Rep. John Lombardi

Maddy summaryHB 5916 amends Rhode Island's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act to increase notice periods for rent increases and tenancy terminations, directly affecting month-to-month tenants and their landlords. The bill raises the required notice period for landlords or tenants to terminate month-to-month tenancies from 30 to 60 days, and extends it to 120 days for tenants aged 62 or older. It also specifies standardized notice forms for terminations, ensuring consistent communication about lease end dates. These changes aim to provide tenants with more time to plan for housing transitions while maintaining clear legal procedures.

Maddy summaryHB 5503 would require landlords to have "good cause" to evict tenants in most residential rental properties, directly affecting renters and landlords covered by the law. The bill specifies that landlords can only remove tenants for defined reasons like nonpayment of rent (with limits on unreasonable rent increases) or serious lease violations, and must go through court to enforce evictions. It excludes certain properties, such as owner-occupied buildings with fewer than five units or housing tied to employment. The bill is currently under review by a committee and has not yet become law.

Maddy summaryHB 5552, the "Price Tags Act," requires grocery suppliers to offer identical pricing and terms to all retailers purchasing the same products in similar quantities. It directly affects large food suppliers (with over $6 billion in annual sales to RI retailers) and dominant grocery chains (with over $18 billion in annual sales across 20+ states). Key provisions mandate suppliers to share anonymized pricing data with smaller retailers upon request and prohibit refusing sales to non-dominant retailers without valid reasons. The law aims to prevent large chains from leveraging their size to secure better deals, ensuring smaller grocery stores in Rhode Island receive fair treatment in pricing negotiations.

Requires a seventy-five percent (75%) supermajority vote by the board of directors to establish a quorum and to approve any action taken by the commerce corporation.

Maddy summaryHR 6029 is a House resolution expressing condolences to the Restivo family following the passing of Jeanette Restivo, a North Providence resident known for her Italian-American community involvement and five published cookbooks. It directly affects her surviving family members, including five children, thirteen grandchildren, and seventeen great-grandchildren. The resolution directs the Secretary of State to send certified copies to five specific family members named in the text. This is a purely ceremonial gesture with no policy changes or funding impacts.

Requires health plans that provide prescription benefits to cover at least one type of glucagon auto-injector, nasal spray, or formulation that does not require reconstitution to treat hypoglycemia. No copayment or deductible would be required.

Directs the state board of pharmacy to annually identify up to fifteen prescription drugs with increased costs and provide the list to the attorney general to obtain reasons for the cost increases.

Provides certain controls over prescription drug costs by imposing transparency, oversight and accountability requirements on commercial insurers and their pharmacy benefit managers.

Establishes the commuter transportation benefit chapter. Employers with five hundred (500) or more employees would be required to establish a pre-tax commuter transportation fringe benefit program.

Provides that amendments to §§ 34-36.1-1.03 and 34-36.1-3.08 are applicable to condominiums created before July 1, 1982, provides a definition for the term “special assessment” and allows unit owners to participate in association meetings remotely.