Requires that student mentors in public schools be certified support educators, ensuring mentors have professional training, established student relationships, and access to skills and information needed to support student success.
Directs the department of elementary and secondary education to provide a two-year pilot program that coordinates a national cultural exchange program for students of this state.
Increases the role of the DMV in the voter registration and address verification process, by establishing very specific obligations and responsibilities that must be followed before offering an individual an application to register to vote.
Maddy summaryThis bill officially designates March 2026 as Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month in Rhode Island to promote public education about cancer prevention and early detection. The resolution is sponsored by the American Cancer Society and the American College of Gastroenterology to highlight the importance of regular screenings, which can significantly improve survival rates by identifying the disease when it is most treatable. The House of Representatives passed the measure to formally recognize the month and authorize the Secretary of State to send certified copies of the resolution to the sponsoring organizations.
Maddy summaryThis bill is a House resolution expressing condolences to the O'Loughlin family following the deaths of six-year-old Hudson and eighty-four-year-old Elisabeth O'Loughlin. It does not create new laws or change policy but serves as a formal statement of respect and mourning from the Rhode Island House of Representatives. The resolution also includes a commitment to improve street safety for children and public transportation access for seniors. Copies of the resolution will be sent to the family by the Secretary of State.
Expands the definition of operator to anyone who enables customers to purchase virtual currency. Expands the definition of a transaction to include a digital product or application where payment is made in person or through a third party intermediary.
Expands the benefit definitions to include a grandchild and care recipient and increases benefits period to 10 weeks for 2027 and 12 weeks for 2028 and provides a TDI/TCI opt-in option for self-employed workers.
Establishes the commuter transportation benefit chapter. Employers with five hundred (500) or more employees required to establish a pre-tax commuter transportation fringe benefit program.
Maddy summaryHB 7440 allows workers who are on strike or locked out during a labor dispute to receive unemployment benefits, which they were previously denied. It directly affects employees involved in strikes or employer lockouts, removing the prior bar to benefits unless specific exceptions apply. Key provisions state workers qualify if the lockout aims to resist collective bargaining or gain concessions, but not if it responds to a strike at another company in a multi-employer group or if the employer offered a 3-day extension of current terms that was refused. The bill takes effect upon passage and clarifies that benefits continue if unemployment lasts more than a week after the dispute ends.
Prohibit denial of an opportunity to apply for employment as a law enforcement officer or firefighter solely on the basis of a person's country of citizenship.
