and in processing agents until July 1, 2027.
Allows the sharing of certain information between the division of taxation and the secretary of state's office regarding an entity's tax status as compliant or non-compliant.
Makes revisions to the number, timing, and procedures to be followed when schools grades K through 12 implement fire drills, evacuation drills, and crisis response drills, designed to protect the health and safety of students.
Maddy summaryThis bill updates the rules for Rhode Island's Higher Education Opportunity Incentive Grant, which provides financial aid to youth who have been in state foster care. The primary changes expand eligibility to include young people who entered care as young as 14 and extend the age limit for receiving funds until their 23rd birthday, provided they remain full-time students. To qualify, applicants must have spent at least six months in foster care after turning 14 and must graduate from high school or receive an equivalent diploma. The program covers tuition, fees, room, and board at the state's three public colleges and universities, with specific provisions also created for workforce development training.
Amends chapter 80 of the public laws of 1965 with respect to the composition of the regional district school building committee, apportionment of construction and operating costs and amendments to the agreement.