Rep. June Speakman

Maddy summaryHB 7605 requires vehicle sellers to provide written notice to buyers before sale if a vehicle was used in a violent crime or exposed to biohazardous contamination (such as blood, bodily fluids, or infectious materials requiring professional cleanup). This applies to all sellers, including dealerships and private parties, and directly affects buyers who might otherwise unknowingly purchase such vehicles. The bill amends deceptive trade practices law to declare failure to disclose these conditions an unfair or deceptive act. It takes effect immediately upon passage, with no specified effective date beyond that.

Maddy summaryHB 7895 proposes the Safe School Technology Act of 2026, which would establish new regulations for technology use in schools. The bill directly affects school districts, educational institutions, and technology vendors by setting standards for implementing surveillance and monitoring systems in educational settings. Key provisions would likely include guidelines for data privacy, requirements for parental notification, and standards for how student information is collected and stored through school technology systems. This legislation aims to create a framework for balancing safety concerns with privacy rights in the digital school environment.

Maddy summaryHR 7340 is a non-binding House resolution urging Rhode Island insurers and the Rhode Island Property Insurance Association to pursue subrogation claims against fossil fuel polluters who knowingly misled the public about climate impacts. It directly affects homeowners by seeking to lower insurance costs through reimbursement from polluters, similar to past cases involving tobacco and opioids. The resolution does not create new laws but encourages insurers to use existing legal mechanisms to recover costs from polluters responsible for climate-related damages that drive up premiums. It was introduced to the House Corporations committee on January 28, 2026.

Modifies the definition of “intentionally added PFAS” to mean PFAS that are deliberately added during the manufacturing of a covered product to perform a specific function.

Requires that the electric distribution company and the commission promulgate tariffs to address interconnection of energy storage systems and to provide compensation for at least 100 mega watts of energy storage systems sited in the state.

ROOM) ACT (Expands access to inherently affordable housing by re-legalizing co-living/single-room occupancy (SRO) and shared dwelling models of many types.

Gives mobile home residents a right of first refusal to buy or lease their park, requiring owners to notify the residents’ association and the Department of Business Regulation of bona fide offers and allow time to match the terms.

Affordable housing includes an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) where it’s a long-term rental unit in a municipality with no ordinance requiring a minimum lot size for ADUs.

Clarifies the means by which attached single-family dwelling units may be created, recorded, and regulated as subdivisions of an existing lot under current zoning ordinance law.

Creates a state program and fund to finance adaptive reuse and mixed-use housing projects, requires affordable units and labor standards, and provides oversight to expand housing until 2035.