Sen. Lou DiPalma

Maddy summaryThis bill amends the rules for retired municipal employees who wish to re-enter service. It increases the maximum number of days a retired municipal employee can work in a calendar year from 75 to 90 days without interruption of their pension benefits. If a retired employee works beyond this 90-day limit, their pension payments are temporarily suspended. The bill also clarifies that police officers working private details and retired members serving as elected city/town council or school committee members are not subject to this specific working day limit.

Authorizes the appropriation of the sum of $500,000 to Sojourner House to support its permanent housing development program that provides safe, secure housing to individuals and families fleeing from dangerous situations.

Maddy summarySenate Bill 286 proposes to prohibit individuals from purchasing or taking possession of more than one firearm, including pistols, rifles, and shotguns, within any 30-day period. This restriction directly affects individuals seeking to acquire multiple firearms within a short timeframe. The bill includes several exemptions for specific groups like federally licensed firearm dealers, law enforcement officers, and participants in training courses. Violations would result in misdemeanor charges for a first offense and felony charges for subsequent offenses.

Maddy summarySB 389 amends existing law regarding the establishment of charter public schools. This bill prohibits the approval of any new application for a network charter school. It also prevents the expansion of an existing charter school if that expansion would create a network charter school. This directly impacts entities that might seek to establish or grow this specific type of charter school within the public education system.

Maddy summarySB 824, titled the "Reproductive Freedom and Gender Affirming Care Health Data Privacy Act," establishes a new framework to protect sensitive health data. It applies to consumer health data related to reproductive or sexual health and gender-affirming care for Rhode Island residents. The bill defines what constitutes this protected "consumer health data" and "gender-affirming care information." It sets strict requirements for obtaining explicit, informed consent before collecting, processing, or transferring such data, disallowing consent through general terms or deceptive designs. This act aims to regulate how entities handle specific personal health information to ensure consumer privacy.

Maddy summaryThis bill extends the voluntary extension of care program for young adults who are or were in the care and custody of the state. It allows these individuals to voluntarily remain under the legal supervision of the court and receive care and placement from the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) until they reach 26 years of age, an increase from the previous age of 21. To qualify, young adults must be participating in education, job training, or employment, or have a medical condition preventing such activities. DCYF is also required to provide detailed transition plans for youth nearing their 18th birthday, covering aspects like housing, health insurance, and education.

Provides that stores offering food product discounts must provide the same discounts to in store customers that are offered to customers using electronic digital coupons.

Maddy summarySenate Bill 991, known as the "Price Tags Act," aims to establish fair pricing practices for grocery items sold to retailers and wholesalers in Rhode Island. It requires large suppliers to offer the same sales terms for identical goods to all covered retailers and wholesalers purchasing similar volumes. The bill also mandates suppliers to provide anonymized sales terms from dominant retailers upon request and prohibits them from refusing sales to non-dominant retailers without commercially reasonable justification. This legislation seeks to ensure a more equitable competitive environment among grocery businesses in the state.

Maddy summarySenate Bill 808 seeks to extend support provided by the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) to a broader group of children. The bill proposes that any extended benefits currently offered by DCYF to children in foster care would also be made available to children who are placed in guardianship. This aims to ensure that children in guardianship arrangements receive the same continued assistance from the department as those in foster care.

Creates the position of dementia services coordinator within the department of health to coordinate the departments approach to Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.