Sen. Jake Bissaillon

Maddy summaryThis Senate resolution commemorates the 50th anniversary of the State Government Affairs Council (SGAC), recognizing its decades of work fostering relationships between government, businesses, and communities. It highlights SGAC's role in promoting diversity, mentoring professionals, and supporting transparent, responsive state governance. The resolution formally honors SGAC's contributions and encourages continued support for its mission. As a ceremonial resolution, it does not create new laws or affect policy.

Authorizes municipalities to make an emergency declaration under limited circumstances to allow for the construction and use of SAVE Units on a temporary basis which have specialized requirements and exemptions from the state fire and building codes.

Proposes a state constitutional amendment to provide no person could hold office as general officer unless that person was a resident and a registered voter in the State of Rhode Island for at least 2 years, continuously, prior to taking office.

Spells out rules and regulations for the presidential preference primary elections, and would also establish rules for ranked choice voting tabulation and results reporting by the secretary of state.

Amends several statutes relating to elections and the dates for primaries and dates within which to file nomination papers and object to nomination papers.

Maddy summarySB 521 establishes a clear process for filling vacancies in municipal election boards (called "local canvassing authorities") in Rhode Island cities and towns. It requires political party chairpersons to submit lists of eligible voters within 30 days of a vacancy, and mandates that mayors or council presidents nominate replacements from those lists within another 30 days. The bill also clarifies that board members serve staggered six-year terms expiring on March 1 in odd-numbered years, and directs city/town clerks to correct any term date errors immediately. This affects local election offices directly by ensuring consistent staffing for handling election results and voter registration.

Maddy summarySB 207 updates the legal terminology in a state law prohibiting child sexual abuse material by replacing "child pornography" with "child sexual abuse material" throughout the statute. The bill does not change the legal definitions, penalties, or prohibited activities - such as producing, distributing, or possessing such material - or the affirmative defenses available to defendants. It specifically clarifies that the law covers visual depictions of minors in sexually explicit conduct, with penalties remaining unchanged (up to 15 years in prison for production/distribution, up to 5 years for possession). The bill focuses solely on terminology to align with current legal and advocacy standards, without altering any policy or enforcement mechanisms.

Prohibits the civil arrest of any person who is attending court either on behalf of themselves or a family or household member. Any person who violates this act shall be subject to civil suit, and for contempt of court.

Maddy summarySB 281 would allow individuals with multiple non-violent felony convictions to petition courts to clear their criminal records after completing their sentences. Specifically, it permits expungement 10 years post-sentence for those convicted of multiple non-violent felonies (excluding violent crimes or certain drug offenses), provided they have paid all fees/fines, have no new arrests/convictions in the prior decade, and demonstrate good moral character. The bill directly affects people with multiple non-violent felony records who meet these criteria, streamlining the process for record clearance. It modifies existing expungement rules by extending the waiting period to 10 years for multiple non-violent felonies and adding specific eligibility requirements.

Maddy summarySB 358 creates a new legal right for people injured by artificial intelligence systems developed by companies that trained or fine-tuned very high-cost AI models (costing over $100 million for initial training or $10 million for significant modifications). It holds developers strictly liable for injuries to non-users (like bystanders) caused by AI systems that behave in ways a human would consider negligent or intentionally harmful, without requiring proof of developer negligence. The bill excludes defamation claims and establishes a rebuttable presumption that AI systems meet the mental state required for certain torts if a human in similar circumstances would have acted that way. Developers can avoid liability by proving the AI met human standards of care or the harm resulted from a "capabilities failure" (where the AI underperformed but didn't act negligently).