Mandates health insurance coverage by eliminating out-of-pocket costs for lung cancer screenings in order to enable patients to get the critical care they need without delay.
Requires health insurance commissioner to conduct a review of health insurance benefit mandates, including an analysis of the impact on premium costs, conducted every 5 yrs and report findings and recommendations to governor, senate president and speaker.
Prohibits any city, town, quasi-municipal corporation or public corporation from assessing any existing agricultural operation or agricultural land for the extension of any water utilities past the property and from imposing any connection fee.
Mandates all health insurance contracts, plans, or policies provide the same reimbursement to independent healthcare facilities as that of hospital affiliated facilities where the same healthcare service is provided.
Establishes a five (5) year moratorium from July 1, 2026, until June 30, 2031, on the RE growth program charge, renewable energy distribution charge and the energy efficiency programs public policy charges on electricity bills.
Maddy summaryHB 7176 repeals Rhode Island's Renewable Energy Growth Program, which had provided state-financed incentives for renewable energy projects. The program, established to meet climate goals, supported distributed solar and other renewable projects through performance-based incentives over five years, with requirements to protect core forests and prioritize disturbed sites. By eliminating this program, the bill ends the state's specific mechanism for financing and encouraging renewable energy development within electric distribution company load zones. This directly affects electric distribution companies, the Distributed-Generation Board, and future renewable energy developers who would have relied on the program's funding structure.
Maddy summaryHB 7177 places a moratorium on new or renewed net metering contracts (which allow solar power customers to sell excess electricity back to the grid), long-term contracts (over five years) for purchasing solar or wind energy, and state subsidies for heat pump installations. This bill directly affects residential solar customers, utilities, and homeowners seeking heat pump incentives by prohibiting these programs starting January 1, 2027. Key provisions ban state-funded heat pump subsidies, prevent new solar/wind energy procurement contracts exceeding five years, and halt all new net metering agreements under state law. The law suspends these specific energy programs without altering broader renewable energy policies.
Maddy summaryHB 7174 repeals a 0.3 mills per kilowatt-hour charge on electricity that funded renewable energy programs in Rhode Island, ending this specific funding mechanism effective December 31, 2028. The bill directly affects electric distribution companies, which previously collected this fee to support renewable energy initiatives like solar installations and energy efficiency projects. This change removes a dedicated funding source for renewable energy programs without altering separate demand-side management charges for energy efficiency or gas utility programs. The repeal simplifies utility billing by eliminating this specific renewable energy funding stream.
Maddy summaryHB 7182 limits utility-scale solar projects (10 MW or larger) to developments on urban residential/commercial properties or developed areas like rooftops and parking lots. It prohibits such projects on forested land, farmland, or undeveloped rural land (1 acre or more). The bill directly affects solar developers and landowners seeking to build large solar installations outside urban zones. It takes effect upon passage and is currently pending in the House Corporations committee.
Maddy summaryThis constitutional amendment would grant governors the power to veto specific spending items within state budget and appropriation bills, rather than requiring them to approve or reject entire bills. If approved, it would allow governors to remove individual line items from budget proposals without blocking the entire funding package. The change directly affects the state budget process and the balance of power between the executive and legislative branches during budget negotiations.
